Despite the growing importance of esports tourism as a strategy to attract young tourists to destinations, limited research has been conducted on how the online gaming experience influences offline esports travel. This paper first maps a framework to indicate young players’ heterogeneity in the relationships between gaming experiences, attachment, and esports travel intentions. A survey targeting 751 young egamers in China was conducted using quota sampling. Results confirm the positive relationships between egames flow, attachment, and esports travel. Findings reveal that challenge-based, sensory, and imaginative immersion significantly affect the gaming flow experience, while players’ self-expression and social interaction contribute to their attachment to esports. Further, gender and game experience are essential factors that moderate the role of gaming experience and attachment in esports travel intentions. Practical implications are provided for esport game design and tourism promotion.
AbbasiAZAsifMHollebeekLD, et al. (2021) The effects of consumer esports videogame engagement on consumption behaviors. Journal of Product & Brand Management30(8): 1194–1211.
2.
AnSChoiYLeeC-K (2021) Virtual travel experience and destination marketing: effects of sense and information quality on flow and visit intention. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management19: 100492.
3.
AronAMashekDMcLaughlin-VolpeT, et al. (2005) Including close others in the cognitive structure of the self.
4.
BallADTasakiLH (1992) The role and measurement of attachment in consumer behavior. Journal of Consumer Psychology1(2): 155–172.
5.
BányaiFGriffithsMDKirályO, et al. (2019) The psychology of esports: a systematic literature review. Journal of Gambling Studies35(2): 351–365.
6.
BelkRW (1988) Possessions and the extended self. Journal of Consumer Research15(2): 139–168.
7.
BowlbyJ (1969) Attachment and loss: volume I: attachment. In: Attachment and Loss: Volume I: Attachment. London: The Hogarth Press and the Institute of Psycho-Analysis, 1–401.
8.
BowmanNA (2013) How much diversity is enough? The curvilinear relationship between college diversity interactions and first-year student outcomes. Research in Higher Education54(8): 874–894.
9.
BrakusJJSchmittBHZarantonelloL (2009) Brand experience: what is it? How is it measured? Does it affect loyalty?Journal of Marketing73(3): 52–68.
10.
Brambilla HallS (2020) COVID-19 is taking gaming and esports to the next level. In.
11.
BrowneKAnandC (2012) An empirical evaluation of user interfaces for a mobile video game. Entertainment Computing3(1): 1–10.
12.
BubnaKTrotterMGPolmanR, et al. (2023) Terminology matters: defining the esports athlete. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living5: 1232028.
13.
BurkettJPYoungLJ (2012) The behavioral, anatomical and pharmacological parallels between social attachment, love and addiction. Psychopharmacology224(1): 1–26.
14.
CairnsPCoxANordinAI (2014) Immersion in digital games: review of gaming experience research. In: Handbook of Digital Games. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 337–361.
15.
CarrollMYildirimC (2021) The effect of body-based haptic feedback on player experience during VR gaming. In: International conference on human–computer interaction.
16.
ÇetinACoşkunerM (2021) A conceptual overview of esports tourism as a new trend in the tourism industry. Journal of Management and Economic Studies3(1): 28–34.
17.
ChenCLeungL (2016) Are you addicted to Candy Crush Saga? An exploratory study linking psychological factors to mobile social game addiction. Telematics and Informatics33(4): 1155–1166.
18.
ChenCCLinYC (2018) What drives live-stream usage intention? The perspectives of flow, entertainment, social interaction, and endorsement. Telematics and Informatics35(1): 293–303.
19.
ChenJWuY (2024) Would you be willing to purchase virtual gifts during esports live streams? Streamer characteristics and cultural traits. Computers in Human Behavior152: 108075.
20.
ChengMTLinYWSheHC, et al. (2017) Is immersion of any value? Whether, and to what extent, game immersion experience during serious gaming affects science learning. British Journal of Educational Technology48(2): 246–263.
21.
ChiangY-TLinSSChengC-Y, et al. (2011) Exploring online game players’ flow experiences and positive affect. Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology-TOJET10(1): 106–114.
22.
ChoiDKimJ (2004) Why people continue to play online games: in search of critical design factors to increase customer loyalty to online contents. CyberPsychology & Behavior7(1): 11–24.
23.
