Celebrity Involvement and Film Tourist Loyalty–Model Questionnaire

1. Abstract

The Celebrity Involvement and Film Tourist Loyalty–Model Questionnaire (CIFTL-M), developed and validated by Zhou et al. (2023), is an empirical psychometric instrument designed to evaluate the structural relationships connecting celebrity involvement, destination image, place attachment, and tourist loyalty within film-induced tourism. Rooted theoretically in environmental psychology, consumer culture theory, and the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) framework formulated by Mehrabian and Russell (1974), the scale conceptualizes media celebrity attraction as an external psychological catalyst that prompts multidimensional cognitive and affective appraisals of film tourism destinations. Across its validated structure, the instrument operationalizes seven distinct empirical dimensions spanning four overarching latent constructs: Celebrity Involvement (comprising Attraction and Centrality), Destination Image (partitioned into Cognitive Destination Image and Affective Destination Image), Place Attachment (subdivided into Place Dependence and Place Identity), and Tourist Loyalty (encompassing attitudinal recommendation intentions and behavioral revisit commitments).

Comprising 27 core standardized measurement items rated on an authentic five-point Likert-type and semantic differential continuum, the scale was evaluated among tourists visiting film production enclaves such as Hengdian World Studios in China. Psychometric evaluations demonstrate robust structural integrity and internal consistency. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) affirmed strong construct validity, yielding satisfactory model fit indices (χ²/df = 1.448, CFI = 0.968, TLI = 0.965, IFI = 0.968, SRMR = 0.033, and RMSEA/RMR = 0.036). Standardized factor loadings across all manifest indicators ranged from 0.626 to 0.778, establishing convergent validity alongside composite reliability (CR) coefficients exceeding the recognized 0.70 threshold across all latent factors. Discriminant validity was substantiated through the Fornell-Larcker criterion and chi-square difference testing, while common method variance was ruled out through Harman’s single-factor test (< 50% variance accounted). Consequently, the questionnaire represents a reliable, methodologically rigorous diagnostic tool for tourism researchers, media psychologists, and destination marketing organizations seeking to quantify fan-driven destination immersion and long-term brand equity.

2. Keywords

Celebrity Involvement, Film-Induced Tourism, Destination Image, Place Attachment, Tourist Loyalty, Stimulus-Organism-Response Theory, Fandom Psychology, Cognitive Image, Affective Image, Structural Equation Modeling

3. Authors

The Celebrity Involvement and Film Tourist Loyalty–Model Questionnaire was formulated, refined, and validated by an international research team specializing in tourism management, leisure behavior, and consumer geography:

• Bin Zhou — Donghai Academy of Ningbo University Marine Economic Research Center, Ningbo, China. Email: [email protected]
• Qihao Xiong — Department of Tourism, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China. Email: [email protected]
• Ping Li — Hainan University – Arizona State University Joint International Tourism College, Hainan University, Haikou, China. Email: [email protected]
• Siyi Liu — Department of Tourism, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China. Email: [email protected]
• Ling-en Wang — Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, China. Email: [email protected] (Corresponding Author)
• Chris Ryan — China-New Zealand Tourism Research Unit, University of Waikato Management School, Hamilton, New Zealand. Email: [email protected]

4. Purpose

The primary purpose of the Celebrity Involvement and Film Tourist Loyalty–Model Questionnaire is to quantify how parasocial interactions, affective devotion, and lifestyle immersion directed toward a popular media figure translate into spatial behaviors, location-based identification, and sustained loyalty toward film production sites or screen locations. In contemporary consumer culture, film-induced tourism represents a growing economic sector where physical geography is transformed into symbolic landscape. Prior to the emergence of this integrated framework, tourism literature frequently decoupled celebrity fandom from spatial psychometrics, treating media exposure simply as a promotional vehicle rather than examining celebrity involvement as a chronic, self-defining leisure pursuit.

The theoretical rationale behind the scale lies in unraveling the internal organismic mechanisms through which celebrity passion shapes geographic perception. Media consumers frequently develop deeply felt parasocial bonds with actors, directors, or digital influencers. When these individuals shoot or endorse creative productions at specific destinations, fans project affective value onto those physical environments. The CIFTL-M establishes a validated battery of questions that assess whether higher levels of celebrity involvement enhance tourists’ cognitive appraisals (e.g., cleanliness, architectural appeal, security, infrastructure) and affective responses (e.g., pleasantness, excitement, relaxation) toward the destination. Furthermore, it determines whether these altered cognitive-affective perceptions catalyze deeper psychological place attachment (place dependence and place identity), ultimately driving measurable behavioral intentions such as positive word-of-mouth endorsement and destination revisit intentions.

