Volunteer tourists' revisit intentions explained through emotional solidarity and on-site experience

While volunteer tourism has gained significant attention in the tourism literature, direct social interactions that occur between local residents and visitors have not yet been thoroughly examined. Thus, the current study aims to investigate the effect of volunteer tourists' emotional solidarity with community residents on their experiences and revisit intentions. Data was collected from Chinese residents who had participated in volunteer tourism within the two years prior to March 1, 2020. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling was employed to test a proposed model (involving emotional solidarity, visitor experience, and revisit intention constructs) among 323 responses. The results indicated that feeling welcomed was a significant predictor of both on-site learning and enjoyment experiences. Additionally, it was found that sympathetic understanding directly influences enjoyment and escape experiences. Finally, three forms of on-site experiences including learning, enjoyment, and escape, significantly influenced revisit intentions.