CohenJ (2001) Defining identification: a theoretical look at the identification of audiences with media characters. Mass Communication and Society4(3): 245–264.
24.
CohenJ (2013) Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences. New York: Routledge.
25.
CsikszentmihalyiM (1990) Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Vol. 1990). New York: Harper & Row, 75–77.
26.
DahlMSSorensonO (2010) The social attachment to place. Social Forces89(2): 633–658.
27.
da Silva deMatosNMde SaESde Oliveira DuartePA (2021) A review and extension of the flow experience concept. Insights and directions for tourism research. Tourism Management Perspectives38: 100802.
28.
DeciELRyanRM (2000) The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry11(4): 227–268.
29.
DedeoğluBBBalıkçıoğluSKüçükerginKG (2016) The role of tourists' value perceptions in behavioral intentions: the moderating effect of gender. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing33(4): 513–534.
30.
DelpyL (1998) An overview of sport tourism: building towards a dimensional framework. Journal of Vacation Marketing4(1): 23–38.
31.
de ZoetenMKöneckeT (2024) Esports, video gaming and their fuzziness: a conceptualization and categorization. Sport, Business and Management: An International Journal14(1): 99–116.
32.
DilekSE (2019) E-sport events within tourism paradigm: a conceptual discussion. International Journal of Contemporary Tourism Research3(1): 12–22.
33.
DingH-MHungK-P (2021) The antecedents of visitors’ flow experience and its influence on memory and behavioral intentions in the music festival context. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management19: 100551.
34.
DwyerLChenNLeeJ (2019) The role of place attachment in tourism research. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing36(5): 645–652.
35.
ErmiLMäyräF (2005) Fundamental components of the gameplay experience: analysing immersion. In: de CastellSDJensonJ (eds) Worlds in Play: International Perspectives on Digital Games Research. New York, NY, USA: Peter Lang Publishing, 15–27.
36.
FinchDJAbezaGO’ReillyN, et al. (2020) Esport sponsorship: practitioners’ perspectives on emerging trends. Journal of Brand Strategy9(1): 59–74.
37.
FornellCChaJ (1994) Partial least squares. In: BagozziRP (ed) Advanced Methods of Marketing Research. Cambridge: Blackwell Publisher, 52–78.
38.
Frostling-HenningssonM (2009) First-person shooter games as a way of connecting to people: “Brothers in blood”. CyberPsychology & Behavior12(5): 557–562.
39.
FuXKangJHahmJJ, et al. (2020) Investigating the consequences of theme park experience through the lenses of self-congruity and flow. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management32(3): 1181–1199.
GierynTF (2000) A space for place in sociology. Annual Review of Sociology26(1): 463–496.
42.
GreerNRockloffMJRussellAMT, et al. (2021) Are esports bettors a new generation of harmed gamblers? A comparison with sports bettors on gambling involvement, problems, and harm. Journal of Behavioral Addictions10(3): 435–446.
43.
HairJF (2010) Multivariate Data Analysis (Vol. 7th). Prentice Hall.
HamariJKoivistoJ (2014) Measuring flow in gamification: dispositional flow scale-2. Computers in Human Behavior40: 133–143.
46.
HaryantoHGamayantoIKardianawatiA, et al. (2023) Improvement of imaginative immersion in role playing serious game using appreciative game activity. In: 2023 international conference on electrical and information technology (IEIT).
47.
HenselerJRingleCMSarstedtM (2015) A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science43(1): 115–135.
48.
HenselerJRingleCMSinkovicsRR (2009) The use of partial least squares path modeling in international marketing. In: New Challenges to International Marketing. Leeds: Emerald Group Publishing, 277–319.
49.
Hilvert-BruceZNeillJTSjöblomM, et al. (2018) Social motivations of live-streaming viewer engagement on Twitch. Computers in Human Behavior84: 58–67.
50.
HögbergJHamariJWästlundE (2019) Gameful Experience Questionnaire (GAMEFULQUEST): an instrument for measuring the perceived gamefulness of system use. User Modeling and User-Adapted Interaction29(3): 619–660.
51.
HollistKE (2015) Time to be grown-ups about video gaming: the rising eSports industry and the need for regulation. Arizona Law Review57: 823.
52.
HsuCHCHuangS (2012) An extension of the theory of planned behavior model for tourists. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research36(3): 390–417.
