Research on the Impact of Digital Tourism Experience on Tourist Loyalty in Rural Tourism Destinations

Advancing the digital transformation of rural tourism holds profound and significant practical implications for rural revitalization. In this study, the data obtained from the field research were systematically analyzed through structural equation modeling (SEM) with digital sensory experience, digital emotional experience, and digital-related experience as independent variables and perceived emotional value as a mediator variable, to reveal the path of the digital tourism experience on tourist loyalty. The results of the SEM analysis showed that: the digital sensory experience directly and positively influenced tourist loyalty; the digital emotional experience and digital-related experience both positively influenced perceived emotional value, and perceived emotional value further positively influenced tourist loyalty. In addition, perceived emotional value played a mediating role in the influence of digital emotional experience and digital-related experience on tourist loyalty. Digital tourism experience enhanced the perceived emotional value for tourists, subsequently leading to an elevation in tourist loyalty towards rural tourism destinations. In light of the conclusions inferred from the antecedent quantitative analysis, this research has propounded particular developmental prescriptions for the digital metamorphosis of rural tourism and endowed robust decision-making sustenance for the sustainable evolution of rural tourism.