Pilgrimage: What drives pilgrim experiential supportive intentions?

Abstract This study relates to the pilgrims' experiential intentions to support their sacred places and aims at testing a research model to gain a better understanding of the connection between experiential risk, experiential desire, experiential motivation, the dimensions of experiential relationship quality (experiential satisfaction and experiential trust), celebrity attachment and experiential supportive intentions. Analysis of data from 580 pilgrims making the holy pilgrimage to the Borobudur Temple Compounds in Central Java of Indonesia indicates that the proposed model fits the data well. The results of this analysis contribute to the service marketing theory by providing empirically-based insight into the experiential relationship quality construct in the context of pilgrimage. Pilgrimage management should focus on decreasing experiential risk and increasing experiential desire, experiential motivation and the dimensions of experiential relationship quality and celebrity attachment in order to enable pilgrims to have intentions to support their sacred places.