Promoting Sustainable Tourism Development in Second-Tier Cities: The Roles of Destination Image, Tourist Experience, and Loyalty in Northern Thailand

Second-tier cities in Northern Thailand possess rich cultural, natural, and historical assets, yet remain underexplored relative to primary tourist destinations, despite their strategic importance for decentralising tourist flows and promoting sustainable tourism development. This study investigates the effects of tourism components on destination image, tourist experience, and destination loyalty in second-tier cities in Northern Thailand. It also evaluates the relative contribution of these tourism components in predicting destination loyalty. The study integrates Pull Theory and the Stimulus–Organism–Response (SOR) framework to explain the relationships among tourism components, destination image, tourist experience, and loyalty. Quantitative research was employed using purposive sampling. Data were collected from 360 Thai travellers who had visited second-tier cities in Northern Thailand. The findings indicate that eleven hypotheses were supported, while four were not. Art city emerged as the strongest predictor of both destination image and tourist experience, highlighting the importance of creative and sustainable tourism. Tourist experience demonstrated the strongest influence on destination loyalty. However, amenities and amiability showed no significant effects on destination image or tourist experience. These findings offer a foundation for destination management organisations to prioritise resource allocation toward high-impact experiential components rather than generic service improvements, particularly in resource-constrained second-tier city contexts. The study also underscores the value of integrating creative and cultural tourism strategies with sustainability goals, balancing visitor attraction with heritage preservation and community well-being. The findings provide practical implications for destination management and tourism policy, particularly in promoting creative and sustainable tourism development in second-tier cities.