Purpose This study aims to discuss the formation mechanism of members’ emotional attachment to virtual travel communities from an online-offline perspective, focusing on the role of offline tourism experiences. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire was designed to survey active travel enthusiast clubs that hold frequent offline tourism activities. A structural equation modeling method was used to estimate the model and test the research hypotheses. Findings Results demonstrated that offline travel experiences positively influenced online community attachment (i.e., community dependence and identity), and this effect was more pronounced than that of one’s sense of community (i.e., belonging, trust and immersion) on community attachment. Therefore, compared with online interaction, offline travel experiences played a greater part in strengthening virtual community attachment. Originality/value The study presents a pioneering effort on understanding how offline activities help shape the community attachment to virtual communities.