Destination experiencescape: conceptualization and scale development amid COVID-19 pandemic

Although experiencescape has been gaining increasing scholarly attention, there is still a lack of a comprehensive and multi-dimensional scale that can be used to assess destination experiencescape. In addition, how the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced the key components of experiencescape remains unknown. Adopting both qualitative and quantitative approaches, this study proposes a destination experiencescape conceptualization and then empirically tests the proposed scale paying special attention to the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic brought to the travel industry. Specifically, based on the content mining of online reviews posted by travellers and the coding analysis of in-depth interviews as well as a thorough review of literature, this study identifies five second-order dimensions that are formed by 23 first-order constructs. The proposed scale is validated through several content validity check approaches and two rounds of survey data. The nomological validity of this instrument is conducted by examining its influence on two outcome variables: perceived value and destination loyalty. A simplified scale consisting of 22 questions is also validated for future research to adopt.