Digital pulse, human touch: Digital Health engagement, experience co-creation and experiential flow in Thailand’s wellness tourism
This study examined how Digital Health engagement shapes the leisure experiences of international wellness tourists. Drawing on service-dominant logic, a structural mediation model linked Digital Health engagement to experiential flow directly and through experience co-creation and perceived well-being, including a serial pathway. Data from 215 international tourists at four Thai wellness destinations were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. All hypothesized relationships were supported: Digital Health engagement was the strongest predictor of experience co-creation, and experience co-creation and perceived well-being jointly mediated its relationship with experiential flow, including a significant serial chain. Findings extend service-dominant logic to digitally mediated wellness settings and position experiential flow, a construct central to leisure scholarship, within the wellness service encounter. Conclusions apply to digitally engaged tourists; research incorporating non-users is needed before broader generalization.
Authors
- Pirayut Pattanayanon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3867-9330)
- Sid Terason (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8817-4069)
- Anuchit Kulwanich (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4724-4198)
- Suttinee Sriburi
- Surapong Wangcharoensak
Institutions
- Kasetsart University (TH)
- Mahidol University (TH)
- Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University (TH)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Leisure/Loisir
- Published
- 2026-10-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1080/14927713.2026.2743578
- Primary Topic
- Global Healthcare and Medical Tourism
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00