A Structural Analysis of the Link between Tourism Experience Quality, Subjective Well-being, and Behavioral Intention

This study aims to elucidate the structural relationships among tourism experience quality, subjective well-being, and behavioral intentions. Tourism experience quality was conceptualized as a two-dimensional construct comprising experiential economy factors and perceptions of restorative environments. The mediating effect of subjective well-being and the moderating effect of travel involvement were empirically examined. An online survey was conducted with 500 adults who had traveled abroad within the past two years. After establishing the reliability and validity of the measurement model through confirmatory factor analysis, the proposed hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. The mediating effect of subjective well-being was assessed via bootstrapped confidence intervals, and the moderating effect of travel involvement was examined through multi-group structural modeling. The results indicate that tourism experience quality significantly and positively influences behavioral intentions through subjective well-being, and the strength of this indirect effect varies according to the level of travel involvement. These findings provide empirical evidence that tourism experiences extend beyond destination choice to shape travelers’ psychological well-being and sustainable behaviors such as revisitation and word-of-mouth recommendations. From a practical perspective, the study underscores the importance of enhancing travelers’ well-being in experience design and implementing differentiated strategies based on varying levels of customer involvement.