Beyond academic research, the instrument offers practical utility across multiple domains. In destination marketing and management, tourism bureaus can deploy the scale to assess the return on investment (ROI) of celebrity ambassadorships, film festival hosting, or film shoot sponsorships. It allows destination managers to distinguish between fleeting tourist footfall and enduring, brand-loyal visitor cohorts. In consumer psychology and media studies, the scale facilitates cross-cultural analyses of fandom intensities, helping researchers examine how media consumption patterns intersect with physical mobility, heritage tourism, and the commercial co-creation of place identity.

5. Psychological Construct

The Celebrity Involvement and Film Tourist Loyalty model captures four overarching, multifaceted psychological constructs operationalized across seven empirically distinct dimensions:

Celebrity Involvement

Rooted in leisure involvement theory (Kyle et al., 2004), celebrity involvement is defined as an unobservable state of motivation, arousal, or psychological interest toward an actor, television personality, or media influencer. The construct reflects how central the celebrity is to an individual’s personal life and social identity. It is measured via two sub-dimensions:

• Attraction: Reflects the intrinsic pleasure, emotional valence, and hedonic importance derived from tracking and admiring the celebrity (e.g., “I am very interested in this celebrity”; “This celebrity is important to me”). High attraction signifies that the celebrity generates genuine joy, fascination, and positive subjective feeling for the fan.
• Centrality: Measures the structural role of the celebrity within the individual’s lifestyle, personal routines, and social networks (e.g., “Following this celebrity is a major part of my life”; “A lot of my life is organized around following this celebrity”). Centrality captures behavioral commitment, community participation in fan groups, and the allocation of discretionary time and financial resources toward celebrity-focused pursuits.

Destination Image

Destination image encompasses the sum of beliefs, ideas, impressions, and emotional feelings that an individual holds toward a geographic place (Baloglu & McCleary, 1999). The scale captures both rational and emotional processing:

• Cognitive Destination Image: Refers to the physical, infrastructural, and functional beliefs held regarding the destination’s concrete attributes, including scenery, safety, architectural uniqueness, convenience of transportation, and quality of facilities (e.g., “The destination has beautiful scenery and landscapes”; “The destination has good tourism infrastructure and facilities”).
• Affective Destination Image: Evaluates the emotional and valence responses evoked by the destination, measured through established bipolar semantic differential dimensions capturing environmental feeling states (e.g., Unpleasant–Pleasant, Gloomy–Exciting, Distressing–Relaxing, Sleepy–Arousing).

Place Attachment

Drawn from environmental psychology (Williams et al., 1992), place attachment represents the cognitive-emotional bond between an individual and a specific geographic setting. Within the CIFTL-M, it includes two core components:

• Place Dependence: Reflects the functional utility and comparative advantage of the destination in satisfying specific leisure goals compared to other available alternatives (e.g., “No other destination can compare to this destination”; “This destination is the best place for what I like to do”).
• Place Identity: Captures the symbolic, emotional, and self-defining connection wherein the destination becomes integrated into the tourist’s personal identity and sense of self (e.g., “I feel that this destination is a part of me”; “I identify strongly with this destination”).

Tourist Loyalty

Tourist loyalty reflects an enduring, favorable consumer attitude and sustained behavioral intention toward the destination. Drawing on classical consumer loyalty frameworks (Oliver, 1999), this construct combines attitudinal advocacy and future behavioral intent, assessing whether the tourist will engage in positive word-of-mouth recommendations to friends and family, defend the destination against criticism, and commit to future revisit behavior (e.g., “I would say positive things about this destination to other people”; “I intend to revisit this destination in the future”).

6. Theoretical Framework

The structural foundation of the Celebrity Involvement and Film Tourist Loyalty–Model is rooted in the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) paradigm, originally formulated by environmental psychologists Mehrabian and Russell (1974). In its classical formulation, environmental psychology posits that external physical environments (Stimuli, S) alter individuals’ internal emotional and cognitive evaluations (Organism, O), which subsequently dictate behavioral outcomes such as approach or avoidance behaviors (Response, R). Zhou et al. (2023) adapted this paradigm to media and tourism consumption by reconceptualizing the source of environmental stimuli.

In this adapted framework, Celebrity Involvement acts as the initial external psychological Stimulus (S). In the context of modern media culture, fans do not interact with film destinations solely as neutral geographic spaces; instead, their exposure to film narratives, behind-the-scenes content, and the personal charisma of celebrities forms a powerful communicative stimulus. The degree to which an individual invests time, emotional energy, and personal interest into a celebrity determines the perceptual weight of this initial stimulus.

