The Effect of Reference Groups and Ethnicity on Word-of-Mouth Communication in Health and Wellness Tourism in Ethnic Minority Communities

Abstract

The ethnic minority areas in China are relatively located away from coastal cities and economically developed regions. Therefore, it is often regarded as having relatively underdeveloped economic conditions. In the context of sustainable development, the development of the tourism industry is one of the feasible solutions for enterprises and government departments. And it need to apply new thinking, new methods and new materials and produce high-quality results for them. In particular, when planning and constructing these scenic spots, it should take into account the users (the perspective of tourists) even more. This article aims to sort out the current situation and correlations of tourists' perceived value, tourism satisfaction and word-of-mouth in health and wellness tourism scenic spots, and analyze the influence paths of word-of-mouth under the pressure of different reference groups and ethnic groups. This article obtains data through literature review and questionnaire survey. Among them, a total of 521 valid questionnaires were obtained from the questionnaire survey. Through independent sample t-tests and regression analysis, the influence paths of stress and ethnic on word-of-mouth among different reference groups were clarified. The research found that there were differences in perceived value, tourist satisfaction and words-of-mouth relationship between the respondents of the high and low reference groups. Moreover, the Han sample may predict its words-of-mouth more accurately through perceived value and tourist satisfaction. Finally, it is suggested that business operators can cooperate with universities or research institutions to clarify the characteristics of high-pressure tourists from different reference groups, to analyze their views on different value types of health and wellness tourism, and to formulate more precise marketing strategies.