Title: Towards a better understanding of the relationships between tourism involvement and place attachment: evidence from rural tourism destinations in China

Authors: Jinbo Jiang; Xiaoxu Wu; Ying Lu

Addresses: School of Economics and Commerce, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China ' Siemens Industrial Turbo Machinery (Hu Ludao) Co.Ltd., Room 702, Building 22, Tiantongyuan West Street, Changping District, Beijing, 100102, China ' Hospitality Management and Tourism, School of Human Environmental Sciences, University of Kentucky, 121 Erikson Hall, Lexington, Kentucky, 40506, USA

Abstract: Involvement theory and place attachment theory have been widely applied to the research of tourism products. However, the two theories were analysed separately, which limited our understanding of product development in travel and tourism. By integrating perspectives from both involvement theory and place attachment theory, this paper investigated three rural tourism destinations in Guangzhou, China. Results showed that tourists' involvement in rural tourism had different levels of influences on place attachment. The research advanced tourism product development theories by providing a better understanding of the relationships between tourism involvement and place attachment. Practically, the research provided implications for tourism destinations and marketers in rural tourism product development.

Keywords: involvement theory; place attachment theory; rural tourism; China; tourist involvement; tourist destinations; product development; tourism products; tourism marketing.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTA.2014.059845

International Journal of Tourism Anthropology, 2014 Vol.3 No.3, pp.245 - 260

Received: 14 Nov 2012
Accepted: 01 Jun 2013
Published online: 21 Jun 2014 *

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