Social culture marketing and memorable wine tourism experiences: the mediating function of sustainable initiatives in nature-based low-income destinations

Purpose Experiential and sustainable tourism is growing in popularity, and there is an increasing need to understand how cultural marketing strategies are manifested in memorable tourism experiences, especially in resource-constrained destinations. This paper aims to achieve the aforementioned objective. Design/methodology/approach The current study examines the mediating effect of some sustainable programs in nature-based tourism that inform the effect of Social Culture Marketing (SCM) on memorable wine tourism experiences in Malawi. Data were collected using a quantitative cross-sectional design approach, and analyzed with the help of mediation modelling to determine the relationships among the constructs both directly and indirectly, based on 375 tourists' responses. Findings The outcomes show that SCM has a constructive influence on the memorable experience but this can be substantially reinforced by sustainable marketing initiatives, which can be identified as the main mechanism in obtaining an experiential outcome. Research limitations/implications Overall, the study contributes to tourism theory by assimilating the resource and capability-based perspectives of experience formation. Practical implications The study offers context-specific knowledge on how low-income destinations can maximize the utilization of cultural and sustainability approaches to become more competitive. Social implications The examination offers context-specific knowledge on how low-income destinations can maximize the utilization of cultural and sustainability approaches to become more competitive. Originality/value The study contributes to tourism theory by assimilating the resource- and capability-based perspectives of experience formation, and offers context-specific knowledge on how low-income destinations can maximize the utilization of cultural and sustainability approaches to become more competitive.