Search Results (188)

This study investigates the effectiveness of informal and formal education channels in driving pro-environmental behavioral changes and situational learning outcomes among visitors in open-air educational settings. Using Skiathos Island (Greece) and its protected Natura 2000 wetland as an ambient learning laboratory, the research examines how ecological knowledge transfer translates into internalized ethical conduct. Utilizing a structural equation modelling (SEM) framework on a robust sample of 1121 visitors, the study tests the pedagogical pathways between educational exposure, ethical norm internalization, and long-term behavioral compliance. The structural analysis confirms that both formal instruction and on-site informal learning experiences—mediated by the internal adoption of ethical codes—positively and significantly influence learners’ pro-environmental behavioural learning outcomes within the protected area. Furthermore, the findings demonstrate that successful transformative place-based learning yields a profound value attachment, manifesting as long-term loyalty to the ecosystem’s values. Additionally, the structural model demonstrates a clear pathway for environmental financing, revealing that successful environmental literacy transforms tourist ecological awareness into a tangible readiness to pay ecological fees and support ecosystem preservation. The study contributes to interdisciplinary social sciences by extending place-based and experiential learning theories into environmental sociology and sustainable destination governance in non-traditional, high-pressure environments, providing actionable soft-management educational frameworks for public and institutional educators. Full article

Although tourist satisfaction is widely regarded as a central correlate of destination loyalty, loyalty intentions may also reflect symbolic destination meaning and functional service conditions. This study examines the relationships among destination image, the service marketing mix, attribute-level tourist satisfaction, and destination loyalty intention among 231 Thai domestic tourists who had previously visited Pai, Thailand. Drawing on a multi-route perspective, the study theoretically organizes destination image as a symbolic route, the service marketing mix as a functional route, and satisfaction as an evaluative route to loyalty intention. The term “routes” distinguishes these conceptual foundations and does not imply that the cross-sectional analysis establishes separate temporal or causal mechanisms. Online survey data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. Destination image was positively associated with satisfaction and loyalty intention, whereas the service marketing mix was positively associated with loyalty intention but not satisfaction. Satisfaction was also positively associated with loyalty intention. Bootstrapping indicated a small positive indirect association between destination image and loyalty intention through satisfaction, while the corresponding indirect association involving the service marketing mix was not supported. The model explained 7.6% of the variance in satisfaction and 42.0% of the variance in loyalty intention, with stronger out-of-sample predictive relevance for loyalty intention. The findings provide partial support for the proposed multi-route framework by showing that symbolic meaning, functional service conditions, and satisfaction exhibit differentiated associations with destination loyalty intention. Destination managers should therefore preserve Pai’s distinctive image while improving the accessibility, affordability, communication, and delivery of its tourism services. Full article

Although previous studies have examined revisit intention and the emotional impact of COVID-19 on visitors to nature-based destinations, evidence comparing visitor perceptions before and after the pandemic using independent samples drawn from the same target population remains scarce. This study addresses this gap by comparing 1109 valid surveys collected before COVID-19 (2018–2019) with 1028 surveys collected in the post-pandemic period (2022–2023) from visitors to Florida State Parks. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to examine the relationships among visitors’ evaluations of park services and facilities, conservation attitudes, and willingness to revisit. The findings reveal lower levels of visitor satisfaction with most services and facilities, shorter visit durations, and a higher proportion of frequent visitors in the post-pandemic sample compared with the pre-pandemic sample. The structural model further demonstrates that the effect of service and facility evaluations on willingness to revisit is indirect, with perceived improvements in conservation acting as a significant mediating variable. These findings suggest that investments in visitor services and infrastructure are more likely to foster loyalty when they are perceived as contributing to the conservation of natural resources, providing valuable implications for destination managers and policymakers responsible for protected areas. Full article

Second-tier cities in Northern Thailand possess rich cultural, natural, and historical assets, yet remain underexplored relative to primary tourist destinations, despite their strategic importance for decentralising tourist flows and promoting sustainable tourism development. This study investigates the effects of tourism components on destination image, tourist experience, and destination loyalty in second-tier cities in Northern Thailand. It also evaluates the relative contribution of these tourism components in predicting destination loyalty. The study integrates Pull Theory and the Stimulus–Organism–Response (SOR) framework to explain the relationships among tourism components, destination image, tourist experience, and loyalty. Quantitative research was employed using purposive sampling. Data were collected from 360 Thai travellers who had visited second-tier cities in Northern Thailand. The findings indicate that eleven hypotheses were supported, while four were not. Art city emerged as the strongest predictor of both destination image and tourist experience, highlighting the importance of creative and sustainable tourism. Tourist experience demonstrated the strongest influence on destination loyalty. However, amenities and amiability showed no significant effects on destination image or tourist experience. These findings offer a foundation for destination management organisations to prioritise resource allocation toward high-impact experiential components rather than generic service improvements, particularly in resource-constrained second-tier city contexts. The study also underscores the value of integrating creative and cultural tourism strategies with sustainability goals, balancing visitor attraction with heritage preservation and community well-being. The findings provide practical implications for destination management and tourism policy, particularly in promoting creative and sustainable tourism development in second-tier cities. Full article

