Wellness tourism: customer-perceived value on customer engagement

Purpose This study aims to evaluate the process of value co-creation within wellness tourism by constructing a structural equation model of customer interactions with the environment, service employees and other customers relating to customer-perceived value and customer engagement. Design/methodology/approach Questionnaires, including wellness tourists’ customer-environment interaction, customer-service employee interaction, customer-customer interaction, customer-perceived value, customer engagement and demographic background, were developed and distributed at well-known wellness tourism destinations around Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, China. This study collected 528 valid questionnaires from hot spring resorts, national forest parks, mountain parks and spa wellness facilities located in Guangdong Province, China. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the obtained data. Findings The results reveal that all three types of interactions, which include the customer-environment interaction (CEI), the customer-service employee interaction (CSI) and the customer-customer interaction (CCI), have positive effects on customer-perceived value (CPV) and that CPV positively affects customer engagement (CE). Based on these findings, recommendations for the management of wellness tourism service enterprises are given. Originality/value The causes and effects of CPV in wellness tourism, from the perspective of value co-creation, is a rather unexplored area of study. It contributes not only to knowledge about factors that foster CPV but also to the understanding of connections between CPV and CE.