Fascinating Stories: Examining Visitor Satisfaction as a Mediator Between Destination Fascination and Revisit Intention in Urban Forest park

Abstract

This study examines the role of Destination Fascination in influencing Revisit Intention, with Tourist Satisfaction serving as a mediating variable, in the context of an Urban Forest Park. The research focuses on young urban visitors, who represent the dominant market segment of the destination. Using a quantitative approach with Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), the study analyzes the relationships among fascination, satisfaction, and revisit intention. The findings reveal that Destination Fascination significantly influences both Tourist Satisfaction and Revisit Intention. Fascination enhances visitors’ emotional engagement with the destination, which subsequently strengthens their overall satisfaction. Tourist Satisfaction, in turn, positively affects Revisit Intention, confirming its role as a critical predictor of visitor loyalty. Furthermore, satisfaction partially mediates the relationship between fascination and revisit intention, indicating that fascination not only directly stimulates future visitation intention but also indirectly influences it through evaluative responses. The results highlight the importance of creating immersive and emotionally captivating experiences in urban nature-based tourism settings. For young visitors, fascination emerges as a key experiential driver that fosters satisfaction and encourages repeat visitation. This study contributes to tourism literature by emphasizing the dual pathway through which fascination shapes behavioral intention and offers practical implications for destination managers aiming to enhance visitor loyalty in urban forest environments.