The power of sensory marketing on tourists' intention to return to spiritual tourism in the Mekong Delta

Abstract

This study examines the impact of sensory marketing on tourists' intention to revisit spiritual tourism destinations in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. It focuses on analyzing the influences of sensory marketing, destination identity, service quality, and tourist satisfaction towards sustainable spiritual tourism development. Qualitative research methodology suggested theoretical research model and adjusted scale as well as quantitative research methodology utilizing a high-order PLS-SEM model. Based on the convenience sampling methodology having 325 observations over the sampling, the research evaluates the multi-dimensional aspects of sensory marketing, including visual, olfactory, auditory, gustatory, and tactile factors. The study provides insights into the role of sensory marketing as the strongest impact among other impacts of destination identity, service quality, as well as satisfaction all enriching tourists' experiences at spiritual sites and its effect on their revisit intentions. These findings offer a scientific foundation to different interested objectives such as scholars, tourism companies, official managers of those spiritual destination points together with local authorities recommended innovative marketing strategies majorly based on sensory marketing for the tourism industry, particularly spiritual tourism, in the Mekong Delta in order to enriching the experience of tourists and the level of impacts of this factor towards the revisit intention of tourists. Those are also evidence of the recommendation to renew effective marketing strategies for spiritual tourism industry over the area of Mekong Delta, Vietnam.