The Organism (O) component represents the internal processing stage, operationalized through two interrelated mediators: Destination Image and Place Attachment. When exposed to the celebrity stimulus, tourists process destination cues along cognitive and affective pathways. Under the cognitive-affective theory of image formulation, cognitive beliefs regarding environmental attributes inform affective evaluations. In turn, these combined image perceptions foster psychological bonding. As fans experience the physical spaces where their admired figures worked or appeared on screen, functional appraisals (place dependence) merge with symbolic self-congruity (place identity), forging an authentic attachment to the location.

Finally, the Response (R) manifests as Tourist Loyalty. In line with the approach-avoidance continuum, tourists who have experienced positive internal cognitive-affective transformations exhibit strong approach behaviors: they express elevated satisfaction, intend to revisit the physical site, and engage in proselytizing behavior through positive word-of-mouth and social media endorsement. By synthesizing S-O-R theory with social identity theory and parasocial interaction theory, the CIFTL-M provides an empirical, end-to-end mechanism explaining how mediated screen culture translates into tangible economic and behavioral commitments in physical space.

7. Validity

The psychometric validation of the Celebrity Involvement and Film Tourist Loyalty–Model Questionnaire was established through a series of empirical investigations conducted by Zhou et al. (2023) at Hengdian World Studios—the world’s largest film and television production studio, colloquially known as “Chinawood.” The validation process adhered strictly to recognized psychometric standards for structural equation modeling (SEM) and factor analysis.

Construct and Convergent Validity

Convergent validity was evaluated by assessing standardized factor loadings, composite reliability (CR), and average variance extracted (AVE) across all manifest items and latent constructs. Standardized factor loadings for each individual item ranged from 0.626 to 0.778, exceeding the widely accepted psychometric threshold of 0.60, confirming that each observation variable accounted for substantial variance in its corresponding latent dimension. The composite reliability values across all latent factors surpassed 0.70, indicating strong construct cohesion.

In terms of variance extraction, the AVE values for celebrity involvement, place attachment, and tourist loyalty exceeded the 0.50 benchmark. While the AVE for destination image was reported at 0.477 (slightly below the 0.50 benchmark), Fornell and Larcker (1981) established that an AVE falling between 0.40 and 0.50 remains acceptable for convergent validity if the composite reliability of the construct exceeds 0.60. Because the CR for destination image significantly exceeded 0.70, convergent validity was empirically affirmed across all model dimensions.

Discriminant Validity

Discriminant validity was established via two rigorous tests. First, following the Fornell-Larcker criterion, the square root of the AVE for each latent factor was compared against the inter-construct correlation coefficients between that factor and all other constructs in the model; in each case, the square root of the AVE was greater than the corresponding bivariate correlations. Second, a chi-square difference test comparing unconstrained measurement models with constrained nested models (where inter-factor correlations were fixed to unity) achieved statistical significance at p < 0.001, verifying that the seven model dimensions reflect empirically distinct latent phenomena.

Common Method Bias Mitigation

Because self-report surveys administered concurrently can be susceptible to common method variance (CMV), researchers applied Podsakoff and Organ’s (1986) Harman’s single-factor test. Unrotated exploratory factor analysis demonstrated that the single largest factor accounted for substantially less than the 50% threshold of total variance. The mean total variance explained across the attitudinal variables aligned closely with typical consumer attitude distributions (mean 40.7%), confirming that common method bias was not an artifactual threat to the structural integrity of the scale.

8. Reliability

The internal consistency reliability of the Celebrity Involvement and Film Tourist Loyalty–Model Questionnaire was evaluated using both Cronbach’s alpha (α) coefficients and Raykov’s Composite Reliability (CR). Evaluating both metrics ensures robust reliability across both tau-equivalent and congeneric measurement models.

Empirical calculations yielded the following reliability indices:

• Celebrity Involvement: The combined sub-dimensions (Attraction and Centrality) demonstrated composite reliability and Cronbach’s alpha values exceeding 0.75, indicating that items reliably capture hedonic fascination and lifestyle integration.
• Destination Image: Evaluated across cognitive and affective subscales, composite reliability was documented at > 0.70, confirming that infrastructure appraisals and affective semantic differentials yield stable evaluations of place perception.
• Place Attachment: Both Place Dependence and Place Identity sub-dimensions achieved Cronbach’s alpha and CR values well above 0.80, reflecting strong internal consistency for capturing symbolic and functional human-place relationships.
• Tourist Loyalty: The three-item attitudinal and behavioral intention scale achieved a Cronbach’s alpha and composite reliability exceeding 0.82, confirming that recommendation intentions and revisit plans are measured reliably without excessive measurement error.

