Imaginary Authenticity

The third section of the survey assessed imaginary authenticity with dimensions of a sense of ideal life and a sense of nostalgia. There are no established scales for this construct since it is newly conceptualized and operationalized by the present study; as a result, relevant

keywords and descriptions were extracted from the literature, supplemented by the input of several tourism experts. The dimension of a sense of nostalgia was measured by concepts such as a perceived distance from a commercialized and modern society, a sense of being the

uncompromised version of oneself, a sense of connection to local history and civilization, a sense of understanding of local history and traditional culture (Zhou et al., 2015), a sense of history, and the opportunity of experiencing a historical tradition (Andriotis, 2011). Meanwhile, a sense of ideal life was measured by literature accounts involving notions such as living a storied life (Handler & Saxton, 1988), gaining a romantic view of life (Bryce et al., 2017), being away from the distractions of everyday lives, experiencing a purer life, gaining an insight to one’s current and past life, appreciating values that need to be passed on to subsequent generations (Andriotis,

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2011), relieving one’s ordinary and instrumental life, and gaining a therapeutic pause in life (Brown, 2013). In total, there were 14 items, with six items measuring a sense of nostalgia and eight items measuring a sense of ideal life (Table 22).

Table 22

Imaginary Authenticity Measurement Items

Factor Items

A sense of nostalgia Visiting Mexico made me feel distant from a commercialized and modern society.

Visiting Mexico reminded me of who I used to be.

Visiting Mexico made me feel connected to local history and civilization.

Visiting Mexico gave me a glimpse of local history and traditional culture.

Visiting Mexico gave me a sense of history

Visiting Mexico provided me an opportunity to experience a historical tradition

A sense of ideal life Visiting Mexico allowed me to imagine living a storied life.

Visiting Mexico gave me a romantic view of life.

Visiting Mexico allowed me to be away from the cares and distractions of everyday lives.

Visiting Mexico allowed me to experience a natural, purer, and simpler life.

Visiting Mexico gave me an insight to my current and past life.

Visiting Mexico allowed me to appreciate values that need to be preserved and transmitted to subsequent generations.

Visiting Mexico relieved my ordinary and instrumental life Visiting Mexico was a therapeutic pause in life for me.

3.5.4 Place Attachment

Place attachment is one of the three consumer-outcome variables measured by the present study. Place attachment is reflected by three dimensions: place identity, place dependence, and affective attachment. These three dimensions have been widely measured in many past studies, but no scale has dominated their measurement (Tsai, 2012). Therefore, survey items were extracted from related studies for each dimension. Place identity was measured with four items

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extracted from Harmon, Zinn, and Gleason (2006), Tsai (2012), and Yuksel, Yuksel, and Bilim (2010) to demonstrate the extent to which Mexico represents the tourists’ identity; place

dependence was measured with four items extracted from the same studies to capture tourists’

dependence on Mexico for their functional needs; and affective attachment was measured with five items extracted from Tsai (2012) and Yuksel et al. (2010) to denote tourists’ affective feelings for Mexico. In total, place attachment was measured with 17 items (Table 23).

Table 23

Place Attachment Measurement Items

Factor Items

Place identity Mexico means a lot to me.

Visiting Mexico says a lot about who I am.

I identify with the image represented by Mexico.

I identify strongly with Mexico.

Place dependence For what I like to do, I wouldn’t substitute any other area for doing what I do at Mexico.

The settings and facilities provided by Mexico are beyond comparison.

For the activities that I enjoy most, the settings and facilities provided by Mexico are the best.

For what I like to do, I could not imagine anything better than the settings and facilities provided by Mexico.

Affective attachment I miss Mexico a lot when I am away from it.

I am emotionally attached to Mexico as a destination.

I am passionate about visiting Mexico.

I am very attached to Mexico.

I feel a strong sense of belonging to Mexico.

3.5.5 Loyalty

Loyalty is measured with items adopted from existing scales (Lee et al., 2011; Yüksel &

Yüksel, 2007; Yuksel et al., 2010). Measurement items reflect the attitudinal (i.e. intention to recommend) and behavioral (i.e. intention to revisit) aspect. Moreover, an additional item was included in the current research based on expert opinions: word-of-mouth on social media. The

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addition of this item is the result of tourists’ increasingly prevalent use of social media as a channel for gathering or sharing information. In total, loyalty was measured nine items in two factors (Table 24).

Table 24

Loyalty Measurement Items

Factor Items

Attitudinal loyalty I will tell good experiences in Mexico to other people.

I will recommend Mexico to other people.

I will say positive things about Mexico.

I will encourage others to visit Mexico.

I will talk about Mexico on my social media.

Behavioral loyalty Given the chance, I intend to continue making my holiday in Mexico.

Given the chance, I will choose Mexico again for my holiday.

I consider Mexico to be my first holiday choice.

I will revisit Mexico in the future.

3.5.6 Transformation

Transformation is a construct newly defined and operationalized by the current study.

Existing research that describe similar concepts have been either conceptual (e.g., Brown, 2013) or qualitative (e.g., Brown, 2009), rendering a lack of established scales ready for use. Survey items were created with relevant descriptions in the literature. Key phrases extracted reflect concepts including a returned tourist’s feeling of rejuvenation, capability of seeing the world through different eyes, and a perceived responsibility for making choices for oneself, taking actions, choosing to be one’s self, reevaluating one’s current life, changing one’s behaviors and values, changing one’s knowledge and attitudes, contributing to one’s wellness, abandoning a negative lifestyle, and searching a new direction in life (Andriotis, 2011; Brown, 2013). In total, transformation was measured with 14 items (Table 25).

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Transformation Measurement Items

Factor Items

Transformation Visiting Mexico made me think that I was responsible for creating a meaningful life.

Visiting Mexico made me think that I was responsible for making choices for myself.

Visiting Mexico made me think that I was responsible for fulfilling my potential.

Visiting Mexico made me think that I was responsible for taking actions.

Visiting Mexico made me want to choose being myself.

Visiting Mexico made me reevaluate the life I have created.

Visiting Mexico led to long-lasting changes in my behaviors and values.

Visiting Mexico led to long-lasting changes in my knowledge and attitudes.

Visiting Mexico made me realize that I needed to change some aspect of my domestic, professional or personal life.

Visiting Mexico led to an enduring change for me to contribute to my wellness.

Visiting Mexico led to abandoning a negative lifestyle.

Visiting Mexico helped me search for a different or new direction in life.

Visiting Mexico made me feel reborn.

Visiting Mexico allowed me to see the world through different eyes.