Community-Based Tourism as a Sustainable Direction in Destination Development: An Empirical Examination of Visitor Behaviors

Abstract

Community-based tourism is an emerging form of sustainable tourism. Community-based tourism often brings various financial/non-financial benefits to local communities and maximizes sustainability at the local level. The present study was designed to uncover the role of community-based tourism performance in elucidating travelers’ post-purchase decision-making process for sustainable destination products by considering the moderating effect of sense of belonging. A quantitative approach was adopted for the achievement of the research objective. A field survey conducted at community-based tourism destinations was utilized for data collection. The acceptable level of the measurement quality was demonstrated. The results of the structural equation modeling provided empirical evidence that community-based tourism performance significantly affects the formation of travelers’ post-purchase intentions. In addition, the adequacy of the higher-order structure of community-based tourism performance was identified. The community-based tourism performance and intention relationship was also moderated by sense of belonging. With a lack of empirical research about community-based tourism, the findings of this research significantly add to the existing body of knowledge in sustainable tourism.

1. Introduction

For the past few decades, sustainable development has increasingly become a vital issue at every tourism destination [1,2,3]. Likewise, sustainable tourism as a form of pro-social/pro-environmental traveling behavior has received increasing attention from destination researchers/practitioners as well as visitors [4,5]. Many destinations and tourism companies in the destinations have launched a variety of sustainable initiatives for preserving nature, conserving natural/local resources, protecting cultural authenticity, and achieving socio-economic benefits [2,3,6].

Community-based tourism an essential approach to tourism, efficiently and strongly supporting sustainability at the community/local level [7,8]. The successful development of the community-based tourism makes important contributions to bringing diverse benefits to the local destination (e.g., boosting quality job creations, inducing local economic development, helping eco-friendly tourism development, enabling community empowerment, and preserving the traditional value of the local community) [8,9,10]. In addition, travelers of the community-based tourism destinations are encouraged to engage in practicing pro-social/pro-environmental tourism behaviors in an active manner [5,11].

It is acceptable that community-based tourism is increasingly recognized as a crucial issue in the sustainable tourism context [9,12]. However, little research has assessed the community-based tourism performance of a destination. In addition, although visitors’ behavior is indisputably a core of tourism destination development [1,2,5], to the best of our knowledge, no empirical research has yet investigated how such community-based tourism performance affects visitors’ pro-social behaviors for sustainable destination products. Moreover, the significance of sense of belonging in explicating traveler purchase behaviors as a moderator has been frequently stressed by scholars in destination management [13,14]. Yet, the possible moderating influence of the sense of belonging on travelers’ sustainable intention formation is seldom assessed.

Filling this gap, the present research attempted to explore the clear role of the performance of community-based tourism and its dimensions in explicating visitor post-purchase decision-making process by considering the moderating impact of sense of belonging. In particular, this research aimed to (1) examine the effect of community-based tourism performance on behavioral intentions (i.e., revisit intention and word-of-mouth intention), (2) discover the adequacy of the higher-order structure of community-based tourism performance and its function within the hypothesized conceptual framework, and (3) explore the moderating impact of sense of belonging. The study findings highlighted certain significant contributions for academician and industry. It asserted the essential role of the sense of belonging in moderating the community-based tourism performance and traveler’s behavior intention. This result extends the present conceptualization and identification of it to cover a wider range of tourism forms. It also provided in-depth consideration to the industry developers and DMO’s to improve creating more tourism elements (i.e., tangible, intangible) that increases the linkage between local communities, tourists, and a place. The subsequent parts include the literature review, methodology, and result sections. In addition, a discussion and implications section are presented.

2. Literature Review

2.1. Community-Based Tourism Performance and Its Role

Sustainable tourism is one of the most important topics in the global tourism industry. Sustainability is often regarded as competitiveness in tourism destinations as travelers are increasingly aware of the pro-social/pro-environmental/conservation issues. Community-based tourism is an important type of sustainable tourism. Although the knowledge about community-based tourism has not been thus far sufficiently uncovered, several studies exist that have examined this sustainable form of tourism and its characteristics (e.g., [15,16,17]). According to Mayaka et al. [17] and Jones [18], the core of community-based tourism is the development of the community through tourism where its value extends beyond economy development. Although the relationship between community development and tourism in the community has been debated, it has been suggested that community-based tourism brings diverse positive outcomes (e.g., socio-economic development, local community ownership, human resource development, community strength and unity, community empowerment, ecological contribution/conservation), leading to the sustainable development of the local community [15,16,17,19,20].

