DOES GAMIFICATION MAKE FESTIVALS MEMORABLE? THE MEDIATING ROLE OF FLOW

Abstract

Gamification refers to the application of game elements to non-game contexts and scenarios. Gamification within tourism contexts is an important part of the future development of the tourism industry, as it can create positive travel experiences and psychological outcomes (such as flow) for tourists. However, there is currently no empirical research exploring the impact of gamification in festival activities on tourists' memorable festival experiences and flow. This study aims to explore the impact mechanism of gamification in festival activities on tourists' intention to re-participate and attempts to answer the following research questions: (1) How does the festival gamification affect tourists' flow, memorable festival experiences, and intention to re-participate? (2) Does flow have a mediating role?. In terms of research methods, structural equation modeling serves as the quantitative research foundation of this study. It is expected that 500 questionnaires will be collected. Second-order analysis, reliability and validity testing, as well as hypothesis testing will be conducted using SmartPLS 4. Theoretically, this study will verify whether gamification in the context of festivals can elicit positive emotional and cognitive responses from tourists, thereby enriching previous related research. In practice, the research findings will provide targeted recommendations for the application of gamification in tourism festivals, thereby enhancing tourists' positive psychological and behavioral responses.