Transit tourist experiences, satisfaction and behavioural intentions: The case of South Korea

Although extensive research has been conducted on the factors influencing tourist satisfaction, studies on transit tourism remain limited. This study explores whether and how the experience economy model can be applied to explain transit tour experiences. The researcher collected data from 360 online reviews of Incheon transit tours on Tripadvisor.com using the TEXTOM program, and conducted text analytics in two steps: word frequency analysis and key-word-in-context analysis. The results indicate that the four dimensions of the experience economy model can serve as a theoretical framework for interpreting transit tourist experience. Methodologically, this study contributes to the field of transit tourism by utilising text analytics. This study provides destination marketing organisations (DMOs) and practitioners with valuable insights, highlighting that transit tourism can be leveraged as a marketing tool to enhance the destination’s image and foster a connection between tourists and their location, ultimately leading to increased destination loyalty.