‘Roots’ tourists' personal heritage experience: An extended cognitive-affective-conative model

The analytical framework of the cognitive-affective-conative (CAC) model was utilized in this study to explore the cognitive and emotional responses of tourists to the historical places they visit. This approach considers how tourists perceive their ancestral place, how much they care about it, and how likely they are to return or recommend it to others. The relationships among perceived existential authenticity, place attachment, and loyalty were empirically tested. Specifically, this study focused on how the sacredness that such tourists feel affects their behavior according to the CAC model. Roots tourists who visited the memorial garden in Shanxi Province, called Dahuaishu, answered a set of structured questions. The results revealed that the existential authenticity perceived by roots tourists significantly influenced their place attachment and loyalty. Roots tourists' sense of sacredness moderated the perceived existential authenticity of their place attachment relationship such that there was a stronger relationship for roots tourists with a higher sense of sacredness. Roots tourists’ sense of sacredness moderated place attachment in their loyalty relationship, such that there was a stronger relationship for roots tourists with a higher sense of sacredness. This study provides planning suggestions for the Dahuaishu Ancestor Memorial Garden. It is important for the marketing and development of roots tourist destinations to promote tourism by paying attention to the individual feelings of tourists, understanding the process of attachment formation of roots tourists, and enhancing their loyalty.