Repeat visitation: A study from the perspective of leisure constraint, tourist experience, destination images, and experiential familiarity

Repeat visitation is a cost-effective and desirable market segment for destination marketing organizations. This paper investigates repeat visitation from the perspective of leisure constraints, tourist experience, destination images, and experiential familiarity (number of visits). The differences are examined across two previous visitor groups, segmented according to the number of visits to a destination (Toucheng/Jiaosi, Taiwan), i.e. domestic holidaymakers who have visited the destination just once ('first-timers') and those who have previously visited it two or more times ('repeaters'). Partial least squares regression analysis shows that escapism and scenery play defining roles in the destination offerings. The former also contributes to future revisit intention for the destination. Moreover, a multi-group analysis reveals how experiential familiarity affects visitors in viewing a destination when facing constraints. However, the number of past visits has little effect on the relationship between tourist experience, destination image, and revisiting intention, or on the relationship between constraints and revisit intention. Unlike previous research that typically cites constraints as an obstacle to leisure pursuit, this study shows that besides their negative potential, under certain circumstances constraints could provide possibilities and enabling potential. The positive effect of constraints is more strongly felt for first-timers than for repeaters.