With the growing interest in leisure activities, the camping tourism industry has been experiencing rapid expansion. This trend is not only evident in Korea but also in China, where interest in leisure and relaxation has led to increasing demand for ...
With the growing interest in leisure activities, the camping tourism industry has been experiencing rapid expansion. This trend is not only evident in Korea but also in China, where interest in leisure and relaxation has led to increasing demand for camping tourism. As a result, the camping tourism industry in China is undergoing rapid growth, accompanied by intensifying competition. Alongside the increase in camping participants, the number of campsites has also risen quantitatively. However, some campsites fail to meet visitors' expectations due to a lack of differentiated themes and unique experiential elements, leading to decreased satisfaction and lower revisit rates.
Therefore, it is essential to maximize the experiential elements offered at campsites and provide the values desired by visitors in order to enhance satisfaction, and further, to encourage revisit intentions and positive word-of-mouth recommendations. In this context, the present study aims to examine the influence of camping’s experience economy elements on tourist satisfaction among Korean and Chinese camping participants, as well as the effect of satisfaction on revisit intention. Furthermore, this study investigates the moderating role of perceived value in the relationship between experience economy elements and satisfaction.
To achieve the research objectives, a total of 1,019 valid responses were collected from Korean and Chinese camping participants through a questionnaire survey conducted between March 1 and March 17, 2025. Data were analyzed using SPSS 26.0 and AMOS 29.0.
The analysis results show that the experience economy elements of camping—entertainment, education, escapism, and aesthetics—have a significant positive effect on satisfaction in both Korea and China. It was confirmed that the higher the perceived level of these experiential elements, the greater the satisfaction. Moreover, tourist satisfaction was found to have a positive impact on revisit intention, demonstrating that higher satisfaction levels increase the likelihood of repeat visits.
Additionally, the moderating effects of perceived value—emotional, functional, and social—on the relationship between experience economy elements and satisfaction were analyzed. The results revealed that perceived value strengthens this relationship in both countries. However, some differences were found between the two national contexts.
Existing research on camping has predominantly concentrated on Korean camping participants, whereas studies focusing on Chinese participants remain relatively scarce. This study contributes by conducting an in-depth analysis of the effects of experiential economy factors on the satisfaction of Chinese camping participants and further extends the scope to examine revisit intention. The findings based on data from both Korean and Chinese camping participants demonstrate that all four experiential economy dimensions exert significant positive effects on participant satisfaction. Consequently, the camping tourism industry should strategically leverage these experiential economy factors to enhance visitor satisfaction and develop diverse experiential programs and services aimed at fostering customer loyalty and encouraging repeat visitation.
This study underscores the importance of considering tourists’ perceived value in the camping tourism sector to effectively improve satisfaction levels. To this end, campsite operators are advised to identify the key factors valued by tourists and provide tailored services that correspond to various types of perceived value—functional, emotional, and social. Such value-based customization can significantly enhance visitor satisfaction and contribute to sustainable competitive advantage in the camping tourism market.