The factors influencing international tourists’ revisit intention to Sri Lanka: A quantitative analysis

Abstract

Revisit intention is a key indicator of a destination’s long-term appeal and sustainability. This study investigates the factors influencing international tourists’ intention to revisit Sri Lanka based on key determinants influencing tourist behaviour. Although Sri Lanka has an abundance of tourism resources as natural attractions, cultural identity, affordability, and wellness products, the country has been facing low or inconsistent levels of tourist revisits. This research was conducted to provide empirical evidence to support sustainable tourism development by determining the factors that most significantly impact revisit intention. A quantitative research design was adopted, and the primary data were collected from 327 international tourists using a standardised questionnaire. Using forward stepwise selection to identify the most influential predictors of revisit intention. The fit of the model was tested with the Hosmer-Lemeshow test, and the predictive ability was evaluated against classification accuracy and Nagelkerke R². The results revealed that all four predictors, natural beauty, cultural heritage, affordability, and wellness offerings, were statistically significant predictors of revisit intention. Natural beauty had the highest odds ratio (Exp(B) = 3.151), indicating it was the strongest predictor, followed by wellness offerings (Exp(B) = 2.335), cultural heritage (Exp(B) = 2.253), and affordability (Exp(B) = 2.143). The final model had a cumulative prediction accuracy of 86.9% and explained 42.8% of the variance of the revisit decision (Nagelkerke R² = 0.428). These findings imply that enhancing these attributes will not only encourage repeat tourism but also put Sri Lanka on a competitive level in the global tourist market. This study offers empirical insights into tourist behaviour and provides practical guidance for destination planners aiming to enhance Sri Lanka’s global competitiveness.