Community-based tourism covers a variety of aspects of local culture: entertainment, people, natural environment, superstructure, food, products, accommodations [2,15,17,18,20,21,22]. Previous studies indicated that these factors are also essential attributes of a tourism destination [15,20,21,23]. Undoubtedly, maximizing the performance of these attributes contributes to eliciting travelers’ positive post-purchase behaviors for tourism destinations [2,23]. Bitner et al. [24] indicated that performance refers to customers’ perception/appraisal about the outcomes obtained through experiencing/consuming product attributes. Likewise, community-based tourism performance in the present research indicates travelers’ perceived outcomes obtained from the experiences with community-based tourism attributes at the destination.

Customers often form post-purchase intentions and engage in repurchase or recommendation behaviors based on their appraisal of product/service performance [24,25]. A number of studies in consumer behavior and tourism found the link between product performance and behavioral intentions [13,23,24,25,26]. In the retail sector, Chang et al. [26] found that the excellent performance of product attributes elicits patrons’ positive evaluation of their product experiences and influences their favorable post-purchase decisions/behaviors. In the cruise sector, Chua et al. [13] assessed the effect of cruise tourism performance. Their finding revealed that customers repeat purchase and word-of-mouth intentions increase based on the performance of the cruise tourism product and its attributes. Consistently, in their empirical examination of tourists’ behaviors at a tourism destination, Han et al. [23] found that tourists’ perceived performance of destination attributes significantly increases their intention to revisit and recommend the destination. The findings of these studies supported Bitner et al.’s [24] and Oliver’s [25] assertion regarding the positive link between product performance and behavioral intentions. Based on this evidence, we developed the following hypotheses:

Hypothesis 1.

Community-based tourism performance has a positive and significant influence on revisit intention.

Hypothesis 2.

Community-based tourism performance has a positive and significant influence on word-of-mouth intention.

2.2. Behavioral Intentions

Despite the various existing definitions on behavioral intentions, it is generally agreed that it is one’s readiness/likelihood for a particular behavior [25,27]. In other words, it is an individual intention/perception toward using or consume a particular product or service. The term “behavioral intentions” is one of the most significant concepts in marketing and consumer behavior as customers’ behavioral intentions for a product/service likely result in actual purchase/consumption behaviors [25]. Ajzen [27] and Perugini and Bagozzi [28] asserted that one’s behavioral intentions are the most proximal and salient determinant of his/her actual behaviors. According to them, triggering the predictors of behavioral intentions is therefore the effective means of inducing the related behaviors due to the sturdy intention–behavior linkage. Behavioral intentions in consumer behavior indicate patrons’ likelihood (or subjective probability) that they will engage in a given action [25,28]. Scholars in diverse contexts agree that the repurchase and recommendation intentions are the two major constituents of behavioral intentions [23,25,27,29]. These intentions are also described as revisit and word-of-mouth intentions. Overall, in the present study, behavioral intentions refer to travelers’ willingness or perceived likelihood of engaging in revisit and word-of-mouth behaviors for the community-based tourism destination.

2.3. Sense of Belonging and Its Role

It is described as a critical psychological dimension that consists of a sophisticated interaction between people and a place to build up the person’s/community sentiment [30,31]. A sense of belonging, alternatively termed “involvement” [14], is regarded as an essential concept in the community-based tourism sector [17]. While sense of belonging is an attitudinal/psychological term, its scope also encompasses engagement/attachment [32,33]. One can feel a sense of belonging to a both a person or place [34]. Unarguably, travelers’ sense of belonging to a certain destination contributes to community development [17]. A sense of belonging as a concept with multiple facets is often described as the bonding between a traveler and his/her important place [35]. Giuliani [32] indicated that the major aspect of sense of belonging is emotional connection between two parties (e.g., traveler and place). When a visitor strongly feels a sense of belonging to a certain destination, he/she is likely to feel an emotional bonding with the destination and to be attached to the destination [36,37,38].

