Moderating effect of the use of eWOM on subjective norms, behavioural control and religious tourist revisit intention

• Main Authors: Ofunre Iriobe, Elizabeth Abiola-Oke
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Technological University Dublin
• Series: International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage
• Subjects: Religious tourists; revisit intention; tourism; destination; eWOM; online

Religious activities are a common topic of discussion on various platforms and online forums in Nigeria. These online interactions shape opinions and attitudes of tourist to a religious destination. The use of electronic word of mouth has become a factor in influencing behavioural intention. Hence, this study investigated the relationship between the use of eWOM and tourist revisiting intention to a religious destination and the effect of the use of eWOM on the relationship between Subjective Norm, Perceived Behavioural control and Revisit intention of visitors to religious destinations.The hypotheses for the study was tested using a Hierarchical Regression model. The essence was to examine the effect of each variable on revisit intention as they are entered into the regression equation.The findings show that the combination of the use of eWOM, subjective norm, perceived behavioural control and even attitude has a strong influence on revisiting intention. However, the use of eWOM has a weak effect on revisit intention of religious tourists. The study recommends that managers of religious events pay more attention to the experience rather than focusing on using eWOM as a promotional tool, although it may attract new visitors, it will not make them comerevisit intention of religious tourists. The study recommends that managers of religious events pay more attention to the experience rather than focusing on using eWOM as a promotional tool, although it may attract new visitors, it will not make them come back.