Purpose This study aims to expand the theory of planned behavior (TPB) by incorporating place attachment as a mediating variable and word-of-mouth (WOM) as a moderating variable and utilizing a mediation–moderation analytical framework to explore tourists’ behavioral intention in marine leisure contexts. Design/methodology/approach This study used anonymous questionnaires and face-to-face data collection as the main survey methods and investigated water sports and marine leisure activities to explore visitors’ views when they participated in marine recreational activities. First, we used JASP to analyze the confirmatory factor analyses with all measures to determine whether the hypothesized construct model fit the data well. Second, structural equation modeling was utilized to explore the interactions of the latent variables in relation to the mediating effects. Findings This research identifies and confirms the important mediating role of place attachment and destination image in the TPB model. Additionally, considering the prevalence of internet technology, this study introduces word-of-mouth (WOM) as a moderating effect, confirming its important reinforcing function in place attachment, destination image and behavioral intention. Practical implications Practically, tourism managers should design experiential interventions – such as storytelling tours, marine heritage events or ecologically themed festivals – that cultivate emotional connection (place attachment) while reinforcing positive destination imagery. This alignment of emotional branding with tourists’ behavioral triggers informed by the TPB offers a strategic roadmap for increasing loyalty, revisit intention and social sharing behaviors, especially through WOM amplification. Originality/value The findings confirm and extend the TPB framework by demonstrating that emotional constructs, specifically place attachment, mediate the influence of TPB variables (attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control) on behavioral intention. The findings suggest that rational decision-making models can be enhanced by incorporating affective bonds to better predict behavior, aligning with recent theoretical advancements that emphasize integrated emotion–cognition models.
Liu et al. (Thu,) studied this question.