Tourist destination perception and well-being: What makes a destination attractive?

This study investigates the impact of place perception on tourist well-being to provide an understanding of how destination attributes influence tourists' response behaviors. Data were collected in a self-administered survey from 631 respondents in three Austrian tourism destinations. Factor analysis and structural equation modeling (Mplus 7.0) were employed to test the hypothesized relationships. Results provide empirical evidence that tourists perceive destination settings holistically and will report higher levels of psychological well-being if a destination provides an adequate combination of sensemaking (i.e. access and amenities) and exploratory attributes (i.e. attractions and activities, entertainment options, and local community). Findings also show that tourists' well-being has a significant, positive impact on their intention to return and their desire to engage in positive word of mouth about the destination. Most importantly, an indirect-only mediation of well-being on the relationship between both sense-making and exploratory attributes and behavioral outcomes was found. An integrated view of the results can provide important considerations for tourism research and fruitful suggestions for destination management organizations.