Strengthening customers’ sense of belonging is widely believed to influence their post-purchase decision formation and behaviors [14,36,37]. In the tourism sector, Hyun and Han [37] examined the role of sense of belonging. Their empirical finding indicated that travelers’ sense of belonging to a product significantly affects their intention generation process. More recently, in their research about patrons’ decision-making process, Han and Hyun [14] uncovered that the relationships among motivations, satisfaction, and loyalty intentions become stronger when patrons’ feel a strong sense of belonging. In their empirical study, loyalty intentions were evaluated with repeat purchase and word-of-mouth intentions. Consistently, in the cultural tourism sector, Hung et al. [36] also demonstrated that on-site involvement in activities in a cultural tourism destination (on-site belonging to the activities) includes a significant influence on travelers’ intention formation for the destination. These empirical studies discussed above supported the moderating nature of sense of belonging in a traveler’s post-purchase decision-making process. Therefore, the following hypotheses were developed:

Hypothesis 3a.

Sense of belonging significantly moderates the relationship between community-based tourism performance and revisit intention.

Hypothesis 3b.

Sense of belonging significantly moderates the relationship between community-based tourism performance and word-of-mouth intention.

3. Methods

3.1. Measures and Questionnaire Development

To evaluate study variables, existing validated measurement items were adopted form the extant literature [13,14,25,27,39,40,41,42,43]. Multiple items and seven-point Likert type scale were used (“Strongly disagree” = 1—“Strongly agree” = 7). In particular, a total of three items were utilized to measure local culture (e.g., “I had the opportunity to experience various local ways of life.”). (See Appendix A). We used three items for the evaluation of local entertainments (e.g., “I participated in unique activities at the CBT destination that I cannot usually experience in everyday life.”). A total of three items for local people (e.g., “Local people at the CBT destination were friendly/kind.”) was used. We utilized three items for the assessment of local natural environment (e.g., “The natural environment at the CBT destination was appealing.”). We used two items to evaluate local superstructure (e.g., “The architecture at the CBT destination was unique.”). A total of three items for local food and dishes (e.g., “I experienced good quality of local dishes in restaurants at the CBT destination.”) were utilized.

In addition, we used two items for the assessment of local products (e.g., “In the CBT destination, I experienced a variety of products/brands in local shops.”). A total of three items for local accommodations (e.g., “I experienced good quality of local life in the place of accommodation at the CBT destination.”) was used. Moreover, we utilized three items for the evaluation of sense of belonging (e.g., “I felt a strong sense of belonging to the CBT destination and its settings/facilities.”). Furthermore, we used two items for the assessment of revisit intention (e.g., “I will make an effort to experience the CBT destination again in the near future.”) and two items for the evaluation of word-of-mouth intention (e.g., “I encourage my friends and relatives to experience the CBT destination.”). The draft version of the survey questionnaire comprised these measures and questions for socio-demographic information. The questionnaire was pre-tested with tourism academics. After slight modification, it was also reviewed and finalized by academic experts.

3.2. Data Collection Procedure and Samples

In the present research, a nonprobability convenience sampling method was used. The field survey was conducted at famous community-based tourism sites in South Korea such as Bukchon Hanok Village, Ewha Mural Village, Seorae Village, Achasan Mountain Ecological Park, Seoul Forest Park, and Jeonju Hanok Village. Surveyors approached the actual visitors of the aforementioned places and invited them to participate in the survey. Particularly, representative CBT destinations in Korea were introduced first and then tourists were asked to mark on a region of CBT destinations that they had previously visited in the questionnaire. Each region was presented with various representative CBT destinations, which were reviewed by two academics and professionals in the field of hospitality and tourism. During this process, only respondents who had previously visited CBT destinations were selected for the survey participation. After filling out the questionnaire, the participants returned the completed questionnaire onsite. The surveyors checked if there is any missing response. Through this process, a total of 428 usable responses were gathered. These cases were utilized for data analysis.

