Delving into Cultural Immersion: Enhancing Empathy and Attachment in Creative Cultural Tourism in Thailand

This study examined the interplay between cultural immersion, personal expressiveness, and perceived enjoyment, and their collective influence on 780 Thai tourists' cultural empathy and place attachment with creative cultural destinations in Khon Kaen within the past three months, from 2022–2023, via structural equation modeling. The results revealed a significant relationship between cultural immersion and perceived enjoyment mediated by personal expressiveness: a key mechanism that shaped tourists' cultural empathy and place attachment. The results may inform the development of enhanced services, foster tourists' enriched travel experiences, cultivate cultural empathy, and strengthen attachment.