Assessing Attributes of Religious Tourism Experience and Behavioral Intentions
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Date
2025-10-24
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Department of Management Studies, NITS
Abstract
This study investigated the relationships between the experiential attributes and behavioral
outcomes of tourist experiences in the context of religious tourism. While religious tourism
has gained prominence as a growing segment of the tourism industry, driven by the rising
popularity of religious places, there remains a gap in understanding what factors shape
tourists' cognitive and emotional evaluations of experiences in religious places and their
effects on future behavior. This research addresses that gap by developing a comprehensive
conceptual model, which includes the relationships between key religious tourism attributes
(spirituality, authenticity, interactions, service experience, and crowding) and examines how
these factors impact tourist behavioral responses, through the mediating role of place identity
and destination image.
Data were collected from the tourists at the Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati, India—
one of the most prominent Shakti Pithas in South Asia and a major pilgrimage destination.
Using a structured questionnaire, 457 valid responses were gathered and analyzed through a
Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) approach, complemented
by a configurational analysis using fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA).
The integration of both variance-based and configurational approaches offers a richer
understanding of both linear and non-linear pathways influencing behavioral intentions in
religious tourism.
This study initially developed a base model using structural model, incorporating
five key experiential predictors—spirituality, authenticity, interactions, service experience,
and crowding—to examine their direct influence on place identity, destination image, and
behavioral intention. To evaluate the presence of non-linear effects in tourist experience
behavior relationships, the base model was specified without quadratic terms to identify
direct linear relationships. Building upon this, a quadratic model was then estimated to
capture potential curvilinear effects, particularly for crowding, which prior literature
suggests may have non-monotonic influences in dense religious settings.
In the quadratic model, spirituality, authenticity, and interactions were found to have
consistently positive and significant effects on both place identity and destination image.
These attributes also positively influenced behavioral intentions, with the exception of
interactions, which, while enhancing place identity and destination image, did not show a
direct impact on future behavioral responses. This suggests that social engagement during
religious tourism experiences enriches cognitive and emotional evaluations but may not
alone drive revisit intentions. Service experience showed a limited influence, significantly
contributing only to destination image. Its effects on place identity and behavioral intention
were not significant, indicating that while service-related elements may shape how tourists
perceive the destination, they are insufficient to create deeper emotional bonds or behavioral
commitment on their own. A notable insight emerged with the construct of crowding, which
exhibited an inverted U-shaped (curvilinear) relationship with all three outcome variables:
place identity, destination image, and behavioral intentions. This result suggests that
moderate levels of crowding may enhance the experience by reinforcing a sense of collective
participation and ritual intensity, while excessive crowding begins to detract from
satisfaction and emotional connection. The non-linear nature of this effect underscores the
importance of managing visitor flow and density in religious destinations to maintain
optimal experiential conditions.
The mediation analysis revealed that place identity served as a significant mediating
pathway for several experiential attributes. Specifically, the effects of spirituality,
authenticity, and interactions on behavioral intention were significantly mediated through
place identity. This confirms that these experiential factors enhance tourists’ emotional and
symbolic attachment to the place, which in turn influences their intention to revisit or
recommend the destination. Additionally, crowding exhibited an indirect negative effect on
behavioral intention via place identity, reinforcing the inverted U-shaped understanding of
crowding's role—where excessive density diminishes place-related emotional connections.
In contrast, destination image did not mediate the relationship between any of the
experiential attributes and behavioral intention in the quadratic model. This suggests that
under conditions of complex experiential intensity—such as those shaped by varying levels
of crowding—the cognitive evaluations captured by destination image are less influential in
shaping future intentions than the affective and identity-based bonds formed through place
identity. Overall, the findings emphasize that place identity is a more robust and consistent
mediator than destination image in high-density religious tourism contexts, particularly
when nonlinear experiential effects are considered. This underscores the importance of
fostering emotional and symbolic place attachments in tourism strategy and design.
To complement the structural model, fsQCA revealed six distinct configurations
(C1–C6) that lead to high behavioral intentions, demonstrating the principle of
equifinality—where different combinations of conditions produce the same outcome. These
configurations illustrate that religious tourism experiences are conjunctural and
interdependent.
Configurations C1 to C3 reflected immersive and socially engaging experiences
(Type I), with spirituality, interactions, and authenticity acting as core drivers in different
combinations. C4 and C5 represented more selective or introspective pathways (Type II),
where high behavioral intentions emerged even when certain experiential components like
service or place identity were weak or absent. Configuration C6 suggested that a service
aesthetic orientation (Type III), characterized by authenticity, service experience, and place
identity, could also lead to strong intentions without necessarily involving spirituality or
crowding.
Crucially, the fsQCA results demonstrated that certain relationships not found to be
statistically significant in the SEM model nonetheless contributed meaningfully within
specific combinations. For example, crowding—although curvilinear in PLS-SEM—was
either absent or peripheral in certain fsQCA solutions, suggesting that its impact is highly
contingent on the presence of other experiential factors. This underscores the value of
employing a configurational lens to reveal complex, context-dependent causal mechanisms
that are not easily captured through linear models.
The study contributes to theory by advancing a dual-method framework that
integrates PLS-SEM and fsQCA, allowing for both generalizable inferences and context
sensitive insights. It enriches the understanding of how tourist experiences in religious
settings give rise to affective attachment (place identity), cognitive evaluations (destination
image), and future behavioral intentions. The findings also provide managerial implications
for religious tourism planners and destination marketers. For example, fostering authentic
and spiritually resonant experiences, managing crowding to an optimal level, and supporting
visitor interactions can enhance both individual satisfaction and destination loyalty.
In conclusion, this research offers a nuanced understanding of the multidimensional
and multi-pathway nature of tourist behavioral outcomes in religious tourism. By
demonstrating both linear and non-linear effects, mediating mechanisms, and multiple
sufficient configurations, the study underscores the importance of designing religious
tourism experiences that are not only operationally efficient but also emotionally, socially,
and spiritually meaningful.