53.
HuLBentlerPM (1998) Fit indices in covariance structure modeling: sensitivity to underparameterized model misspecification. Psychological Methods3(4): 424–453.
54.
HuangSvan der VeenR (2019) The moderation of gender and generation in the effects of perceived destination image on tourist attitude and visit intention: a study of potential Chinese visitors to Australia. Journal of Vacation Marketing25(3): 375–389.
55.
IsaSMAriyantoHHKiumarsiS (2019) The effect of place attachment on visitors’ revisit intentions: evidence from Batam. Tourism Geographies22(1): 51–82.
56.
JalilvandMRSamieiN (2012) The impact of electronic word of mouth on a tourism destination choice: testing the theory of planned behavior (TPB). Internet Research22(5): 591–612.
57.
JaputraAEkinciYSimkinL (2014) Exploring brand attachment, its determinants and outcomes. Journal of Strategic Marketing22(7): 616–630.
58.
JegersK (2007) Pervasive game flow: understanding player enjoyment in pervasive gaming. Computers in Entertainment (CIE)5(1): 9-es.
59.
JennettCCoxALCairnsP, et al. (2008) Measuring and defining the experience of immersion in games. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies66(9): 641–661.
60.
KimKKimK (2015) Internet game addiction, parental attachment, and parenting of adolescents in South Korea. Journal of Child & Adolescent Substance Abuse24(6): 366–371.
61.
KimMThapaB (2018) Perceived value and flow experience: application in a nature-based tourism context. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management8: 373–384.
62.
KimMJLeeC-KJungT (2020) Exploring consumer behavior in virtual reality tourism using an extended stimulus-organism-response model. Journal of Travel Research59(1): 69–89.
63.
KlimmtCHefnerDVordererP, et al. (2010) Identification with video game characters as automatic shift of self-perceptions. Media Psychology13(4): 323–338.
64.
LaisZIsotaniS (2015) Does Gamification Work for Boys and Girls? An Exploratory Study with a Virtual Learning Environment.
65.
LamSSK (2020) New Media Spectacles and Multimodal Creativity in a Globalised Asia: Art, Design and Activism in the Digital Humanities Landscape (Vol. 3). Singapore: Springer Nature.
66.
LeDScottNLohmannG (2019) Applying experiential marketing in selling tourism dreams. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing36(2): 220–235.
67.
LeeMC (2009) Understanding the behavioural intention to play online games: an extension of the theory of planned behaviour. Online Information Review33(5): 849–872.
68.
LeeWKimYH (2021) Does VR tourism enhance users’ experience?Sustainability13(2): 806.
69.
LewisMLWeberRBowmanND (2008) “They may be pixels, but they’re MY pixels:” developing a metric of character attachment in role-playing video games. CyberPsychology & Behavior11(4): 515–518.
70.
LiTChanDKS (2012) How anxious and avoidant attachment affect romantic relationship quality differently: a meta-analytic review. European Journal of Social Psychology42(4): 406–419.
71.
LiYPengY (2021) What drives gift-giving intention in live streaming? The perspectives of emotional attachment and flow experience. International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction37(14): 1317–1329.
72.
LiaoGYChengTCETengCI (2019) How do avatar attractiveness and customization impact online gamers’ flow and loyalty?Internet Research29(2): 349–366.
73.
LiuCCChangIC (2016) Model of online game addiction: the role of computer-mediated communication motives. Telematics and Informatics33(4): 904–915.
74.
LiuQXuLFengW, et al. (2023) Is tourism live streaming a double-edged sword? The paradoxical impact of online flow experience on travel intentions. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing40(8): 744–763.
75.
LiuW-YYuH-WHsiehC-M (2021) Evaluating forest visitors’ place attachment, recreational activities, and travel intentions under different climate scenarios. Forests12(2): 171.
76.
MaghnatiFLingKCNasermoadeliA (2012) Exploring the relationship between experiential marketing and experiential value in the smartphone industry. International Business Research5(11): 169.
77.
Maldonado-MurcianoLGuileraGMontagC, et al. (2022) Disordered gaming in esports: comparing professional and non-professional gamers. Addictive Behaviors132: 107342.
78.
MartončikM (2015) Esports: playing just for fun or playing to satisfy life goals?Computers in Human Behavior48: 208–211.
