| This study applied the concept of place attachment to tourism setting and investigated the relationship between tourist attachment to a destination and selected travel behavior variables. Four hundred fifty two respondents, with a 48.59% response rate from a random sample of 1,008 residents from the Seneca-Clemson area in South Carolina, were utilized to study travel behavior to one of three destinations in South Carolina: the Myrtle Beach area, the City of Charleston, and Hilton Head Island. Since initial inspection revealed that there were significant differences in the responses related to the pertinent variables across the areas, the relationship between tourist attachment and the selected predictor variables was investigated independently for each destination.; The following six variables were identified as having significant relationships with destination attachment---destination attractiveness, satisfaction, and past experience with a destination, travel to a destination as a family tradition, familiarity with a destination, and the age of the tourists at his first visit. The results of a multiple regression analysis revealed two important predictor variables---destination attractiveness and travel to a destination as a family tradition. These two had the strongest relationship with tourist attachment to a destination for both the Myrtle Beach area and the City of Charleston. However, their order of importance was reversed for the two destinations. While traveling as a family tradition was the most important variable for predicting tourist attachment to the Myrtle Beach area, attractiveness to a destination was the most important variable to the City of Charleston.; Several recommendations were made for destination markers. The Charleston area needs to preserve its southern attractiveness---particularly the cultural/historical attributes---and promote family-oriented experiences, such as festivals/events that would appeal to a family travel market. The Myrtle Beach area needs to maintain its scenery, climate, food, and lodging attributes, continue to provide family entertainment features, and develop attractions that appeal to young tourists. Future studies should examine the role of travel as a family tradition, especially relating to the influence children have in vacation decision-making, study the relationship between destination attachment and revisit intentions, and investigate the continuum of tourist attachment. |
