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Research scholar, Department of Tourism and Hospitality, Bharath Institute of Science and Technology , Chennai, Tamil Nadu , India
Associate Professor & Head, Department of Tourism and Hospitality, Bharath Institute of Science and Technology , Chennai, Tamil Nadu , India
This study analyzes the influence of Zen-C tourist engagement, a behavioral framework combining mindful, wellness-oriented travel preferences (Zen Factor) with post-pandemic safety and mobility adjustments (C Factor), on wine tourism growth at Sula Vineyards, India. Employing a quantitative cross-sectional design, primary data were collected via a structured survey from 285 domestic tourists who participated in vineyard activities. The relationships between the Zen-C constructs and tourism growth outcomes were evaluated using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The visitor base was mainly young and middle-to-high income bracket professionals (25-44 years) in middle and mid-career. The largest percentage of 75.4% of the people used personal vehicles, which showed that they mostly preferred regional staycations. Analysis with PLS-SEM proved that the Zen Factor (β = 0.345, p < 0.001) and C Factor (β = 0.472, p < 0.001) have a very high degree of influence on destination loyalty and readiness to pay a premium. These constructs together contribute to 58.4% variability in the outcome of tourism growth (R2 = 0.584), and the model fit measures are high (SRMR = 0.061). The contemporary tourists of the viticulture industry require a combination of the psychological rewards of mindfulness, nature, and sustainability with the practical opportunities of hygiene and the drive to places. The factual confirmation of the Zen-C model underscores the business imperative of agritourism participants to have a strategic approach involving the inclusion of both wellness and safety attributes to appeal to the core post-pandemic markets.
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (CC BY-NC) License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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