INTRODUCTION
As a country with a lengthy history and a diverse range of cultures and traditions, Indonesia possesses considerable potential for spiritual tourism development (Kurnia, 2017) Scholars (Haq & Medhekar, 2017;Norman & Pokorny, Jennifer, 2017;Sharpley & Jepson, 2011) have observed that there is no consensus on the definition of spiritual tourism. However, these academics believe that a spiritual tourist is someone who travels to a certain location in order to deepen their spiritually without being affiliated with any particular faith. According to data released by the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism, spiritual travellers visiting spiritual tourism sites rose by around 165 percent in 2015. At the end of 2020, it is anticipated that there were more than 18 million tourists, both domestic and international (Kelana, 2015). However, due to the global outbreak of Covid-19, the number of tourists visiting tourism destinations, including spiritual tourism destinations, declined significantly (Fauzan, 2020). Hence, to maintain sustainability, spiritual tourism destination management must have a strategy to attract tourists to their destination.
Since the marketing paradigm has shifted from transactional marketing to relationship marketing, the notion of tourist loyalty is increasingly becoming an important construct (Dean & Suhartanto, 2019). Having loyal customers will enhance the profitability of a business organisation since it will reduce the cost of attracting new customers (Oliver, 2010). In accordance with this statement,Wallin Andreassen & Lindestad (1998) noted that loyalty offers tangible value to the organisation. The loyal customers will be more tolerant towards customer service failures, less sensitive about price and spread positive word-of-mouth comments to others (Brunner, Stocklin & Opwis, 2008).
In tourism marketing research, the concept of experience quality has been recognized as a predictor of tourist loyalty, as evidenced by several studies examining the influence of experience quality on customer loyalty. For instance,Kusumawati & Rahayu's (2020) study indicated that the quality of the outdoor café experience had a favourable and substantial influence on consumer loyalty. In a similar vein to this study,Hussein & Hapsari (2021) demonstrated the critical role of experience quality in determining historical site visitor loyalty. According toRyu et al. (2012), the quality of the customer experience has a substantial impact on customer loyalty. The findings of these research indicate that the higher the quality of the customer experience, the greater the amount of customer loyalty. Along with experience quality, destination image has been identified as a predictor of tourist loyalty. Previous research (Hapsari, 2018a;A. S Hussein, 2018;Qu et al., 2011) has shown that destination image has an influence on tourist loyalty in a variety of contexts. According to these studies, the more favourable the image, the greater the loyalty.
While the quality of the experience and the image of the destination have been identified as predictors of tourist loyalty, there are gaps in the literature. The gap is due to the ambiguous relationship between these constructs and tourist loyalty, as several studies have failed to demonstrate a significant effect of experience quality (Baloglu et al., 2019;Chen & Chen, 2010;Hussein & Hapsari, 2020;Wu & Liang, 2009) or destination image (Chi & Qu, 2008;Jin, Lee & Lee, 2015) on tourist loyalty. This study bridges these research gaps by introducing the concepts of perceived sacredness and subjective wellbeing. It is believed that these two notions will transform experience quality and destination image towards loyalty.
According toMehrabian & Russell (1974), stimuli received by an individual would not directly affect their response. The stimulus will affect the individual’s internal state, leading to responses. To comply with this contention, this study integrated the notion of perceived sacredness and subjective wellbeing as an individual’s internal states to mediate the effect of stimuli (i.e., experience and image) on tourist loyalty.
The construct of subjective wellbeing was integrated in this study because prior studies have shown the influence of this construct on tourist loyalty in the marketing and tourism literature. For instance,Mohammad Shafiee & Es-Haghi, (2017) demonstrated the critical role of subjective wellbeing in mall loyalty. Subjective wellbeing also had an influence on tourist loyalty in research focusing on a professional soccer league (Rohman, 2020a).Buzinde (2020) argued that subjective wellbeing is a critical term in tourism, particularly spiritual tourism.
