Tourist motivation and place attachment: the mediating effects of service interactions with hotel employees.

Using social facilitation theory, this study evaluates the mediating effects of service interactions with hotel employees on the relationship between tourist motivation and place attachment. The moderating effects of nationality and hotel star-rating on these relationships are also examined. The overall model tested on a sample of 545 international visitors to the island of Mauritius showed that service interactions mediated the relationship between tourist motivation and place attachment. Partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) multi-group analysis found that the relationships among the constructs differed according to tourists' nationality and the hotels' star rating. The findings have important implications for hotel managers and destination marketing and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]