Edutainment experience in educational travel – a scale development

Educational travel is burgeoning, in which edutainment experience is much sought after, yet extant studies have seldom tapped into the typically desired attributes of edutainment experience and the underlying dimensions. This study fills this gap by developing a valid and reliable scale of edutainment experience. Both qualitative (interviews) and quantitative (surveys in three waves) approaches were included in the process. The result generated a 19-item and five-factor measurement scale of edutainment experience. The five factors include attractive learning program, fun experience, real-life learning context, manageable progress, and social interaction. The study expands the existing knowledge of edutainment experience in the tourism context by developing a comprehensive measurement scale of edutainment experience, which not only reflects the experiential and fun aspects, but also incorporates structural elements addressing the tourists’ learning needs. The findings offer practical implications to the educational travel operators for better designing and marketing educational travel products.