Similar to subjective wellbeing, perceived sacredness, as a component of an individual's internal state, is anticipated to have a substantial influence on tourist loyalty.Rohman (2020b) argued that the major motivation for individuals to return to spiritual tourism locations is a sense of sacredness. Destination sacredness cannot be separated from the authenticity of the site (Levi & Kocher, 2013). It is explained specifically that spiritual activities, spiritual symbols and historical artefacts are the major determinants of spiritual destination authenticity. By having a strong connection with destination authenticity and motivating individuals to visit spiritual sites, it is believed that perceived sacredness as an individual’s internal state will transform experience quality to tourist loyalty.
On the basis of this context, this study proposes two research objectives. To begin with, this study will determine the relationship between experience quality, destination image, subjective wellbeing, perceived sacredness, and tourist loyalty in the field of Indonesian spiritual tourism. Second, this study will examine the mediating effect of subjective wellbeing and perceived sacredness on the relationship between experience quality and tourist loyalty, as well as the relationship between destination image and tourist loyalty. Following the accomplishment of the research objectives, this study will make theoretical and practical contributions. For theoretical contributions, this study develops a comprehensive conceptual model that can be used to explain spiritual tourist behaviour. It will theoretically account for both subjective wellbeing and perceived sacredness's mediating role. Practically, this study provides guidelines for spiritual tourism management in order to increase tourist loyalty and thus ensure the sustainability of the spiritual tourism destination.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Experience Quality
Service quality is recognized as a significant factor in determining loyalty in the relationship marketing paradigm (Hapsari et al., 2017). Several studies have demonstrated both the direct and indirect influence of service quality on customer loyalty (Bakar et al., 2017;Michael Daniel Clemes et al., 2014;H.-C. Wu & Ko, 2013). While these studies demonstrate the critical role of service quality in fostering customer loyalty, scholars (A. S Hussein, 2018;Lemke et al., 2011;H.-C. Wu et al., 2014) argue that the concept of service quality alone is insufficient to predict loyalty in the tourism industry, as service quality focuses exclusively on the service attributes provided by service providers. Visitors actively engage in the process of value creation in the tourism sector by visiting the tourism destination and interacting directly with its aspects. According toLemke et al. (2011), the outcome of the customer-provider contact is experience. As a consequence, experience is defined in this study as the result of the interplay of tourist and tourism destination aspects.
According toZeithaml (1988) quality is defined as performance superiority. For the purposes of this study, the term "experience quality" refers to a superior or great performance in respect to the tourist's experience. While some research has utilized this construct to predict tourist loyalty, there is no agreement on how this construct should be constructed. For instance, Wu & Li (2014) hypothesized that experience quality is a multidimensional hierarchical construct comprised of interaction quality, physical environment quality, result quality, and access quality as first-order constructs and experience quality as a higher-order construct. Similar toWu & Li's (2014) study,Hussein & Hapsari (2020) proposed that experience quality is a multidimensional hierarchical construct comprised of physical experiential quality, interactional experiential quality, and heritage aspect quality as first-order constructs and experience quality as a higher-order construct.Lemke et al. (2011) andRohman (2020a) stated that experience quality is a composite construct made up of interactions, physical evidence, and the service outcome. The construct of experience quality was constructed for this study as a single construct comprised of multiple variables. This methodology was used in this study since the primary purpose was to ascertain the influence of experience quality on tourist loyalty. The dimensions and creation of spiritual tourist experience quality were not the subject of this study.
Destination Image
The concept of destination image was derived for this study from the concept of brand image. In the marketing notion, image is inextricably linked to brand, as the brand is viewed as a valuable asset for the organization (Hapsari et al., 2017). According toKeller (2013) brand image is the consumer's view of a brand as expressed by the brand association kept in the consumer's memory. The destination image was defined in this study as the visitor's sense of the destination's identity projected into the visitor's consciousness.
According toSuhartanto et al. (2013) image is a multifaceted notion comprised of more than simply factual qualities. As withSuhartanto et al. (2013),Park et al. (1996) shown that brand image is not determined solely by experience and promotional communication. Additionally, brand image encompasses the function of a commercial organization, including its origin, distribution channel, personnel, location, and connected events. The image is theoretically created by two facets: functional and emotional (Hapsari, 2018b). The functional portions are quantifiable, but the emotional aspects are intangible and cannot be quantified or observed.Chi & Qu (2008) noted that in the tourist industry, image plays a significant influence in the destination selection process. A venue with a favourable image is regarded to be more likely to be considered during the visitor's decision-making process.
