The destination attachment cycle. The case of academic tourism

ABSTRACT Tourist satisfaction is a crucial issue for managers of tourism destinations. Scholars have analysed the motivations for academic tourism, but there is a lack of research on the emotional bonds with the destination. This study confirms the existence of a cycle with different stages of attachment and detachment with regard to destination, based on four phases: enchantment, coexistence, fatigue and nostalgia. These phases are analysed in relation to the cultural values of tourists and the time spent at the destination. A mixed-methods approach is used based on primary data collected by means of a focus group and a survey of 200 foreign students in Barcelona to validate the aforesaid phases. The results confirm this destination attachment cycle and show that when academic tourists come from a culturally similar society to the destination, this positively influences the stages of enchantment, coexistence and nostalgia, but not fatigue.