Why I revisit a historic town in Chengdu? Roles of cognitive image, affective image and memorable tourism experiences

Purpose Building upon the cognition-affect-behavior (CAB) model and script theory, this research aims to enrich the existing literature on historic town tourism consumption by offering empirical evidence of how the cognitive and affective images of historic towns contributes to tourists' memorable tourism experiences (MTE) and revisit intention, while identifying the cognitive image dimensions that are relevant for evaluating historic towns. Design/methodology/approach An on-site survey was conducted with 486 local tourists who visited the historic towns in Chengdu. partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was utilized to assess both the measurement and structural models. Findings (1) Cognitive image emerged as a significant predictor of affective image; (2) Both cognitive image and affective image had a positive influence on MTE, in which cognitive image played a more dominant role in shaping MTE; (3) MTE was found to strongly predict revisit intention among tourists; (4) MTE and affective image mediated the relationship between cognitive image and revisit intention. Research limitations/implications This research highlights the value of incorporating cognitive and affective constructs in predicting MTE, and the proposed integrated framework of the CAB model and script theory exhibits superior predictive power in understanding tourists' revisit intention. Practical implications This research provides empirical insights about how historic towns improve their marketing strategies as short day-trip destinations. Originality/value This research provides a novel insight on the applicability of an integrated model combining the CAB model and script theory in explaining the revisit behavior of local tourists within the context of historic towns.