Subjective Wellbeing
Subjective wellbeing refers to an individual's positive or negative assessment of his or her life (Chen et al., 2016). According toMa et al. (2018), subjective wellbeing is a multifaceted concept that encompasses an individual's emotional reaction, life satisfaction, and overall assessment of life.Su et al. (2018) found that subjective wellbeing was used interchangeably with quality of life in several research. However, this term encompasses more than happiness.
Customer wellbeing is intrinsically linked to marketing strategy and tactics in the marketing idea. Subjective wellbeing encompasses four distinct life domains: consumption, leisure, society, and community (Mohammad Shafiee & Es-Haghi, 2017). In relation to these areas, the idea of subjective wellbeing proposed in this study refers to the tourist, their social life, and their enjoyment associated with leisure activities.
Perceived Sacredness
Costa & Bonetti (2016) defined perceived sacredness as an individual's perception of grandeur elicited by sensory stimuli, such as a structure, location, person, picture, or item. In general, hallowed sites may be seen via three lenses (Levi & Kocher, 2013): behavioural, emotional, and locational. According to the behavioural viewpoint, sacred locations are associated with specific types of behaviour that occur within them. From an emotional standpoint, the sacredness of a place is defined as the emotional experience an individual has as a result of their encounter with the area. According to the place-anchored perspective, a place's sacredness is determined by the aspects of its identity, such as artefacts and historical events linked with it. The concept of perceived sacredness was created for this study from a place-based approach, as spiritual tourism in Indonesia is influenced by cultural and heritage factors that cannot be alienated from the artefacts (Widyastuti et al., 2017).
Rohman (2020b) indicated that this construct is comprised of three parts, namely spiritual attractiveness, historic spiritual values, and spiritual activities, based on exploratory research of Indonesian visitors visiting spiritual tourism places. Three factors contribute to the spiritual attractiveness of an individual. These three components are the spiritual climate, cultural legacy, and spiritual local community. Similar to spiritual appeal, historical spiritual worth is determined by three factors: uniqueness of history, artifacts, and spiritual symbols. Spiritual activity is manifested via activities and community support. Each of these points corresponds toLevi & Kocher's idea (2013).
Loyalty
From a marketing standpoint, there are three dimensions to consumer loyalty (Suhartanto et al., 2013). The first vantage point is based on behavioural loyalty. A loyal consumer is defined in this context as one who exhibits consistent behaviour. The second vantage point is that of attitudinal allegiance. Attitudinal loyalty quantifies consumers' loyalty based on their tourist loyalties, whereas composite loyalty quantifies customers' loyalty based on their overall behaviour. For composite loyalty, both attitudinal and behavioural fidelity contribute to the concept of loyalty. Customer loyalty was quantified in this study using the idea of tourist loyalty. The concept of tourist loyalty is widely used in tourism research (Andriani, 2017;A. S Hussein & Hapsari, 2020; H.-C. Wu & Li, 2014) as it enables a more accurate forecast of future behaviour (Suhartanto et al., 2013).
Few research in the field of marketing have identified the factors of tourist loyalty, including service quality (Bakar et al., 2017;Channoi et al., 2018;M. D Clemes et al., 2010), customer satisfaction (Cheng et al., 2019;J.-W. Park et al., 2004), and brand image (Bauer et al., 2008;Hapsari et al., 2017;Kandampully & Suhartanto, 2000). The factors that influence tourist loyalty have been extensively studied in the context of tourism. According to scholars, the quality of the experience (C.-F. Chen & Chen, 2010;A. S Hussein & Hapsari, 2020;Suhartanto et al., 2020) the destination image (C.-F. Chen & Tsai, 2007;Jiang et al., 2017;Prayag, 2009), and subjective wellbeing (Su et al., 2016;D. Wu et al., 2019) are antecedents of tourist loyalty. The following sections describe some of the factors that influence tourist loyalty in the tourist industry.
