Tourist Perceived Value, Tourist Satisfaction, and Life Satisfaction: Evidence From Chinese Buddhist Temple Tours

Abstract

Prior research has mainly focused on the effect of tourist perceived value on customer satisfaction and behavior intention; the relationship between tourist perceived value and life satisfaction in religious tourism has been overlooked. This study aims to examine the link between tourist perceived value and life satisfaction and whether tourist satisfaction can play a mediating role in the process, specifically in the context of Chinese religious tourism. Data on Buddhist temple tours in China were collected through surveys, semi-structured interviews were conducted to gain the construct of the Buddhist tourist perceived value and regression analyses were used to test the study’s hypotheses. We developed and tested a scale of measurement of Buddhist tourist perceived value through 21 items grouped into seven dimensions: quality, price, emotional value, social value, educational value, physical attributes, and nonphysical attributes. Results from 537 tourists revealed that tourist perceived value is positively related to life satisfaction, and tourist satisfaction plays a mediating role in the relationship between perceived value and life satisfaction. Findings of this study provide a Buddhism-specific perspective for tourist perceived value.