The roles of cultural worldview and authenticity in tourists' decision-making process in a heritage tourism destination using a model of goal-directed behavior

Although cultural worldview and authenticity have been suggested to be important concepts, little research has been conducted to explore their roles in the decision-making process for visiting heritage destinations. Thus, this study developed a theoretical framework using an extended model of goal-directed behavior (MGB) to determine whether cultural worldview and authenticity play important roles in understanding the decision-making process. An onsite survey was conducted for tourists (n = 323) who visited Hankok (traditional Korean house) village. Results revealed that both cultural worldview and authenticity influence tourists' decision-making process using MGB with authenticity having a greater impact on the process than cultural worldview. Results also revealed that both cultural worldview and authenticity are indirectly related to desire and behavioral intention. Desire was also found to play an important mediating role between antecedents of MGB and behavioral intention. It is believed the results provide important theoretical and managerial implications related to heritage tourists' decision-making process.