HYPOTHESES DEVELOPMENT
The quality of the experience is determined by the interaction between the tourist and service providers. Several previous research have indicated that experience quality has a significant effect on tourist loyalty. According toRyu et al. (2012), the customer experience in a quick casual restaurant has a strong beneficial effect on tourist loyalty. In a similar study,Hussein et al. (2018) discovered that social interactions in the dimension of boutique hotel experience quality had a substantial effect on tourist loyalty.Chen & Chen (2010) also examined the influence of experience quality on tourist loyalty in the setting of historical tourism. Apart from the quality of the experience, the destination image has a substantial beneficial influence on tourist loyalty.Wong et al. (2015) contended that a festival's image has a favourable and substantial influence on consumer loyalty.Qu et al. (2011) have demonstrated the influence of destination image on tourist loyalty in the restaurant industry. These studies demonstrate that a location's favourable image will increase visitor loyalty. According to these studies, we propose the following hypotheses:
H1: Experience quality has a positive and significant effect on tourist loyalty.
H2: Destination image has a positive and significant effect on tourist loyalty.
While some research has examined the influence of experience quality and destination image on tourist loyalty, some researchers have proposed that subjective wellbeing and perceived sacredness may have an effect on tourist loyalty. In the field of tourist marketing, scientists have demonstrated the importance of subjective wellbeing on tourist loyalty (Ma et al., 2018;Su et al., 2016). Similar to subjective wellbeing, perceived sacredness as an individual's internal state has a significant role in influencing an individual's desire to revisit a certain location, particularly one with spiritual significance (Rohman, 2020b). According to Mehrabian & Russell (1974), an individual's reaction serves as their behavioural purpose as a result of emotional arousal. Thus, as a component of an individual's emotional arousal, subjective wellbeing and perceived sacredness have the ability to influence tourist loyalty. Therefore, we propose:
H3: Subjective wellbeing has a positive and significant effect on tourist loyalty.
H4: Perceived sacredness has a positive and significant effect on tourist loyalty.
Earlier research has shown that experience quality had a strong favourable influence on subjective wellbeing.Hussein's (2018) study shows that an individual's shopping experience had a favourable effect on their subjective wellbeing. The better experiences they have, the more satisfied they will be with their subjective wellbeing.Su et al. (2016) claimed, similarly to this study, that the quality of the Chinese tourist experience had a favourable significant influence on subjective wellbeing. As with the concept of experience quality, destination image has been seen as a predictor of subjective wellbeing. According toMohammad Shafiee & Es-Haghi, (2017), shoppers would experience a boost in subjective wellbeing as a result of the mall's favourable image.Chen & Li (2018) also discussed the considerable influence of image on subjective wellbeing in the context of Swiss inbound tourism. According to these studies, we propose the following hypotheses:
H5: Experience quality has a positive and significant effect on subjective wellbeing.
H6: Destination image has a positive and significant effect on subjective wellbeing.
Mehrabian & Russell (1974) suggested that individuals' emotional states are determined by the stimuli they encounter. Referring to this position, this study anticipates that perceived sacredness would be generated as a result of the contact between service providers and clients.Lee and Lee (2019) argued that the perceived holiness of visitors dressed in traditional costumes during a Korean cultural heritage event is determined by the quality of the experience.Cutler & Carmichael (2010) argued that there is an interplay between experience and perception in respect to the sacredness of a location prior to it having an effect on pleasure and loyalty.
Wallim Andreassen & Lindestad (1998) proposed that in the marketing environment, individuals will build a perception based on the built knowledge system, which includes the picture. The apparent holiness of an individual as a matter of perception is inextricably linked to the image as a component of the individual's knowledge system. This hypothesis is in line withMehrabian & Russell's (1974) andHuang & Pierce’s (2019) studies which suggest that humans would turn acquired external inputs into perception. External cues such as the destination image are considered to have an effect on perceived sacredness.
H7: Experience quality has a positive and significant effect on perceived sacredness.
H8: Destination image has a positive and significant effect on perceived sacredness.