This study examines structural heterogeneity in destination loyalty formation in a mature tourism destination by investigating whether visit frequency conditions the relationships among perceived destination attribute salience, primary travel motivations, tourist satisfaction, and destination loyalty. Using an analytical sample of 37,781 international tourists from the Canary Islands Tourist Expenditure Survey, the proposed framework was assessed through covariance-based structural equation modelling (CB-SEM) and multigroup analysis. Perceived destination attribute salience was represented by four empirically retained dimensions, whereas primary travel motivations were modelled as observed categorical exogenous variables relative to an empirical reference category. Tourist satisfaction and destination loyalty were specified as latent constructs, with loyalty capturing both intention to return and willingness to recommend. Measurement invariance analysis supported metric and partial scalar invariance across frequent and non-frequent visitors, providing a basis for comparing structural relationships between the two groups. Results show that tourist satisfaction is strongly and positively associated with destination loyalty in both groups, although the magnitude of this relationship differs significantly between them. The associations linking destination attributes and primary travel motivations to satisfaction and loyalty also vary according to previous visitation. Cross-group tests indicate significant moderation by visit frequency across all motivation–loyalty relationships and for the Natural and Cultural Experience–loyalty relationship. Moreover, indirect-effect comparisons reveal moderated mediation through tourist satisfaction for Natural and Cultural Experience, Sun and Beach, and the Fun, Family, Rest, and Exploration motivations. These findings indicate that the structural pathways associated with destination loyalty are not homogeneous across levels of previous visitation. The study contributes to destination loyalty research by jointly examining direct, mediated, and visit-frequency-conditioned relationships within a unified structural framework. From a managerial perspective, the results support differentiated strategies for frequent and non-frequent visitors while emphasizing tourist satisfaction as a central correlate of destination loyalty. Full article

Digitally visible destinations can gain rapid online attention, yet their longer-term tourism relevance depends on how visitors evaluate the destination after travel. This study examines how online-information-informed destination image is associated with post-visit value, satisfaction, and future intentions in Zibo, China, a phenomenon-driven urban destination. Drawing on destination-image research, with Social Exchange Theory informing interpretations of the benefit-appraisal segment, we analysed questionnaire data from 405 visitors using covariance-based structural equation modelling and bootstrap-based sensitivity analyses. The prespecified model showed positive associations from cognitive image (CI) to affective image (AI), from CI and AI to perceived value (PV), from PV to satisfaction (SAT), and from SAT to general behavioural intention (GBI). Bootstrap analyses further indicated positive model-conditional indirect associations across the proposed evaluation sequence. Although the restricted model retained some residual misfit, the results consistently support the hypothesised relationships. The study shows how digitally informed destination images remain connected with experiential value, satisfaction, and loyalty-related intentions after travel, extending post-visit destination evaluation research to a highly visible, phenomenon-driven urban context. Full article

Based on the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) model, this study incorporates the experiential characteristics of cultural tourism and constructs a theoretical framework encompassing tourist cultural expectations, cultural perceived authenticity, cultural perceived value, tourist satisfaction, tourist loyalty, and tourist complaints. It investigates the relationship between cultural tourism experiences at the Jingjiang Prince’s Mansion in Guilin and tourist satisfaction. A total of 262 questionnaires were collected through on-site surveys, and structural equation modeling analysis was conducted using AMOS and SmartPLS. The results indicate that tourist cultural expectations positively influence both cultural perceived authenticity and cultural perceived value, and that cultural perceived authenticity further enhances cultural perceived value. All three antecedents, namely cultural expectations, perceived authenticity, and perceived value, are found to be positively associated with tourist satisfaction. Satisfaction, in turn, significantly strengthens tourist loyalty and reduces complaint behavior, although the hypothesized negative effect of complaints on loyalty is not supported. This study extends the understanding of tourist satisfaction in cultural heritage tourism. It also provides practical implications for promoting sustainable tourism destination development in cultural heritage contexts. Full article

