Investigating relationships between festivalscape, awe, memorability, and behavioral intention

Given the importance of festival tourism on local tourism growth and benefits, this study addresses the role of awe in shaping memorable tourism experiences and behavioral intention in the context of festival tourism. Using both structural equation modeling (SEM) and configuration analysis, this study provides comprehensive insights into the symmetric and asymmetric causal recipes for deriving festival participants’ behavioral intentions from two survey samples of festival visitors. The symmetrical analysis results reveal that perceived awe triggered by festival atmospherics positively relates to memorability and leads to positive behavioral intention. The asymmetrical analysis results suggest causal recipes leading to behavioral intentions from configurations of festivalscape, awe, and memorability. The necessary condition of memorability for high revisit intention and high word of mouth is also identified. The findings from symmetric and asymmetric analyses provide useful implications for marketing and managing festivals to both enhance the festival experience and avoid its negation.