A cross cultural analysis of Polish and Chinese tourist sensory experience and its use for marketing purposes: the case of Chengdu
- This research aims to contribute to the field of sensory marketing for tourist destinations as perceived by tourists from Poland and from China who visited Chengdu, provincial capital of Sichuan, China. It explores and applies the theoretical background related to tourism marketing, sensory experiences, sensory marketing in a cross-cultural context. Furthermore, it especially focuses and gives insights regarding tourist sensory impressions and their impact on destination loyalty. The importance and role of sensory impressions in destination loyalty is emphasized by current research in the fields of tourism, marketing and culture, and supported by an interdisciplinary view of the role of sensory experiences in tourism and of senses in experiential aspects. The cultural management approach highlights the importance of minding the country of origin in marketing processes. A two-step exploratory study was conducted among the Polish and Chinese traveler groups who have visited Chengdu and their sensory experiences were measured. The findings suggest that sensory experiences significantly impact destination loyalty in both traveler groups, especially in gustatory and visual experiences. Moreover, the country of origin is significant in two sensory groups, visual and auditory, and their impact on loyalty is stronger among the Polish group.