Among 428 respondents, 64.3% were female travelers, and 35.7% were male travelers. About 52.3% reported that they were four-year college graduates, followed by high school graduates or less (29.7%), two-year college graduates (11.7%), and graduate degree holders (6.3%). Regarding the participants’ age, about 59.1% indicated that their age is less than 30 years old, followed by between 30–39 years old (18.7%), 50–59 years old (12.1%), 40–49 years old (7.7%), and 60 years old or more (2.3%). In terms of the duration of the stay, about 49.8% reported one day trip, followed by two days (25.9%), three days (16.6%), five days or more (4.2%), and four days (3.5%). When the participants’ travel purpose was asked, about 68.0% indicated for relaxation, followed by nature/well-being (18.0%), enjoyment/pleasure (6.5%), socializing (3.3%), study (1.6%), other (1.4%), and business (1.2%).

4. Results

4.1. Data Quality Testing

A measurement model was generated by using a confirmatory factor analysis. Results showed that the model contained a satisfactory level of goodness-of-fit statistics (χ² = 620.694, df = 322, χ²/df = 1.928, p < 0.001, RMSEA = 0.047, CFI = 0.959, IFI = 0.919, TLI = 0.948). All loading values (standardized) were significant (p < 0.01). In addition, internal consistency of the multiple-item measures was evident in that composite reliability values ranged from 0.748 to 0.897 (see

Table 1. Measurement model results (n = 428).

	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)	(7)	(8)	(9)	(10)	(11)
(1)	1.000
(2)	0.584 a (0.341 b)	1.000
(3)	0.470 (0.221)	0.453 (0.205)	1.000
(4)	0.446 (0.199)	0.411 (0.169)	0.405 (0.164)	1.000
(5)	0.445 (0.198)	0.428 (0.183)	0.353 (0.125)	0.428 (0.183)	1.000
(6)	0.413 (0.171)	0.315 (0.099)	0.438 (0.192)	0.411 (0.169)	0.446 (0.199)	1.000
(7)	0.388 (0.151)	0.385 (0.148)	0.440 (0.194)	0.385 (0.148)	0.369 (0.136)	0.629 (0.396)	1.000
(8)	0.434 (0.188)	0.404 (0.163)	0.398 (0.158)	0.396 (0.157)	0.366 (0.134)	0.505 (0.255)	0.541 (0.293)	1.000
(9)	0.394 (0.155)	0.388 (0.151)	0.378 (0.143)	0.493 (0.243)	0.346 (0.120)	0.387 (0.150)	0.402 (0.162)	0.470 (0.221)	1.000
(10)	0.407 (0.166)	0.373 (0.139)	0.394 (0.155)	0.490 (0.240)	0.0351 (0.123)	0.419 (0.176)	0.384 (0.147)	0.360 (0.130)	0.582 (0.339)	1.000
(11)	0.446 (0.199)	0.410 (0.168)	0.459 (0.211)	0.508 (0.258)	0.380 (0.144)	0.418 (0.175)	0.370 (0.137)	0.418 (0.175)	0.562 (0.316)	0.819 (0.671)	1.000
Mean (SD)	4.699 (1.041)	4.465 (1.157)	4.770 (1.072)	4.933 (1.136)	5.016 (1.267)	4.783 (1.174)	4.356 (1.179)	4.523 (1.072)	4.232 (1.226)	5.204 (1.269)	5.297 (1.229)
CR (AVE)	0.748 (0.501)	0.805 (0.582)	0.828 (0.616)	0.809 (0.585)	0.884 (0.793)	0.879 (0.708)	0.803 (0.671)	0.772 (0.532)	0.869 (0.689)	0.887 (0.798)	0.897 (0.814)

Note 1: (1) = local culture, (2) = local entertainments, (3) = local people, (4) = local natural environment, (5) = local superstructure, (6) = local food and dishes, (7) = local products, (8) = local accommodations, (9) = sense of belonging, (10) = revisit intention, (11) = word-of-mouth intention. Note 2: Goodness-of-fit statistics for the measurement model: χ² = 620.694, df = 322, χ²/df = 1.928, p < 0.001, RMSEA = 0.047, CFI = 0.959, IFI = 0.919, TLI = 0.948. ^a Correlations between variables, ^b Squared correlations.

