The Relationship between Authenticity and the Souvenir Purchase Intent

Although shopping for a souvenir is rarely the main motive for taking a leisure trip, nonetheless, most tourists do take time to shop for souvenirs. Souvenirs play a major role in a tourist's travel experience and memory. Traditionally, many studies about souvenir purchase behavior have mainly focused on the analysis of the different types, functions, store management, and customer's satisfaction of souvenirs. Few have been done to analyze how tourists determine the authenticity of a souvenir as well as the effect of country of origin (COO). Therefore, this study proposes a souvenir purchase conceptual model that manifests the relationship between tourist experience modes, souvenir categories, authenticity, effect of COO, and souvenir purchase intent. This model suggests that both tourist experience modes and souvenir categories determine the level of authenticity, which in turn affects souvenir purchase intent. In addition, the effect of COO serves as a moderator influences the relationship between souvenir authenticity and souvenir purchase intent.