{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]],"date-time":"2026-08-26T06:31:21Z","timestamp":1787725881048,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]],"date-time":"2026-08-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787702400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>Why are certain tourism experiences more strongly associated with tourists\u2019 self-expansion, place attachment, and destination advocacy than others? Drawing on self-expansion theory, this study examines the psychological processes through which experiential consumption in ancient town tourism is associated with electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) intention. Integrating the experience economy framework, self-expansion theory, place attachment theory, and the stimulus\u2013organism\u2013response framework, we propose that tourism experiences are associated with eWOM intention indirectly through self-expansion and place attachment. Survey data were collected from 410 tourists who had recently visited representative ancient towns in the Jiangnan region of China and analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results indicate that educational, entertainment, and escapist experiences are positively associated with self-expansion, whereas aesthetic experience is not significantly associated with self-expansion. In addition, self-expansion is positively associated with both place dependence and place identity, and both dimensions of place attachment are positively associated with eWOM intention. Bootstrapping analyses further support significant indirect associations between several tourism experience dimensions and eWOM intention through self-expansion and place attachment. These findings extend previous tourism research by providing additional evidence that self-expansion is associated with tourists\u2019 place-related attachment and online advocacy. More broadly, the findings contribute to personality and social psychology by suggesting that tourism experiences are associated with self-concept enrichment and place-related identity, which may be reflected in online advocacy as a form of identity expression.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1892209","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]],"date-time":"2026-08-26T06:03:26Z","timestamp":1787724206000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["How tourism experiences relate to eWOM intention: the roles of self-expansion and place attachment in ancient town tourism"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Weifang","family":"Zhan","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Hotel & Convention Management, Honam University","place":["Gwangju, Republic of Korea"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chengpeng","family":"Lin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Business Administration, Kangnam University","place":["Yongin, Republic of Korea"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","volume-title":"The Self-Expansion Model of Motivation and Cognition in Close RelationshipsThe Oxford Handbook of Close Relationships","author":"Aron","year":"2013"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"107047","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chb.2021.107047","article-title":"Psychological benefits of using social virtual reality platforms during the covid-19 pandemic: the role of social and spatial presence","volume":"127","author":"Barreda-\u00c1ngeles","year":"2022","journal-title":"Comput. Hum. Behav."},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"302","DOI":"10.1108\/MIP-04-2014-0071","article-title":"Place-based brand experience, place attachment and loyalty","volume":"34","author":"Cardinale","year":"2016","journal-title":"Mark. Intell. Plan."},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/13567667241309122","article-title":"Visitors\u2019 self-expansion and perceived brand authenticity in a cultural heritage tourism destination","author":"Chen","year":"2025","journal-title":"J. Vacat. Mark."},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"12595","DOI":"10.3390\/su151612595","article-title":"Deep analysis of the homogenization phenomenon of the ancient water towns in Jiangnan: a dual perspective on landscape patterns and tourism destination images","volume":"15","author":"Chen","year":"2023","journal-title":"Sustainability"},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"39","DOI":"10.1177\/002224378101800104","article-title":"Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error","volume":"18","author":"Fornell","year":"1981","journal-title":"J. Mark. Res."},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"17","DOI":"10.1080\/02614360500098100","article-title":"Place bonding for recreation places: conceptual and empirical development","volume":"25","author":"Hammitt","year":"2006","journal-title":"Leis. Stud."},{"key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"38","DOI":"10.1002\/dir.10073","article-title":"Electronic word-of-mouth via consumer-opinion platforms: what motivates consumers to articulate themselves on the internet?","volume":"18","author":"Hennig-Thurau","year":"2004","journal-title":"J. Interact. Mark."},{"key":"ref10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"310","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jenvp.2007.06.003","article-title":"Place attachment and place identity in natives and non-natives","volume":"27","author":"Hern\u00e1ndez","year":"2007","journal-title":"J. Environ. Psychol."},{"key":"ref11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"10231","DOI":"10.3390\/su162310231","article-title":"What influences users\u2019 continuous behavioral intention in cultural heritage virtual tourism: integrating experience economy theory and stimulus\u2013organism\u2013response (SOR) model","volume":"16","author":"Jiang","year":"2024","journal-title":"Sustainability"},{"key":"ref13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"100455","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jdmm.2020.100455","article-title":"Place attachment through sensory-rich, emotion-generating place experiences in rural tourism","volume":"17","author":"Kastenholz","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Destin. Mark. Manag."},{"key":"ref14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"439","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jenvp.2004.11.001","article-title":"Linking place preferences with place meaning: an examination of the relationship between place motivation and place attachment","volume":"24","author":"Kyle","year":"2004","journal-title":"J. Environ. Psychol."