Agritourism: Analyzing the mediating role of tourists' attitudes and trust in visitors' intention return

Purpose: The objective of this study is to explore and comprehend the factors from the perceived environment that impact travellers' attitudes and trust in agritourism at farms integrated with aquaculture, which have been creatively adapted for tourism purposes. These findings contribute to understanding how agritourism fosters rural innovation and sustainable development by transforming traditional agricultural practices into diversified tourism experiences. The findings of the study could demonstrate that certain outcomes play a crucial role in the successful innovation of rural areas. Methodology/design/approach: The study extensively utilized the Theory of Planned Behavior framework to develop its measurement constructs. Data collection occurred in regions where tourists frequented farms that combine aquaculture with traditional farming practices, yielding a total sample size of 332 respondents. The data were analyzed using the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) method, employing the SmartPLS software version 4.0.9.2. Results: The results identified factors perceived environmentally positive influence on personal perception. Attitude and trust were found to mediate the relationships between perceived environment and revisit intention, with the mediating effect of attitude being stronger than that of trust. Originality of the research: Visitor attitudes significantly determine the innovation from making farms, orchards, aquaculture areas to the experiential tourism business. Successful innovations, such as enhancing rural incomes and sustaining agricultural livelihoods through agritourism transformation, are significantly driven by positive visitor perceptions and trust.