79.
McKennaKYAGreenASGleasonMEJ (2002) Relationship formation on the internet: what’s the big attraction?Journal of Social Issues58(1): 9–31.
80.
MiglioreL (2021) What is esports? The past, present, and future of competitive gaming. In: Handbook of Esports Medicine: Clinical Aspects of Competitive Video Gaming. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 1–16.
81.
MooreRLGraefeAR (1994) Attachments to recreation settings: the case of rail-trail users. Leisure Sciences16(1): 17–31.
82.
MurrayJH (2017) Hamlet on the Holodeck, Updated Edition: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace. Massachusetts: MIT Press.
83.
NilssonNCNordahlRSerafinS (2016) Immersion revisited: a review of existing definitions of immersion and their relation to different theories of presence. Human Technology12(2): 108–134.
84.
NovakTPHoffmanDLYungY-F (2000) Measuring the customer experience in online environments: a structural modeling approach. Marketing Science19(1): 22–42.
85.
NusairKParsaHG (2011) Introducing flow theory to explain the interactive online shopping experience in a travel context. International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Administration12(1): 1–20.
86.
OtuA (2019) The Future of Gaming and Sport: The Rise of the E-sports industry in China. Available at SSRN 3623528.
87.
ParamanPAnnamalahSVlachosP, et al. (2022) Dynamic effect of flow on impulsive consumption: evidence from southeast Asian live streaming platforms. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity8(4): 212.
88.
ParkCWMacInnisDJPriesterJ, et al. (2010) Brand attachment and brand attitude strength: conceptual and empirical differentiation of two critical brand equity drivers. Journal of Marketing74(6): 1–17.
89.
ParkSHwangHS (2009) Understanding online game addiction: connection between presence and flow. In human–computer interaction. In: Interacting in various application domains: 13th international conference, HCI International 2009, San Diego, CA, USA, July 19–24, 2009. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 378–386. Proceedings, Part IV 13.
90.
ParshakovPNaidenovaIBarajasA (2020) Spillover effect in promotion: evidence from video game publishers and eSports tournaments. Journal of Business Research118: 262–270.
91.
PengNChenA (2019) Examining consumers’ luxury hotel stay repurchase intentions-incorporating a luxury hotel brand attachment variable into a luxury consumption value model. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management31(3): 1348–1366.
92.
PerttulaAKiiliKLindstedtA, et al. (2017) Flow experience in game based learning—a systematic literature review. International Jounral of Serious Games4(1): 57–72.
93.
PodsakoffPMMacKenzieSBLeeJ-Y, et al. (2003) Common method biases in behavioral research: a critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology88(5): 879–903.
94.
QiYFuC (2011) The effects of flow and attachment on the e-loyalty of SNS websites. In: 2011 international conference on management and service science.
95.
QianTYWangJJZhangJJ, et al. (2020) It is in the game: dimensions of esports online spectator motivation and development of a scale. European Sport Management Quarterly20(4): 458–479.
96.
RamkissoonHSmithLDGWeilerB (2013) Relationships between place attachment, place satisfaction and pro-environmental behaviour in an Australian national park. Journal of Sustainable Tourism21(3): 434–457.
97.
RenYHarperFMDrennerS, et al. (2012) Building member attachment in online communities: applying theories of group identity and interpersonal bonds. MIS Quarterly36(3): 841–864.
98.
RogstadET (2022) Gender in eSports research: a literature review. European Journal for Sport and Society19(3): 195–213.
99.
RozenkrantsBWheelerSCShivB (2017) Self-expression cues in product rating distributions: when people prefer polarizing products. Journal of Consumer Research44(4): 759–777.
100.
RyanRMRigbyCSPrzybylskiA (2006) The motivational pull of video games: a self-determination theory approach. Motivation and Emotion30(4): 344–360.
101.
SatoMJordanJSFunkDC, et al. (2018) Running involvement and life satisfaction: the role of personality. Journal of Leisure Research49(1): 28–45.
102.
SchneiderL-PCornwellTB (2005) Cashing in on crashes via brand placement in computer games: the effects of experience and flow on memory. International Journal of Advertising24(3): 321–343.
103.
ScholzTM (2019) eSports Is Business. Siegen: Springer.