). These values were all above Hair et al.’s [44] recommended threshold of 0.700. Next, convergent validity was estimated. Our result showed that average variance extracted values were all above Hair et al.’s [44] recommended threshold of 0.500. This, convergent validity was evident. As shown in Table 1, the average variance extracted values were greater than the between-construct correlations (squared). This provided evidence of discriminant validity.

4.2. Evaluation of the Higher-Order Framework and Modeling Comparison

Structural equation modeling was conducted. The maximum likelihood estimation approach was utilized. Results showed that the model had a satisfactory level of goodness-of-fit statistics (χ² = 912.632, df = 289, p < 0.001, χ²/df = 3.158, RMSEA = 0.071, CFI = 0.901, IFI = 0.902, TLI = 0.889). The details regarding the structural equation modeling results are shown in Figure 1 and

Table 2. Structural model assessment and hypotheses testing (n = 428)

	Independent Variable		Dependent Variable	Standardized Estimate	t-Value
H1	Community-based tourism performance	→	Revisit intention	0.770	11.037 **
H2	Community-based tourism performance	→	Word-of-mouth intention	0.799	10.899 **
Goodness-of-fit statistics for the structural model: χ2 = 912.632, df = 289, p < 0.001, χ2/df = 3.158, RMSEA = 0.071, CFI = 0.901, IFI = 0.902, TLI = 0.889		Total variance explained (R2): R2 for revisit intention = 0.593 R2 for word-of-mouth intention = 0.640 * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01

. Our result revealed that the higher-order latent factor is significantly and positively related to eight first-order constructs (1 = local culture, 2 = local entertainments, 3 = local people, 4 = local natural environment, 5 = local superstructure, 6 = local food and dishes, 7 = local products, 8 = local accommodations). The coefficients were 0.746 (1 = local culture), 0.662 (2 = local entertainments), 0.683 (3 = local people), 0.742 (4 = local natural environment), 0.624 (5 = local superstructure), 0.687 (6 = local food and dishes), 0.713 (7 = local products), and 0.703 (8 = local accommodations). Moreover, all associations were significant at p < 0.01. While the goodness-of-fit statistics of the first-order model (χ² = 548.556, df = 255, p < 0.001, χ²/df = 2.151, RMSEA = 0.052, CFI = 0.954, IFI = 0.954, TLI = 0.941) were slightly better than the higher-order model, no independent variable among eight factors had a significant direct influence on revisit intention and word-of-mouth intention (p < 0.05). This finding demonstrated the adequacy of the higher-order framework of community-based tourism performance. The higher-order latent variable sufficiently account for the eight first-order factors of local culture (R² = 0.557), local entertainments (R² = 0.438), local people (R² = 0.466), local natural environment (R² = 0.550), local superstructure (R² = 0.390), local food and dishes (R² = 0.472), local products (R² = 0.508), and local accommodations (R² = 0.495).

4.3. Test for the Hypothesized Relationships

The proposed effect of community-based tourism performance on behavioral intentions was evaluated. As reported in Figure 1 and Table 2, our results showed that community-based tourism performance exerted a significant influence on revisit intention (β = 0.770, p < 0.01) and word-of-mouth intention (β = 0.799, p < 0.01). Therefore, Hypotheses 1 and 2 were supported. About 59.3% of the total variance in revisit intention and about 64.0% of the variance in word-of-mouth intention was accounted for by the higher-order framework of community-based tourism performance, respectively. This result implies that boosting the community-based tourism performance is an essential requisite for the attainment of travelers’ strong intentions to revisit the community-based tourism destination and recommend the place to others

4.4. Test for Metric Invariance

The hypothesized moderating influence of sense of belonging was tested using a test for metric invariance. First, the responses were divided into high and low groups of sense of belonging by employing a K-means cluster analytical technique. The K-means findings determined a high group, which included 269 cases whereas the low group included 159 cases. A baseline model encompassing these high and low sense-of-belonging groups was then generated. As reported in