According to prior research, subjective wellbeing is a predictor of tourist loyalty (Ma et al., 2018;Su et al., 2016). It is a function of both the quality of the experience (A. S Hussein, 2018;Su et al., 2016) and the destination image (Chen & Li, 2018;Mohammad Shafiee & Es-Haghi, 2017). As with subjective wellbeing, it was predicted that perceived sacredness would play a significant role in influencing tourist loyalty (Rohman, 2020b). Perceived sacredness, as an internal state, cannot be unlinked from the concept of experience quality and destination image, which serve as external stimuli (Mehrabian & Russell, 1974). According toBaron & Kenny's (1986) mediation schema, and other previous study mentioned above (Ma et al., 2018;Su et al., 2016;Hussein, 2018;Su et al., 2016;Chen & Li, 2018;Mohammad Shafiee & Es-Haghi, 2017), subjective wellbeing and perceived sacredness are predicted to mediate the effect of experience quality and destination image on tourist loyalty. Therefore, we propose:
H9: Subjective wellbeing mediates the effect of experience quality on tourist loyalty.
H10: Subjective wellbeing mediates the effect of destination image on tourist loyalty.
H11: Perceived sacredness mediates the effect of experience quality on tourist loyalty.
H12: Perceived sacredness mediates the effect of destination image on tourist loyalty.
Referring to the previous studies, Figure 1 depicts the conceptual model that was tested in this study.
RESEARCH METHODS
Population and Sample
The respondents of this study were the visitors to spiritual tourism destinations in East Java Province, Indonesia. In East java Province, there are some temples, tombs, mosques and some holy places that can be considered as spiritual tourism destination, as people not only visit to do a worshipping activity, but also to have other experiences as a tourist. The data were collected between June 2021 and August 2021. In total, 300 questionnaires were distributed by online and on-site surveys, however only 277 questionnaires were usable, yielding a 92% response rate. The following sample-based demographic profile was derived: 40% were aged between 41 and 50 years old, 64% were male, 60% were government employees, 67% had a university degree and 61% had a salary less than Rp 5 million. Table 1 shows the demographic profile of the respondents.
Measures
The questionnaire used in this study was divided into two sections. The first section measured the demographic profile of the respondents and the second section measured the variables used in this study. The seven-point Likert scale employed in this study ranged from (1) strongly disagree to (7) strongly agree. The measures were adopted from several studies. The construct for experience quality was adapted fromChen & Chen (2010), the destination image was adapted fromQu et al. (2011), subjective wellbeing was adapted fromChen et al. (2016), perceived sacredness was adapted fromRohman (2020b) and tourist loyalty was adapted fromWu & Li (2014).
Prior to distributing the questionnaires, a panel of experts was consulted consisting of two academicians and two tourism experts in order to ensure the logic of the items used. Furthermore, a pre-test was conducted by distributing the questionnaires to 30 respondents. The results showed that all of the constructs used were valid and reliable.
Common Method Variance
To confirm that the data set was free of common method bias, this study used the Harman single factor test (Podsakoff et al., 2011) as well as tests to investigate multicollinearity issues (Hair et al., 2010). Following the Harman single-factor test, the variance score from the principal component analysis must be less than 50%. The variation score for this study was 33.71 percent, which was less than the cut-off figure. According toHair et al. (2010), the VIF score must be less than 10 to be free of the multicollinearity problem. The VIF score for this study ranged from 1.573 to 2.171. On the basis of these two indications, it is possible to conclude that the data set employed was free of common method variance.
Data Analysis
Partial Least Squares (PLS) was used to analyse the data. Prior to testing the proposed hypotheses, both measurements and structural model evaluations were conducted. For the measurement evaluation, this study evaluated the convergent validity, discriminant validity and uni-dimensionality. For the structural model evaluation, this study refers to the indicators of the coefficient of determination (R2), the Tenenhauss Goodness of Fit (GoF) index, predictive relevance (Q2) and SRMR (Hair Jr et al., 2020).
After completing both the measurement and structural model analysis, further analysis involved testing the hypotheses in both a direct and indirect manner. For the direct effects, the alpha was set at a level of 5% (t = 1.960). The indirect effect was tested by employingBaron & Kenny's (1986) mediation test.
