Pine and Gilmore [29] argued that in an experiential economy, the income of organizations is correlated with the experiential value that their products provide. Experiential value refers to the perceived value that consumers derive from direct use or indirect observation of a product or service [30]. Experiential value is a multi-dimensional construct that consists of cognitive, affective, intellectual, and behavioral dimensions associated with the service experience [31]. Holbrook [32] emphasized the experiential value brought by consumers’ consumption experience process and divided the experiential value into four quadrants based on the two dimensions of internal/external value and active/reactive value. Based on the quadrantals divided by Holbrook [32], Mathwick et al. [30] proposed the four dimensions of experiential value and the experiential value scale (EVS), including consumer return on investment, service excellence, playfulness, and aesthetics, which have been widely applied in tourism research [7,12,33]. The experiential value theory has been widely employed in the study of consumer behavior [33].

In the context of tourism, the experiential value is the process by which visitors perceive the benefits they derive from their travel and stay at a particular destination, including the assets or resources that they, together with other visitors and the property owner, invest in creating the experience [34]. This study adopts the experiential value perspective of Mathwick et al. [30], focusing on the impact factors that influence visitors’ experiential value of the exhibitions held in a CCP. Furthermore, this study explores whether exhibition experiential value has an impact on visitors’ experiential value and behavioral intentions toward CCPs.

A CCP is a place and space that creates an environment where cultural and creative activities, products, and services are provided to satisfy visitors’ needs [6,7,35,36,37]. To attract and satisfy visitors, CCP managers should pay more attention to understanding visitors’ perception and CCP experiential value [7]. The formation of the perception of experiential value is based on the numerous attractions that a CCP has to offer, from architectures and exhibitions to the souvenirs sold in the gift shop. Hung et al. [7] suggested that a park can increase its experiential value by providing a playful environment, superior staff service, upgraded aesthetics, and a quality ambiance.

Some parks attach great importance to enhancing CCP experiential value by organizing various exhibitions as a key development strategy. For example, Taipei Huashan 1914 Creative Park and Taipei Songshan Cultural and Creative Park have attached great importance to exhibitions and frequently host exhibitions with various themes. In 2018, Huashan 1914 Creative Park held 128 exhibitions, while Songshan Cultural and Creative Park held 157 exhibitions, amounting to an average of over 10 multiple-themes per month. Exhibitions at CCPs can increase the value of CCPs and enhance creative tourism and its sustainability by offering innovative products and services [4,11].

Regarding visitors, an exhibition is a highly experience-oriented product [38]. Exhibition experiential value is influenced by many factors. For example, Lee and Min [16] found that the quality of the exhibition itself (e.g., exhibit program, admission experience, site environment) has a direct impact on the exhibition experiential value. However, research on the impact factors of exhibition experiential value remains relatively scarce, which calls for further investigation.

Previous scholars have pointed out that as one of the elements of a park for arousing visitors’ emotions, exhibitions can affect the park’s ratings, which is a topic that warrants further research [7]. In this paper, when visitors visit a CCP-held exhibition, they develop an assessment based on their observations, contacts, and onsite product and service consumption [30]. Exhibitions can enrich visitors’ value perception and enhance the attractiveness and competitiveness of the park. For the CCP managers, an exhibition can serve as one product that brings experiential value to visitors.

At present, the topic of exhibition experiential value as related to CCPs has not been established; however, other studies provide useful references for examining the relationship between the two. For instance, Lee et al. [54] found that visitors’ satisfaction with a festival has an effect on their attachment to the host destination, which in turn, affects their loyalty to the destination. Tsaur et al. [55] found that festival attachment positively affects attachment and loyalty to the festival destination.

In this study, behavioral intentions mainly refer to visitors’ behavior of revisiting a CCP and advocating for the CCP through word of mouth [56]. The services experienced by the consumers can affect their behavioral intentions [57]. The better the service experience consumers perceive, the greater the likelihood that they will have favorable behavioral intentions.

In the tourism industry, stimulating factors inspire the consumers’ experiential value perception, which, as an intrinsic psychological evaluation, affects their behavioral intentions. In a water park, visitors’ experience quality affects their experiential value perception and their behavioral intentions toward the park [58]. At ecotourism destinations, the experiential value of the destination has a positive effect on visitors’ behavioral intentions [18]. \