This paper addresses revisiting intention in warfare heritage tourism. Building on drivers related to the psychology of the tourists, it develops and tests a moderated mediation model accounting for self-enhancement, engagement, sense of belonging, and revisit intention. Two studies explore the relationships among these constructs, sampling tourists visiting contemporary warfare heritage sites (Cold War military installations). The results show that the sense of belonging mediates the self-enhancement–revisit intention relationship and that engagement moderates the mediation. Finally, results show that the relationships among the considered constructs do not change for tourists living in the former western or eastern blocks and for tourists born before, during, or after the Cold War era.
AllmanT. L.MittelstaedtR. D.MartinB.GoldenbergM. (2009). Exploring the motivations of BASE jumpers: Extreme sport enthusiasts. Journal of Sport Tourism, 14(4), 229–247.
AshworthG. J. (2014). Heritage and economic development: Selling the unsellable. Heritage & Society, 7(1), 3–17.
4.
BalmerJ. M. T.BalmerJ. M. T. (2013). Corporate heritage, corporate heritage marketing, and total corporate heritage communications: What are they? What of them?Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 18(3), 290–326.
5.
BaumeisterR. F.LearyM. R. (2015). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. In LearyM. R.TangneyJ. P. (Eds.), Handbook of Self and Identity (2nd ed., pp. 218–242). The Guilford Press.
6.
BennettL. (2011). Bunkerology—A case study in the theory and practice of urban exploration. Environment and Planning. D, Society & Space, 29(3), 421–434.
7.
BoksbergerP.DolnicarS.LaesserC.RandleM. (2011). Self-congruity theory: To what extent does it hold in tourism?Journal of Travel Research, 50(4), 454–464.
8.
BrownL.Arriaza IbarraK. (2018). Commemoration and the expression of political identity. Tourism Management, 68, 79–88.
9.
BryceD.CurranR.O’GormanK.TaheriB. (2015). Visitors’ engagement and authenticity: Japanese heritage consumption. Tourism Management, 46, 571–581.
10.
BrymerE.Houge MackenzieS. (2016). Psychology and the extreme sport experience. In FelettiF. (Ed.), Extreme Sports Medicine (pp. 3–13). Springer.
11.
ByrneB. M. (2013). Structural equation modeling with AMOS (Vol. 22). Psychology Press.
12.
CausevicS.LynchP. (2011). Phoenix Tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 38(3), 780–800.
13.
ChenX.LeeT. J.HyunS. S. (2022). How does a global coffeehouse chain operate strategically in a traditional tea-drinking country? The influence of brand authenticity and self-enhancement. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 51, 176–186.
14.
ChoiS.KimJ. J.ChoeY.HyunS.KimI. (2020). Modeling the role of luxury air-travelers’ self-enhancement. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 37(2), 200–216.
15.
CrockerJ.ParkL. E. (2004). The costly pursuit of self-esteem. Psychological Bulletin, 130(3), 392–414.
16.
DesforgesL. (2000). Traveling the world. Annals of Tourism Research, 27(4), 926–945.
17.
DreslerE. (2024). Children picturing suffering in dark tourism: The use of photo-elicitation method. Current Issues in Tourism, 27(2), 184–199.
18.
DriessenS. (2022). Summers of war. Affective volunteer tourism to former war sites in Europe. Tourism Geographies, 24(2-3), 326–345.
19.
EarlA.HallC. M. (2023). Nostalgia and tourism. Journal of Heritage Tourism, 18(3), 307–317.
20.
EmmonsR. A. (1986). Personal strivings: An approach to personality and subjective well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(5), 1058–1068.
21.
FallonP.RobinsonP. (2017). ‘Lest we forget’: A veteran and son share a ‘warfare tourism’ experience. Journal of Heritage Tourism, 12(1), 21–35.
FischerD. G.FickC. (1993). Measuring social desirability: Short forms of the Marlowe-Crowne social desirability scale. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 53(2), 417–424.
24.
GeorgeB. P.GeorgeB. P. (2004). Past visits and the intention to revisit a destination: place attachment as the mediator and novelty seeking as the moderator. Journal of Tourism Studies, 15(2), 51–66.
25.
GielingJ.OngC. E. (2016). Warfare tourism experiences and national identity: The case of Airborne Museum ‘Hartenstein’ in Oosterbeek, the Netherlands. Tourism Management, 57, 45–55.
26.
HolbrookA. L.KrosnickJ. A. (2010). Social desirability bias in voter turnout reports: Tests using the item count technique. Public Opinion Quarterly, 74(1), 37–67.
27.
HollebeekL. D.GlynnM. S.BrodieR. J. (2014). Consumer brand engagement in social media: Conceptualization, scale development and validation. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 28(2), 149–165.
28.
HosseiniS.Cortes-MacíasR.Almeida-GarcíaF. (2024). Extending the memorable tourism experience construct: An investigation of tourists’ memorable dark experiences. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 30(1), 21–44.
29.
HungK. P.PengN.ChenA. (2019). Incorporating on-site activity involvement and sense of belonging into the Mehrabian-Russell model—The experiential value of cultural tourism destinations. Tourism Management Perspectives, 30, 43–52.
30.
JangS.NamkungY. (2009). Perceived quality, emotions, and behavioral intentions: Application of an extended Mehrabian–Russell model to restaurants. Journal of Business Research—Turk, 62(4), 451–460.
31.
JepsonD.SharpleyR. (2015). More than sense of place? Exploring the emotional dimension of rural tourism experiences. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 23(8-9), 1157–1178.
32.
JettenJ.HaslamC.HaslamS. A. (2012). The social cure: Identity, health, and well-being. Psychology Press.
33.
KockN. (2015). Common method bias in PLS-SEM. International Journal of e-Collaboration, 11(4), 1–10.