DATA ANALYSIS
Measurement Model Evaluation
Prior to verifying the suggested hypothesis, the robustness of the measures must be assessed. The measuring model was evaluated for this study using convergent validity, discriminant validity, and uni-dimensionality analysis. The outcomes of the measurement model evaluation were discussed in the following paragraphs.
Convergent validity study was performed by examining the score of both the Average Variance Extracted (AVE) and the outer loadings.Hair et al. (2014) proposed that the AVE score for each component be greater than 0.5. The outer loading must be more than 0.7. The first analysis for this study revealed that the AVE score ranges between 0.475 to 0.677. To improve the AVE score, two components (PS1 and PS7) were removed from the model. The AVE improved between 0.524 and 0.67 when these two items were removed from the model. Each item's outer loading ranges from 0.520 to 0.841. Although some of the items have an outer loading of less than 0.7, these items do not need to be deleted because the AVE score for all of the constructions is more than 0.5. (Hair et al., 2014). These data indicate that no convergent validity issues were discovered.
To verify that the assessments employed in this study were free of discriminant validity issues, the HTMT score for each construct must be less than 0.9. The HTMT score for the items utilized in this investigation was consistently less than 0.9. There were no issues with discriminant validity. The composite reliability score was used to assess the uni-dimensionality of the constructs utilized; a construct must have a composite reliability score greater than 0.7 to avoid the uni-dimensionality problem. In this investigation, the composite reliability score ranged between 0.840 to 0.882. As a result, all of the constructions employed are one-dimensional. The findings of the measurement model evaluation are shown in Table 2.
Structural Model Evaluation
The structural model evaluation or inner model evaluation is examined through several indicators such as the coefficient of determination (R2), the Goodness of Fit (GoF) Index predictive relevance (Q2) and SRMR. The estimation indicates that the score of R2 for this study varies between 0.355 and 0.452. There is no particular cut-off value for R2.Hair Jr et al. (2020) suggests that the higher the score of R2, the better the structural model. The second indicator is the GoF index (Tenenhaus, Amato & Vinzi, 2004). FollowingCohen's (1992) suggestion, the GoF value of 0.10 is considered to be small. The values of 0.25 and 0.36 are medium and large respectively. The GoF estimation for this study shows that the GoF score is 0.496, which is considered large. Predictive relevance (Q2) was the third indicator used to evaluate the structural model.Chin (2010) suggested that in order to have predictive relevance, the endogenous variables must have a Q2 larger than 0. For this study, the value of predictive relevance for each construct is larger than 0. All constructs have a predictive relevance. To measure the overall fit of the model,Henseler & Schuberth (2020) suggested using the standardised root mean square residual (SRMR).Hu & Bentler (1998) explained that the acceptable score for SRMR is below 0.08. For this study, the SRMR score is about 0.078 which is below than 0.08. Based on all indicators (R2, Q2, GoF and SRMR), it can be concluded that the structural model proposed in this study is robust. For that reason, the hypothesis test can be conducted. Table 3 summarises the results of the structural model analysis.
| Construct | R2 | Q2 |
| Tourist loyalty | 0.452 | 0.348 |
| Destination Image | 0.397 | |
| Perceived Sacredness | 0.355 | 0.329 |
| Subjective Well-being | 0.414 | 0.300 |
| Experience Quality | 0.315 | |
| GoF = = 0.495 | ||
| SRMR = 0.078 | ||
Hypothesis Testing
Hypothesis 1 posits that the quality of the experience has a positive and significant influence on tourist loyalty. The statistical analysis revealed that experience quality has no influence on tourist loyalty (b = 0.131; t = 1.482). As a result, Hypothesis 1 is not supported. While experience quality was not shown to have a significant influence on tourist loyalty, this study reveals that destination image has a direct positive significant effect on tourist loyalty, as Hypothesis 2 suggests (b = 0.285; t = 2.945). This data indicates that Hypothesis 2 is correct. Hypothesis 3 proposes that subjective wellbeing influences tourist loyalty. According to the estimation, subjective wellbeing has no direct significant influence on tourist loyalty (b = 0.092; t = 1.057), indicating that Hypothesis 3 is not supported. This study discovered a substantial beneficial influence of perceived sacredness on tourist loyalty (b = 0.303; t = 4.087). As a result, Hypothesis 4 is validated.
