The formation process of tourist attachment to a destination

Although the concept of emotional attachment has been used in various disciplines, the research on the formation process of tourist attachment to a destination (PTAD) aimed at the state traits of the interaction process between destination and habitation is still limited. This research uses mixed methods-grounded theory (MM-GT) to develop the PTAD scale of the dynamic causal chain consisting of a motivational-cognitive- emotional framework. Qualitative research resulted in the framework that was derived from 16 online travel logs about Hainan Island, China. Quantitative research resulted in the development of 23-item with 6 dimensions PTAD scale with high reliability and validity. The six-dimensional solution discovers those important but underexposure dimensions. Destination managers can use the knowledge of PTAD to help tourists enjoy the psychological process, formulate destination management and marketing strategies, and then win the competition war of destination.