34.
KwangT.SwannW. B. (2010). Do people embrace praise even when they feel unworthy? A review of critical tests of self-enhancement versus self-verification. Personality and Social Psychology Review: An Official Journal of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc, 14(3), 263–280.
35.
LaingJ. H.FrostW. (2017). Journeys of well-being: Women’s travel narratives of transformation and self-discovery in Italy. Tourism Management, 62, 110–119.
36.
LearyM. R. (2007). Motivational and emotional aspects of the Self. Annual Review of Psychology, 58(1), 317–344.
37.
LeeY. J. (2016). The relationships amongst emotional experience, cognition, and behavioural intention in battlefield tourism. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 21(6), 697–715.
38.
MannariniT.ProcenteseF.GattiF.RochiraA.FediA.TartagliaS. (2021). Basic human values and sense of community as resource and responsibility. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 31(2), 123–141.
39.
MowattR. A.ChancellorC. H. (2011). Visiting death and life: Dark tourism and slave castles. Annals of Tourism Research, 38(4), 1410–1434.
40.
NutiL.RisteO. (2007). Introduction—Strategy of “stay-behind.”Journal of Strategic Studies, 30(6), 929–935.
41.
OrenG.ShaniA.PoriaY. (2021). Dialectical emotions in a dark heritage site: A study at the Auschwitz death camp. Tourism Management, 82, 104194.
42.
PackerJ.BallantyneR.UzzellD. (2019). Interpreting war heritage: Impacts of Anzac museum and battlefield visits on Australians’ understanding of national identity. Annals of Tourism Research, 76, 105–116.
43.
PetersonC.GrantV. V.BolandL. D. (2005). Childhood amnesia in children and adolescents: Their earliest memories. Memory, 13(6), 622–637.
44.
PoriaY.ReichelA.BiranA. (2006). Heritage Site Perceptions and motivations to visit. Journal of Travel Research, 44(3), 318–326.
45.
RaffaetàR.DuffC. (2013). Putting belonging into place: Place experience and sense of belonging among Ecuadorian migrants in an Italian alpine RegionAlpine Region. City & Society, 25(3), 328–347.
46.
RaggiottoF.ScarpiD. (2021). This must be the place: A destination-loyalty model for extreme sporting events. Tourism Management, 83, Article 104254. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2020.104254
47.
RaggiottoF.ScarpiD. (2023). It’s not just a game: Virtual edgework and subjective well-being in e-sports. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 58(2-3), 185–197.
48.
ReganN.CarlsonJ.RosenbergerP. J. (2012). Factors affecting group-oriented travel intention to major events. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 29(2), 185–204.
SeoY.KoD.KimJ. (2021). It is all in the mind(set)! Matching mindsets and luxury tourism. Journal of Travel Research, 60(1), 184–196.
51.
ShohamA.RoseG. M.KahleL. R. (2000). Practitioners of risky sports: A quantitative examination. Journal of Business Research - Turk, 47(3), 237–251.
52.
SkandalisA.BanisterE.ByromJ. (2024). Spatial authenticity and extraordinary experiences: Music festivals and the everyday nature of tourism destinations. Journal of Travel Research, 63(2), 357–370.
53.
SoK. K. F.KingC.SparksB. (2014). Customer engagement with tourism brands. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 38(3), 304–329.
54.
SprottD.CzellarS.SpangenbergE. (2009). The importance of a general measure of brand engagement on market behavior: Development and validation of a scale. Journal of Marketing Research, 46(1), 92–104.
55.
SwannW. B.GriffinJ. J.PredmoreS. C.GainesB. (1987). The cognitive-affective crossfire: When self-consistency confronts self-enhancement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52(5), 881–889.
56.
TedeschiR. G.CalhounL. G. (2004). Posttraumatic Growth: Conceptual foundations and empirical evidence. Psychological Inquiry, 15(1), 1–18.
57.
TussyadiahI. P.JungT. H.TomDieckM. C. (2018). Embodiment of wearable augmented reality technology in tourism experiences. Journal of Travel Research, 57(5), 597–611.
58.
UmS.ChonK.RoY. (2006). Antecedents of revisit intention. Annals of Tourism Research, 33(4), 1141–1158.
59.
UptonA.SchänzelH.LückM. (2018). Reflections of battlefield tourist experiences associated with Vietnam War sites: An analysis of travel blogs. Journal of Heritage Tourism, 13(3), 197–210.
60.
WangJ.ZhouZ.LeiT.SunJ.ZhangH.QianL. (2024). Tourists’ sense of place and heritage protection when visiting natural disaster memorials. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 32, 100875.
61.
WeaverD.TangC.ShiF.HuangM.-F.BurnsK.ShengA. (2018). Dark tourism, emotions, and postexperience visitor effects in a sensitive geopolitical context: A Chinese case study. Journal of Travel Research, 57(6), 824–838.
62.
WienA. H.OlsenS. O. (2014). Understanding the relationship between individualism and word of mouth: A Self-Enhancement explanation. Psychology and Marketing, 31(6), 416–425.
63.
WilliamsN. L.WasslerP.FedeliG. (2023). Social Representations of war Tourism: A Case of ukraine. Journal of Travel Research, 62(4), 926–932.
64.
WinterC. (2011). Battlefield visitor motivations: Explorations in the Great War town of Ieper, Belgium. International Journal of Tourism Research, 13(2), 164–176.
65.
WoodE. H. (2020). I remember how we all felt: Perceived emotional synchrony through tourist memory sharing. Journal of Travel Research, 59(8), 1339–1352.
ZhangY.WangJ.ZhangL. (2023). Tourists’ national identity at heritage sites of natural disasters. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 55, 282–291.
