Eco-spiritual experience quality and tourist loyalty: a serial mediation model in Indonesian eco-spiritual destinations

This study investigates the behavioural mechanisms underlying tourists’ revisit intention within eco-spiritual tourism, focusing on the mediating roles of eco-spiritual image and destination attachment. A sequential mixed-methods approach was employed, starting with qualitative focus groups to develop a multidimensional eco-spiritual experience quality (ESEQ) scale, followed by a quantitative survey of 427 domestic visitors to the sacred eco-spiritual sites in Gunung Kawi, Indonesia. using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was employed to test the hypothesised relationships and mediation paths. Contrary to conventional expectations, ESEQ had no direct effect on behavioural intention. Instead, eco-spiritual image and destination attachment acted as key psychological mechanisms. The model revealed a significant serial mediation pathway in which ESEQ influenced behavioural intention through eco-spiritual image and destination attachment. Among four ESEQ dimensions: eco-mysticism enlightenment, sacred hospitality, eco-spiritual serenity, and holistic spiritual accessibility. Eco-spiritual image emerged as the strongest predictor of destination attachment and loyalty. The findings challenge traditional assumptions about experience-loyalty and underscore the role of emotional-spiritual resonance in shaping behavioural outcomes. For destination managers, fostering experiences that are symbolic, introspective, and spiritually congruent is crucial to cultivating visitor loyalty.