INFLUENCE OF CULTURAL IDENTITY ON REVISIT INTENTION: A CASE STUDY OF INLAY REGION IN MYANMAR

Purpose - Cultural tourism is essential for fostering cultural variety and for forming, and maintaining cultural identities. It gives tourists the chance to discover the traditions, values, and practices of a particular area, which enhances entire experience of tourists and helps to comprehend the local context better. Cultural identity plays a crucial part in the field of cultural tourism. As people and groups engage with various cultural influences, cultural identity changes throughout time, reflecting the fluidity of culture itself. It includes the feeling of being a member of a specific culture or group, which can be influenced by nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, and past experience. This study aimed to analyze the influence of cultural identity on tourist satisfaction and to examine the influence of tourist satisfaction on revisit intention of Inlay region in Myanmar. Methodology - Quantitative analysis was employed with 385 samples in this study and which was gathered by convenience sampling. Multiple regression, reliability analysis utilizing Cronbach's alpha, and descriptive statistical analysis were employed in this study. There were four parts to the survey. Demographic questions were posed in Part A. The components of this study are located in Parts B through D. Findings - The findings indicated that all cultural identity dimensions, namely; cognitive, emotional and behavioral, have significant positive effect on tourist satisfaction and the tourist satisfaction also has a significant positive effect on revisit intention of Inlay region. Conclusion - To support the cognitive cultural identity of the heritage tourists, the authorities should need to conduct more public education and media publicity about cultural evidence such as floating gardens, leg rowing habits, stilt houses, handicrafts and traditional clothing, history of civilization and beliefs of Inlay region. Tourism businesses in that destination should create the opportunities for tourists that include participating in traditional ceremonies, cultural festivals and rituals, hand-on cultural workshops to engage emotionally with the Inlay culture. In order to easily conduct tourism activities, visiting and interaction to Inlay region, the authorities and local community leaders should make the investment to improve the infrastructures of Inlay region and encourage and support businesses that promote cultural tourism, such as heritage hotels, cultural tours, and local craft shops. Additionally, they should make investments in cultural heritage site protection and restoration, guaranteeing that these assets will always be essential components of the destination’s identity. Keywords: Cultural identity, tourist satisfaction, revisit intention, cultural heritage JEL Codes: Z13, Z32, L83