Effects of religious celebrity on destination experience: The case of Pope Francis's visit to Solmoe Shrine. (31st July 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kim, Bona; Chen, Yong
• Is Part Of: International journal of tourism research. Volume 22:Number 1(2020)
• Page Start: 1
• Page End: 14
• Publication Date: 2019-07-31
• Subjects: destination image -- eudaimonia -- place attachment -- Pope Francis -- religious celebrity -- spirituality; Tourism -- Periodicals; 338.4791
• DOI: 10.1002/jtr.2314
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1099-2340

Abstract

Abstract: A wealth of academic research has been devoted to examining the effects of secular celebrities rather than religious celebrities on individuals' destination experiences at the pilgrimage destination. We aim to investigate the effects of a religious celebrity on how visitors perceive a destination as well as their pilgrimage experience. Our study has shown that the indirect effects of religious celebrity on destination‐related constructs in the context of a pilgrimage site are robust. These results suggest that spirituality is a crucial mediator in shaping travel experience, through which visitors can close the gap between pilgrimage on the spiritual side and their consumption experience on the pilgrimage destination side.