Revisiting the Push–Pull Tourist Motivation Model: A Theoretical and Empirical Justification for a Reflective–Formative Structure

The purpose of this study is to examine the validity of a reflective–formative framework for the push pull tourist motivation model developed by Antonia Correia, Metin Kozak, and Joao Ferradeira in 2013, in comparison to its traditional reflective–reflective framework. An empirical study was conducted using purposive sampling, and the relationships between variables were examined through Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The study theoretically grounded as well as empirically validated the reflective–formative construct structure for the Push–Pull Tourist Motivation over the existing Reflective–Reflective construct structure. It further found that the reflective–reflective specification may lead to model misspecification, which can result in inaccurate estimation of tourist motivation and perceptions. Due to the population characteristics, purposive sampling was employed; however, a sample size of 319 may be considered limited for a cross-cultural study. This research contributes to the accurate estimation of the Push–Pull Tourist Motivation in a manner consistent with its theoretical framework and helps to reduce the risk of model misspecification and incorrect interpretations.