According to Hypotheses 5 and 6, experience quality and destination image are determinants of subjective wellbeing. The statistical test revealed that both experience quality (b= 0.325; t = 3.703) and destination image (b = 0.395; t = 4.538) had positive significant influences on tourist loyalty. Hypotheses 5 and 6 are supported.
Hypothesis 7 claimed that the quality of the experience has a favourable and substantial influence on tourist loyalty. The estimate, on the other hand, suggests that there was no significant influence identified in the association between the constructs (b = 0.125; t = 1.241). The seventh hypothesis is not supported. While experience quality was not a predictor of perceived sacredness, this study found that destination image was a predictor of perceived sacredness (b = 0.514; t = 5.646), as hypothesized in Hypothesis 8.
Hypotheses 9, 10, 11, and 12 anticipated that experience quality would have an indirect influence on tourist loyalty via subjective wellbeing and perceived sacredness. According to Baron & Kenny's (1986) mediation test, perceived sacredness mediates the influence of destination image on tourist loyalty. Only Hypothesis 12 was shown to be true. The results of the hypothesis tests are shown in Table 4.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
This study offered two research objectives. The first purpose is to ascertain the connections between experience quality, destination image, subjective wellbeing, perceived sacredness, and tourist loyalty in the context of Indonesian spiritual tourism destinations. The second goal is to ascertain the role of subjective wellbeing and perceived sacredness in mediating this relationship. The subsequent section covers the study's findings.
In this study, it was hypothesized that experience quality would be a predictor of tourist loyalty. However, the statistical estimation determined that experience quality had no significant influence on tourist loyalty. As an external cue received by humans, experience quality may be mediated by the individual's internal state prior to influencing tourist loyalty, asMehrabian & Russell argue (1974). These arguments are also supported by the empirical research conducted byChang (2021), which found that experiential quality does not directly affect tourist loyalty. While experience quality had no significant beneficial influence on tourist loyalty, this study demonstrated that destination image had a substantial impact on tourist loyalty. This conclusion corroborates earlier research demonstrating the substantial influence of destination image on tourist loyalty (Qu et al., 2011;Wong et al., 2015). This substantial effect indicates that the more favourable the vision of the spiritual destination, the higher tourist loyalty. While subjective wellbeing has been presented as a predictor of tourist loyalty, this study found no evidence of a positive significant influence of subjective wellbeing on tourist loyalty. This small effect is most likely explained by the nature of the spiritual tourism location used in this study. According toRohman (2020b), the primary motivation for visitors to visit spiritual tourism sites is to have a spiritual experience as a result of the destination's sacredness. Subjective wellbeing is not the primary reason for tourists to return to a spiritual location.
According to statistical analysis, perceived sacredness has a significant effect on tourist loyalty. This substantial impact explains why the more sacred a location is regarded to be by a person, the greater the tourist's inclination to return. This study empirically supportsRohman's (2020b) assertion that visitors attend spiritual tourism locations due to the destination's sacredness. Additionally, this conclusion supportsMehrabian & Russell's (1974) assertion that an individual's internal state determines an individual’s reaction. Due to the fact that it encompasses all interactions between consumers and all components of the tourist location, experience quality was discovered to be critical in generating subjective wellbeing. This finding corroborates other research (A.S Hussein, 2018;Su et al., 2016) demonstrating the importance of experience quality in determining an individual's subjective wellbeing. This is analogous to experience quality, as an external stimulus, whereby destination image has a strong influence on subjective wellbeing. This indicates that the more favourable the image of the spiritual tourism location, the more pleased tourists will be throughout their stay. The substantial influence of destination image on subjective wellbeing corroborates earlier research byMohammad Shafiee & Es-Haghi, (2017) andChen & Li (2018), which both highlighted a critical role for image in subjective wellbeing.
