Last-chance tourism: investigating factors influencing travelers' visiting behavior, employing a mixed method approach

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate factors influencing tourist visiting behaviors towards doom tourism destination in Bangladesh through proposing a hybrid predictive model informed by theory of planned behavior (TPB) and last-chance tourism ethics. Design/methodology/approach Based on literature reviews and focus group discussions (FGDs), initial questionnaire is prepared. Subsequently, the initial questionnaire is used to conduct primary study (study-1), and the subsequent primary study's data are analyzed through exploratory factor analysis. In subsequent efforts, partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) is employed to analyze data driven by study 2, using SmartPLS. Findings This study has revealed that place attachment, heritage value and social media influence have significant positive impacts on Saint Martin's island visit intention. Besides, Saint Martin's island visit intention and moral dilemmas have significant positive influences on Saint Martin's island visit behavior. Further, moral dilemmas moderate (i.e. weaken) the strength of relationship between Saint Martin's island visit intention and Saint Martin's island visit behavior. Practical implications This study has offered several unique practical policy implications for policymakers, government authorities and industry operators, where social media content creation guidelines, green certification, environment focused narrative development, green zone development and eco-tourism packages are emphasized. Originality/value This study is one of the first studies that propose a unique research model, integrating place attachment, heritage value, social media influence, Saint Martin's island visit intention and moral dilemmas for predicting tourist Saint Martin's island visit behavior.