},{"key":"ref15","volume-title":"From Fandom to Tourism: an Examination of Self-~ Expansion Theory","author":"Lee","year":"2012"},{"key":"ref17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"474","DOI":"10.1080\/1528008X.2019.1691702","article-title":"Exploring theme park visitors\u2019 experience on satisfaction and revisit intention: a utilization of experience economy model","volume":"21","author":"Lee","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Qual. Assur. Hosp. Tour."},{"key":"ref18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e2630","DOI":"10.1002\/jtr.2630","article-title":"The influence of tourists' emotional experiences on destination loyalty from the perspective of community economy","volume":"26","author":"Li","year":"2024","journal-title":"Int. J. Tour. Res."},{"key":"ref19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijhm.2014.02.010","article-title":"The role of the rural tourism experience economy in place attachment and behavioral intentions","volume":"40","author":"Loureiro","year":"2014","journal-title":"Int. J. Hosp. Manag."},{"key":"ref20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"159","DOI":"10.1080\/19388160.2019.1596856","article-title":"Co-creation tourism in an ancient Chinese town","volume":"16","author":"McCartney","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. China Tour. Res."},{"key":"ref22","volume-title":"Psychometric Theory (McGraw-Hill Series in Psychology) (Vol. 3)","author":"Nunnally","year":"1994"},{"key":"ref23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"119","DOI":"10.1177\/0047287507304039","article-title":"Measuring experience economy concepts: tourism applications","volume":"46","author":"Oh","year":"2007","journal-title":"J. Travel Res."},{"key":"ref24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"769","DOI":"10.1108\/IJTC-08-2019-0125","article-title":"Modeling the relationship between service quality, destination attachment and eWOM intention in heritage tourism","volume":"6","author":"Pandey","year":"2020","journal-title":"Int. J. Tour. Cities"},{"key":"ref25","first-page":"97","volume-title":"Welcome to the Experience Economy","author":"Pine","year":"1998"},{"key":"ref26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"879","DOI":"10.1037\/0021-9010.88.5.879","article-title":"Common method biases in behavioral research: a critical review of the literature and recommended remedies","volume":"88","author":"Podsakoff","year":"2003","journal-title":"J. Appl. Psychol."},{"key":"ref27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"100621","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jdmm.2021.100621","article-title":"Understanding memorable tourism experiences and behavioural intentions of heritage tourists","volume":"21","author":"Rasoolimanesh","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Destin. Mark. Manag."},{"key":"ref28","first-page":"87","volume-title":"Handbook of brand Relationships","author":"Reimann","year":"2014"},{"key":"ref29","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"595","DOI":"10.1108\/JHTI-09-2021-0253","article-title":"The effect of tourists' gastronomic experience on emotional and cognitive evaluation: an application of SOR paradigm","volume":"6","author":"\u015eahin","year":"2023","journal-title":"J. Hosp. Tour. Insights"},{"key":"ref30","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2","DOI":"10.3390\/bs15010002","article-title":"The intrinsic experience of tourism autobiographical memory on environmentally responsible behavior: a self-expansion perspective","volume":"15","author":"Shen","year":"2024","journal-title":"Behav. Sci."},{"key":"ref31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1319","DOI":"10.18280\/ijsdp.190410","article-title":"The role of tourist experience in shaping memorable tourism experiences and behavioral intentions","volume":"19","author":"Sihombing","year":"2024","journal-title":"Int. J. Sustain. Dev. Plann."},{"key":"ref32","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"109","DOI":"10.1080\/00222216.2022.2096421","article-title":"How does place attachment affect word-of-mouth?: evidence from a street with emerging cafes","volume":"54","author":"Sop","year":"2023","journal-title":"J. Leis. Res."},{"key":"ref33","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1310","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tourman.2010.12.011","article-title":"The impact of online reviews on hotel booking intentions and perception of trust","volume":"32","author":"Sparks","year":"2011","journal-title":"Tour. Manag."},{"key":"ref34","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"709","DOI":"10.1080\/14766825.2021.1880418","article-title":"Ancient town tourism and the community supported entrance fee avoidance\u2013Xitang ancient town of China","volume":"19","author":"Su","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Tour. Cult. Chang."},{"key":"ref35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.4337\/9781781004227","volume-title":"Handbook on the Experience Economy","author":"Sundbo","year":"2013"},{"key":"ref36","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"466","DOI":"10.1108\/IJTC-10-2016-0038","article-title":"Toward a better understanding of experience during trips: impact on satisfaction, destination attachment and word-of-mouth","volume":"3","author":"Turki","year":"2017","journal-title":"Int. J. Tour. Cities"},{"key":"ref37","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"830","DOI":"10.1093\/forestscience\/49.6.830","article-title":"The measurement of place attachment: validity and generalizability of a psychometric approach","volume":"49","author":"Williams","year":"2003","journal-title":"For. Sci."},{"key":"ref38","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"179","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tourman.2009.02.016","article-title":"Role of social media in online travel information search","volume":"31","author":"Xiang","year":"2010","journal-title":"Tour. Manag."},{"key":"ref39","first-page":"163","author":"Yu","year":"2020"},{"key":"ref41","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2869","DOI":"10.1108\/APJML-09-2023-0822","article-title":"Why I revisit a historic town in Chengdu? Roles of cognitive image, affective image and memorable tourism experiences","volume":"36","author":"Zhou","year":"2024","journal-title":"Asia Pac. J. Mark. Logist."}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Psychology"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1892209\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]],"date-time":"2026-08-26T06:03:29Z","timestamp":1787724209000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1892209\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]]},"references-count":36,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1892209"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1892209","relation":{},"ISSN":["1664-1078"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1664-1078","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]]},"article-number":"1892209"}}