Measuring Tourists' Emotional Experiences: Further Validation of the Destination Emotion Scale

Hosany, Sameer; Prayag, Girish; Deesilatham, Siripan; Causevic, Senija; Odeh, Khaled

Abstract

This study is an extension of Hosany and Gilbert’s original research on the development of a scale measuring the diversity and intensity of tourists’ emotional experiences toward destinations: the Destination Emotion Scale (DES). The DES consists of 15 items, representing three emotional dimensions: joy, love, and positive surprise. Although the DES displays solid psychometric properties, additional evidence is required of the scale’s validity. Using data collected from international tourists visiting two distinct destinations, Petra (Jordan) and Thailand, this study further examines the scale’s construct validity. Adopting state-of-the-art procedures guiding scale validation, results confirm the unidimensionality, reliability, convergent, discriminant, and nomological validity of the DES. In particular, discriminant validity tests show that emotions and place attachment are related but distinct constructs. The DES provides a useful tool for marketers and researchers to measure tourists’ emotional responses toward destinations.

Citation

Hosany, S., Prayag, G., Deesilatham, S., Causevic, S., & Odeh, K. (2015). Measuring Tourists' Emotional Experiences: Further Validation of the Destination Emotion Scale. Journal of Travel Research, 54(4), 482-495. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287514522878

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 17, 2014
• Online Publication Date: Feb 17, 2014
• Publication Date: Jul 1, 2015
• Deposit Date: Oct 16, 2015
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 6, 2019
• Journal: Journal of Travel Research
• Print ISSN: 0047-2875
• Electronic ISSN: 1552-6763
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 54
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 482-495
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287514522878
• Keywords: tourists’ emotional experiences, destination emotion scale, place attachment, behavioral intentions, scale validation, Thailand, Petra