104.
SchultzSEKleineREKernanJB (1989) ‘These are a few of my favorite things’: toward an explication of attachment as a consumer behavior construct. Advances in Consumer Research16(1): 359–366.
105.
SeoY (2013) Electronic sports: a new marketing landscape of the experience economy. Journal of Marketing Management29(13–14): 1542–1560.
106.
ShinGCWhitakerMD (2023) The future of Korea and the world. In: The Korean Wave in a Post-Pandemic World. Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore, 595–686.
107.
SivadasEVenkateshR (1995) An examination of individual and object-specific influences on the extended self and its relation to attachment and satisfaction. Advances in Consumer Research22(1): 406.
108.
SlaterM (2009) Place illusion and plausibility can lead to realistic behaviour in immersive virtual environments. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences364(1535): 3549–3557.
SteuerJ (1995) Defining virtual realities: Dimensions determining telepresence. In: IN.
111.
SungYNamT-HHwangMH (2020) Attachment style, stressful events, and internet gaming addiction in Korean university students. Personality and Individual Differences154: 109724.
112.
SweetserPWyethP (2005) GameFlow: a model for evaluating player enjoyment in games. Computers in Entertainment3(3): 3–3.
113.
ThompsonJTaheriBScheuringF (2022) Developing esport tourism through fandom experience at in-person events. Tourism Management91: 104531.
114.
ThomsonM (2006) Human brands: investigating antecedents to consumers’ strong attachments to celebrities. Journal of Marketing70(3): 104–119.
115.
Tongcheng Research Institute (2021) China Esports Hotel Market Research Report 2021. Suzhou: Tongcheng Research Institute.
116.
TurnerSHuangCWBurrowsL, et al. (2016) Make-believing virtual realities. In: Digital Make-Believe. Berlin: Springer, 27–47.
117.
WagnerMG (2006) On the scientific relevance of eSports. In: International conference on internet computing, pp.437–442.
118.
WangJJingRLaiX, et al. (2020) Acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic in China. Vaccines8(3): 482.
119.
WangLCChenMP (2010) The effects of game strategy and preference-matching on flow experience and programming performance in game-based learning. Innovations in Education and Teaching International47(1): 39–52.
120.
WeiHWuNWangT, et al. (2017) Be loyal but not addicted: effect of online game social migration on game loyalty and addiction. Journal of Consumer Behaviour16(4): 343–351.
121.
WenHLeungXY (2021) Virtual wine tours and wine tasting: the influence of offline and online embodiment integration on wine purchase decisions. Tourism Management83: 104250.
122.
YangCYanSWangJ, et al. (2022) Flow experiences and virtual tourism: the role of technological acceptance and technological readiness. Sustainability14(9): 5361.
123.
YangJCChenSY (2020) An investigation of game behavior in the context of digital game-based learning: an individual difference perspective. Computers in Human Behavior112: 106432.
124.
YangJCQuadirB (2018) Individual differences in an English learning achievement system: gaming flow experience, gender differences and learning motivation. Technology, Pedagogy and Education27(3): 351–366.
125.
YazıcıTKocakSAltunsözIH (2017) Examining the effect of experiential marketing on behavioral intentions in a festival with a specific sport event. European Sport Management Quarterly17(2): 171–192.
126.
YeeN (2006) The demographics, motivations, and derived experiences of users of massively multi-user online graphical environments. Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments15(3): 309–329.
127.
YehYChenS-YRegaEM, et al. (2019) Mindful learning experience facilitates mastery experience through heightened flow and self-efficacy in game-based creativity learning. Frontiers in Psychology10: 1593.
128.
YuBBrisonNTBennettG (2022) Why do women watch esports? A social role perspective on spectating motives and points of attachment. Computers in Human Behavior127: 107055.
129.
ZhangQLiuXLiZ, et al. (2021) Multi-experiences in the art performance tourism: integrating experience economy model with flow theory. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing38(5): 491–510.
130.
ZhengD (2020) Building resident commitment through tourism consumption: a relational cohesion lens. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management16: 100441.
131.
ZhengDLuoQRitchieBW (2022) The role of trust in mitigating perceived threat, fear, and travel avoidance after a pandemic outbreak: a multigroup analysis. Journal of Travel Research61(3): 581–596.