Table 3. Structural invariance model results

Paths	High Group of Sense of Belonging (n = 269)		Low Group of Sense of Belonging (n = 159)		Baseline model (Freely Estimated)	Nested Model (Constrained to Be Equal)
	Coefficients	t-Values	Coefficients	t-Values
CBT perf. → Revisit intention	0.677	8.003 **	0.692	5.990 **	χ2 (594) = 1334.955	χ2 (595) = 1338.746 a
CBT perf. → WOM intention	0.751	6.139 **	0.700	7.787 **	χ2 (594) = 1334.955	χ2 (595) = 1339.223 b
Chi-square difference test: a Δχ2 (1) = 3.791, p > 0.05 (insignificant) (H3a was not supported) b Δχ2 (1) = 4.268, p < 0.05 (significant) (H3b was supported)				Goodness-of-fit statistics for the baseline model: χ2 = 1334.955, df = 594, p < 0.001, χ2/df = 2.247, RMSEA = 0.054, CFI = 0.869, IFI = 0.870, TLI = 0.856 * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01

and Figure 1, the model contained an acceptable level of the goodness-of-fit statistics (χ² = 1334.955, df = 594, p < 0.001, χ²/df = 2.247, RMSEA = 0.054, CFI = 0.869, IFI = 0.870, TLI = 0.856). Next, we made a comparison between the baseline model and nested models using a chi-square test. Within the nested models, a particular path of interest was restricted to be equal between high and low sense-of-belonging groups. As reported in Table 3, our result showed that the linkage between community-based tourism performance and revisit intention was not significantly difference across high and low sense-of-belonging groups (Δχ² [1] = 3.791, p > 0.05). Therefore, Hypothesis 3a was not supported. However, as expected, the linkage between community-based tourism performance and word-of-mouth intention differed significantly between high and low groups (Δχ² [1] = 4.268, p < 0.05). This result supported Hypothesis 3b. That is, sense of belonging significantly moderated the path from community-based tourism performance to word-of-mouth intention.

5. Discussion

This research provides a strong theorization related to travelers’ perceptions of community-based tourism performance in explicating their post-purchase decision formation. The present research was one of the few studies that considers the moderating influence of sense of belonging on such decision-making process in the sustainable tourism sector. Findings of the present study help comprehend the community-based tourism advancement and its role better, which ultimately leads to achieving the intentions to revisit the community-based tourism destination and to spread positive word-of-mouth for the destination. In addition, the study provides a clearer understanding of the critical function of the sense of belonging and its active role in the formation of behavioral intentions as a moderator. Given that boosting visitors’ favorable post-purchase decisions/behaviors is one of the essential requisites for the successful sustainable destination development under the competitive market environment, the study finding is of utmost importance in helping community-based tourism practitioners develop the means of increasing the retention rate and enhancing the diverse forms of recommendation behaviors.

A specific valuable and important point regarding the framework of community-based tourism performance is its higher-order structure. It was apparent that the eight first-order variables (1 = local culture, 2 = local entertainments, 3 = local people, 4 = local natural environment, 5 = local superstructure, 6 = local food and dishes, 7 = local products, 8 = local accommodations) significantly belong to one higher-order concept of community-based tourism performance. The higher-order global factor sufficiently extracted the commonality underlying the first-order variables. From a theoretical point of view, this result enriched the community-based tourism literature by providing a hierarchical approach, which clearly captures the performance of community-based tourism. This result helps destination researchers more concisely theorize such an intricate concept in the community-based tourism context. From a practical point of view, the strength of the relationships between the global latent factor and the eight first-order factors was all high. In addition, the explanatory power of the higher-order factor for each first-order variable was strong. Hence, dealing with and enhancing the performance of local culture, local entertainments, local people, local natural environment, local superstructure, local food, local products, and local accommodations are crucial to fulfill the vital aspects of visitors’ needs and wants when traveling to a community-based tourism destination.

It has been recognized that community-based tourism is ultimately an efficient means of increasing the sustainability of the socio-ecosystem, reviving local traditions, conserving natural resources, reducing poverty, and exhibiting/respecting local culture in the community [15,22]. Beyond these contributions of community-based tourism, the present research successfully linked it to traveler post-purchase decisions. Indeed, our empirical result supported the significant linkage between community-based tourism performance and behavioral intentions. The effective ways of enhancing the number of visitors in a community-based tourism destination is weakly known. Utilizing the quantitative approach, this research successfully demonstrated that community-based tourism performance and its attributes are critical sources for destination practitioners when inventing efficient tactics about how to retain visitors and eliciting their positive word-of-mouth activities about the destination.

