Psychological factors influencing public perception of space tourism

Abstract

Space tourism is a novel and under-researched leisure tourism area. This study examines the psychological factors that affect tourist behavioural intention (TBI), by the mediating role of tourist stickiness (sustained experiential engagement). This study integrated text mining and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyse 15,568 comments from space tourism YouTube videos. A Word Frequency Matrix (WFM) was used as an input for PLS-SEM to examine the hypothesised relationship. Findings indicated that perceived feasibility and social status significantly affected tourist stickiness, whereas self-actualisation had no effect. Tourist stickiness was identified as an essential mediator between these motivations and TBI, indicating that social and technological confidence and prestige may be valued instead of self-efficacy for self-growth. This study clarifies how feasibility perceptions and status motives shape space tourism intention via tourism stickiness. Moreover, it guides stakeholders in designing communication and experience strategies that build technological confidence and social prestige signals to increase public interest and intention to participate.