Structural equation modeling of tourist loyalty in Tianshui, China: Perceived service quality, perceived social value, and crowding effects

This study explores how the unique perceptions of Internet-Famous destinations affect tourist loyalty and its underlying mechanisms. Based on 375 valid questionnaires collected in Tianshui, an “Internet-Famous” city, this study constructs a structural equation model to test the main effects, mediating effects, and moderating effects, thereby verifying the hypothesized relationships. The results show that perceived service quality is a direct predictor of tourist loyalty and plays a full mediating role between perceived social value and loyalty. Perceived crowding is negatively correlated with perceived service quality, positively correlated with perceived social value, and exhibits a U-shaped non-linear relationship with loyalty. The perceived playfulness of online information negatively moderates the relationship between perceived service quality and loyalty. These findings provide managerial implications for the sustainable development strategies of Internet-Famous destinations.