Extending the Theory of Planned Behavior: Visa Exemptions and the Traveller Decision-making Process

This research extends the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) by incorporating the expectation of tourist visa exemption to explicitly predict mainland Chinese travellers’ intention to visit Korea, and compares the extended model with the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) and the TPB. The extended model was tested using potential Chinese travellers to Korea as samples. The results of structural analyses indicated that the data fitted the extended model well, and the inclusion of the critical new construct (expectation of tourist visa exemption) in a tourism context significantly enhanced the prediction of visit intention. Specifically, the effects of all volitional and non-volitional factors on visit intention were positive and significant, and expectation of tourist visa exemption was found to be the best predictor of visit intention among antecedent variables. This study concluded that the extended model of the TPB advanced our understanding of Chinese tourists’ decision-making process of selecting Korea as a tourist destination.