It was revealed that travelers’ sense of belonging to a community-based tourism destination moderates the relationship between community-based tourism performance and word-of-mouth intention. In particular, the association was stronger in the high sense of belonging group (β = 0.751, p < 0.01) than in the low group β = 0.700, p < 0.01). This result implies that travelers’ perception of community-based tourism performance more likely results in word-of-mouth intention when their sense-of-belonging level for the destination is high. Our finding provides important theoretical information that the magnitude of the relationship strength between community-based tourism performance and intention relationship is determined on the basis of sense-of-belonging level. In order to obtain a deeper understanding of the role of sense of belonging, tourism academics should recognize its moderating nature. Regarding the practical aspect, our result offered crucial insights. The finding informed practitioners in the community-based tourism destination that they should make various efforts to strengthen the affective bonding between the destination and its visitors. As evidenced in this study, at a similar perception level regarding the performance of the community-based tourism destination, travelers more actively engage in diverse forms of word-of-mouth behaviors especially when they feel strongly connected to the destination.

As intensively studied by Álvarez-García, Durán-Sánchez, and del Río-Rama [45], a tremendous number of studies on community-based tourism has been gradually increased in the past few years. This notable concerns by a few scholars is related to the focal role of community-based tourism to enhance the quality of life for the local community [45]. Nonetheless, it is quite axiomatic that it would be difficult for any business to be sustained without consistent purchase of consumers. Such a concept is also applied to various range of tourism and sustainable development. In this sense, a study that comprehends the revisit and word-of-mouth intentions can be significant. Communities should consider the tourists’ behaviors to sustain the community benefits through the profit of tourists or mutual benefits. In other words, endeavors to understand the tourists who visit their communities need to be vigorous in order to support the core goal the community tourism initiatives.

Finally, one particular interesting result from data collection is that about 70% of respondents declared that their travel purposes were for relaxation. This concentrated outcome may represent the characteristic of Korean tourists who visit CBT places. As known, South Korea’s working environment is extremely stressful. Average working hours and suicide rate in South Korea have been frequently ranked first or second among OECD nations [46,47]. In this regard, Korean tourists may have deep desires to have relaxation time even though they had visited a CBT destination to experience a local social environment away from home. Besides, lots of Korean CBT destinations are located in rural areas which has highly motivated Korean local authorities to develop rural places as CBT destinations on purpose. For instance, TourDure is the government support program of CBT initiative in Korea. Most of the TourDure programs and products are in rural areas in which are good places to relax in nature. Given that general Korean people have lots of stress due to hard working conditions, living mostly in metropolitan areas (about half population), most of the tourists might desire to have a good rest during their vacation for CBT. In this sense, organizations or markers for CBT in Korea may consider relaxation as a marketing strategy and plan in order to meet visitors’ needs

6. Conclusions

Sustainable tourism is a steadily growing phenomenon in the global tourism industry. Community-based tourism is one of the core facets of sustainable tourism development in destinations. Moving beyond the extant conceptualization, the present research was an important attempt to build a framework linking the higher-order structure of community-based tourism comprising eight first-order factors and behavioral intentions by taking into account the moderating impact of a sense of belonging. In closing, taking us one step further toward comprehending the role of these concepts, the proposed theorization was wholly supported. This study had several limitations that provide insightful points for future studies. First, while most correlations are under the problematic level, several inter-correlations are somewhat high. This implies that the results of this study are not entirely away from the multi-collinearity issue. For future research, a more thorough measurement design is highly recommended. Researchers also might investigate such measurements design using different analytical methods such as SEM using partial least square [48]. Second, previous studies in sustainable tourism asserted the importance of some mediators that clearly explained travelers’ sustainable decision-making process and behaviors (e.g., satisfaction, emotions, commitment) [1,40,49]. Yet, the present research did not include such crucial mediators that possibly maximize the effect of independent variables on the outcome variables. Future scholars are advised to extend the proposed conceptual framework by incorporating such mediators. This effort would help to increase the prediction power of the proposed model and provide a valuable explanation for travelers’ behavioral intentions in sustainable tourism development.