All latent variables surpassed Nunnally and Bernstein’s (1994) benchmark of 0.70 for acceptable psychometric reliability in social and behavioral science research. These results demonstrate that the CIFTL-M provides high internal consistency, low measurement error variance, and dependable reproducibility across tourist samples.

9. Factor Analysis

The structural dimensionality of the CIFTL-M was evaluated using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) executed via covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM) using maximum likelihood estimation. Initial exploratory factor structures were translated into an a priori confirmatory model to test the hypothesized seven-factor structure encompassing Celebrity Involvement (Attraction, Centrality), Cognitive Destination Image, Affective Destination Image, Place Attachment (Place Dependence, Place Identity), and Tourist Loyalty.

The confirmatory factor model demonstrated strong overall goodness-of-fit to the empirical data. The specific fit indices were recorded as follows:

• Normed Chi-Square (χ²/df): 1.448 — well below the conservative upper threshold of 3.0 (Hair et al., 2010), indicating low discrepancy between observed and model-implied covariance matrices.
• Standardized Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR): 0.033 — well within the strict ≤ 0.05 cutoff for excellent fit.
• Root Mean Square Residual (RMR): 0.036.
• Comparative Fit Index (CFI): 0.968 — comfortably exceeding the 0.95 benchmark for superior model fit.
• Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI): 0.965 — exceeding the standard 0.90 and 0.95 criteria.
• Incremental Fit Index (IFI): 0.968.
• Normed Fit Index (NFI): 0.904 — satisfying the ≥ 0.90 baseline.
• Relative Fit Index (RFI): 0.896.
• Goodness-of-Fit Index (GFI): 0.888 and Adjusted Goodness-of-Fit Index (AGFI): 0.872 — slightly below the ideal 0.90 mark due to sensitivity to model complexity, but widely recognized as acceptable in comprehensive structural models.
• Parsimony Indices: Parsimony Comparative Fit Index (PCFI) = 0.893; Parsimony Goodness-of-Fit Index (PGFI) = 0.776.

Standardized item factor loadings across all latent constructs ranged between 0.626 and 0.778, with every loading demonstrating statistical significance at p < 0.001. No problematic cross-loadings or anomalous error covariances were observed. The structural analysis confirms that the seven-factor conceptualization represents a valid and empirically parsimonious reflection of tourist psychological functioning in film-induced tourism settings.

10. Instrument / Measurement Tool

The standard administrative, structural, and scoring parameters of the Celebrity Involvement and Film Tourist Loyalty–Model Questionnaire are detailed below:

• Test Type: Standardized self-report rating scale / Multidimensional structural questionnaire.
• Format: Items are rated using a five-point scale.
• Item Count: 27 standardized measurement items.
• Constructs & Dimensions: 7 dimensions across four constructs:
  • Celebrity Involvement: Attraction (Items 1–4) and Centrality (Items 5–7).
  • Cognitive Destination Image: Evaluative infrastructure and scenery attributes (Items 8–12).
  • Affective Destination Image: Bipolar semantic differential items (Items 13–16).
  • Place Attachment: Place Dependence (Items 17–20) and Place Identity (Items 21–24).
  • Tourist Loyalty: Recommendation and revisit intentions (Items 25–27).
• Scoring Rules: Scores are calculated by averaging item responses within each subscale. All items are positively framed (or oriented toward positive affective states); therefore, no reverse scoring is required. Higher subscale scores denote greater levels of celebrity involvement, more positive destination perceptions, deeper place attachment, and higher tourist loyalty.
• Target Population: General tourist populations, media consumers, and fans aged 16 to 59+ years visiting film studios, media sets, or screen tourism destinations.
• Administration Time: Approximately 8 to 12 minutes to complete in full.

11. Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Celebrity Involvement and Film Tourist Loyalty–Model Questionnaire was established and published in 2023 by Zhou, Xiong, Li, Liu, Wang, and Ryan. The instrument was developed under academic research initiatives funded by academic institutions including Ningbo University, Hainan University, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Licensing and Usage: The scale is available free of charge for non-commercial academic research and instructional teaching purposes. Scholars and students may administer the questionnaire in empirical studies provided appropriate citation and attribution are given to the original authors and their foundational 2023 publication in the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management. Commercial organizations, marketing consultancies, or commercial destination operators intending to embed the measurement tool into proprietary diagnostic software or monetization initiatives must contact the corresponding author, Dr. Ling-en Wang ([email protected]), to request formal licensing permissions.

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Zhou, B., Xiong, Q., Li, P., Liu, S., Wang, L.-e., & Ryan, C. (2023). Celebrity involvement and film tourist loyalty: Destination image and place attachment as mediators. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 54, 32–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2022.11.004

13. Items of the Scale