The quality experiences provided to customers, which are indeed memorable, directly determine a business’s ability to generate revenue (Pine and Gilmore 1999). However, the extant tourism literature has provided limited explanation of the factors that characterize memorable tourism experiences. Thus, the goal of the present study was to develop a valid and reliable measurement scale that will assist in understanding the concept and in improving the effective management of the memorable experience. Following Churchill’s (1979) recommended process, we developed a 24-item memorable tourism experience scale that we believe is applicable to most destination areas. The scale comprises seven domains: hedonism, refreshment, local culture, meaningfulness, knowledge, involvement, and novelty. The data support this dimensional structure of the memorable tourism experience as well as its internal consistency and validity (i.e., content, construct, convergent, and discriminant validity). Theoretical and managerial implications of the study results are discussed in detail.

The current study develops a theoretical model of the effect of memorable tourism experiences (MTEs) on behavioral intentions by examining the structural relationships between destination image (DI), tourist satisfaction, revisit intention, and word-of-mouth (WOM) publicity. The results show that MTEs influence future behavioral intentions both directly and indirectly through DI and tourist satisfaction. Moreover, MTEs are found to be the most influential determinant of behavioral intentions. Thus, the results challenge those practitioners and researchers who perceive visitor satisfaction to be the most important indicator of destination performance. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed based on the study results, and directions for future research are provided.

The present study seeks to establish the cross-cultural validity of the memorable tourism experience scale (MTES), a recently developed measurement scale designed to assess individuals’ memorable tourism experiences (MTEs). Since the psychometric properties of the MTES have only been examined within a sample of American college students, the aim of this study was to replicate the previous psychometric findings using a sample of Taiwanese respondents. The data confirmed the validity of the previously established seven dimensions of MTES in the Taiwanese sample. Thus, the findings of the study suggest that MTES can generally be utilized to assess individuals’ MTEs in cross-cultural settings.

This study investigates the effects of travel experiences on the autobiographical memory. A structural equation modeling analysis reveals that the experiential factors of involvement, hedonic activity, and local culture positively affected the autobiographical memory of recollection and vividness of past experiences. Specifically, the experiential factors of involvement and refreshing experiences are found to increase an individual's ability to recollect past travel experiences and retrieve the experiences vividly. Alternatively, the experience of local culture enhances the recollection of past travel experiences, albeit not as vividly. The findings of the present study suggest that marketing efforts used at the anticipation stage of travel experiences are necessary to provide memorable travel experiences. The theoretical and managerial implications of the results obtained are discussed in detail.