According to scholars such asMehrabian & Russell (1974) andWallim Andreassen & Lindestad (1998), the external cues that individuals absorb will result in emotional arousal. However, this study was unable to demonstrate that the quality of the spiritual tourism experience as an external stimulus had a substantial effect on perceived sacredness, as perceived sacredness is an individual’s perspective of the destination. This small effect may arise because experience quality is not solely determined by the destination’s sacredness characteristics. It encompasses all facets of the location, including human interactions, access, and environmental conditions. While experience quality did not have a significant beneficial effect on perceived sacredness, this study asserts that destination image does. This large influence is justified by the idea that the individual’s input will be converted into perception as stated in the Stimulus-Organism-Response Model (Wallim Andreassen & Lindestad, 1998;Mehrabian & Russell, 1974,Yang et al., 2022).
Apart from the direct effect, this study examined the indirect influence of experience quality and destination image on tourist loyalty via subjective wellbeing and perceived sacredness. Only the destination image has an indirect influence on tourist loyalty, which is mediated by perceived sacredness, according to statistical analysis. This observation supports the preceding hypothesis by demonstrating that a stimulus will result in emotional arousal, which will ultimately result in a reaction (Mehrabian & Russell, 1974). Once the research objectives are met, this study will be able to provide both theoretical and practical contributions. The sections that follow cover the theoretical and practical contributions.
The first theoretical contribution examines the link between experience quality, destination image, subjective wellbeing, perceived sacredness, and tourist loyalty in the context of Indonesian spiritual tourism destinations. According to the conceptual model, destination image and felt sacredness are significant determinants of spiritual tourism destination behaviour. Additionally, it is claimed that both the quality of the experience and the image of the location are determinants of subjective wellbeing. While both experience quality and destination image were identified as antecedents of subjective wellbeing, our model shows that only destination image is associated with perceived sacredness. Perceived sacredness makes the second component to the mediating effect. According to the mediation study, perceived sacredness acted as a moderator in the link between destination image and tourist loyalty. Due to the direct influence of destination image on tourist loyalty, this mediation effect is regarded to be partial. Wallim Andreassen & Lindestad (1998) logically corroborate this conclusion by stating that image as a cue from the external environment generates attachment for the location, which results in loyalty. Furthermore, this result also supported byTran et.al., (2019)’s study which noted that the destination image is considered as a main component to boost visitor loyalty.
Apart from a theoretical contribution, this work makes a practical one. The first practical contribution discusses the critical role of image in increasing tourist loyalty. This implies that both the administration of spiritual tourist sites and the local government must be capable of projecting an appropriate and favourable image for the location. According to this survey, in order to maintain the positive image desired by tourists, management and local government must improve information on access and safety. Additionally, the favourable image may be enhanced by highlighting the local community's warmth and offering engaging activities and attractions. The second practical contribution concerns the critical nature of imagined holiness. As this concept has a significant impact on tourist loyalty, the administration of the spiritual destination, spiritual tourism practitioners, and the government must be able to communicate the destination's spiritual aspects.
This study concludes that place sacredness and destination image perceived by the tourists play important roles in enhancing tourist willingness to visit the tourism destination in the future. Place sacredness that perceived by the tourists is not only has a direct effect on tourist loyalty, but also serves as a mediating variable that mediates the effect of destination image on tourist loyalty. Furthermore, this study noted that destination image also plays a direct significant effect on tourists’ subjective wellbeing and tourist loyalty. Thus, spiritual tourism practitioners should pay a closer attention in capturing the favourable image of the place and formulate appropriate marketing communication in order to strengthen the place image, that in turn will also enhance tourists’ loyalty.
LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE STUDY
While this study makes several significant additions to the marketing and tourism literature, it does have certain shortcomings that provide opportunities for further research. The first constraint is connected to the sampling strategy. Because the convenience sample approach was employed in this study, the results cannot be extended to other research contexts with diverse features and cultures. Future research might look at replicating the conceptual paradigm in other settings and cultures. The second restriction concerns the notion of experience quality employed in this study. For the sake of this study, experience quality was conceived of as a one-dimensional entity. According toLemke et al. (2011), experience quality is thought to be a cultural construct. Future research might expand on this construct in a multidimensional fashion, with extra aspects relating to the study's context and culture. The last advice is about determinants of tourist loyalty. Future research could utilize other variables such as destination authenticity, destination distinctiveness, and destination engagement to further our understanding of spiritual tourism and tourist loyalty.