Urban cafés can form part of a destination’s tourism offering as experiential consumption settings. Grounded in the Stimulus–Organism–Response (S-O-R) framework, this study examined the associations of the measured physical-environment, social-media, and experience constructs with the café-preference measure and its relationships with emotional connection and customer loyalty. It also assessed the indirect preference–emotional connection–loyalty association. A quantitative cross-sectional design and convenience sampling were used to survey 152 café consumers in Riobamba, Ecuador. The data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). All three measured antecedents were positively associated with the café-preference measure. The experience measure had the largest numerical coefficient, followed by the social-media and physical-environment measures, but this ordering is interpreted as sample- and specification-dependent. The café-preference measure was positively associated with emotional connection and customer loyalty, and emotional connection was positively associated with loyalty. The indirect association was significant; however, the cross-sectional evidence does not establish a temporal or causal mediating process. Given unsatisfactory global model-fit diagnostics and measurement boundaries, the findings represent context-specific associations rather than a comprehensive explanation of café consumer behavior. Full article

Gastronomy is a factor in destination competitiveness; however, studies addressing the integrated role of gastronomic identity and perceived authenticity as determinants of tourist satisfaction remain insufficiently explored. This systematic review examines how both constructs jointly shape satisfaction in gastronomic tourism destinations. Following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, a systematic literature search was conducted in Scopus and Web of Science using a Boolean search strategy based on four conceptual blocks. After applying eligibility criteria and assessing methodological quality using JBI protocols, 12 empirical articles published between 2017 and 2026 were selected. This relatively small corpus reflects the concept-driven focus of the review, which required the simultaneous presence of terms related to gastronomic identity, perceived authenticity, and experience satisfaction, thereby increasing the specificity of the search and reducing its sensitivity. It should therefore not be interpreted as an exhaustive representation of all research on gastronomic tourism. Findings reveal that gastronomic identity operates as a multidimensional cultural stimulus, while perceived authenticity (objective, constructive, and existential) plays a mediating or interpretive role in the relationship between culinary stimuli and satisfaction. Together, these constructs enhance tourist satisfaction and strengthen destination loyalty. Key gaps were identified, including geographic concentration in Europe and Asia, sampling biases, and the absence of hospitality as a moderating variable. The reviewed evidence suggests that both constructs function as interrelated determinants within the Stimulus-Organism-Response model, highlighting the need for destination managers to articulate local culinary heritage to maximize tourism competitiveness coherently. Full article

Studying sustainability in marine and coastal tourism within national parks is essential to balance visitor use with the conservation of fragile ecosystems and biodiversity. In this context, the Galápagos Archipelago is a major coastal and marine destination in Ecuador, recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The aim of this empirical study was (i) to identify the principal motivational dimensions in sustainable coastal and marine destinations; (ii) to determine which motivations significantly predict tourist satisfaction in these contexts; and (iii) to establish which motivations influence loyalty in sustainable coastal and marine destinations. The research was conducted in situ, obtaining 407 valid questionnaires. Multiple regression analysis and exploratory factor analysis were applied. The results reveal six motivational factors: learning; heritage and nature; sun and beach; sports; authentic coastal experience; novelty; and social interaction. The motivation that most strongly predicts satisfaction is heritage and nature, followed by novelty. Likewise, the motivation that most strongly predicts loyalty is heritage and nature, with additional influence from sun and beach and sports motivations. These findings provide practical guidance for the development of sustainable destination management plans and contribute to the academic literature on sustainability, satisfaction, and loyalty in coastal and marine tourism contexts. Full article

This empirical study positions hotel-based sport wellness programs as structured physical activity offerings embedded in co-created guest experiences in luxury hotels in Saudi Arabia. It examines how the quality of wellness sports programs relates to guests’ satisfaction with the program, loyalty intentions toward the hotel, and self-reported physical activity orientation and intention. The construct is operationalized as guests’ perceived increase in activity during the stay and their stated intention to maintain or increase activity afterward. The study also tests the mediating roles of perceived health benefits and enjoyment, as well as the moderating role of staff health communication. Drawing on service quality and expectancy disconfirmation perspectives, together with health belief and motor learning insights, a cross-sectional survey was conducted with 412 guests who had participated in structured sport-based wellness sessions during their stay in Saudi Arabian luxury hotels. Data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS SEM). Wellness sport program quality was positively associated with perceived health benefits, enjoyment, and program satisfaction, and both perceived health benefits and enjoyment partially mediated the quality satisfaction relationship, indicating parallel cognitive and affective pathways in the guest experience. Program satisfaction, in turn, was positively associated with guests’ loyalty intentions and their self-reported orientation toward maintaining healthier physical activity routines after their stay, while staff health communication significantly strengthened the association between program quality and perceived health benefits. These results contribute to wellness tourism and hospitality research by integrating sport pedagogy and health communication into an experience-centric framework and by clarifying how hotel-based sport wellness offerings can support satisfaction, loyalty, and self-reported physical activity orientation in an emerging tourism destination. Practical implications are offered for hotel managers seeking to design human-centered, health-oriented wellness services aligned with Vision 2030 and global physical activity promotion agendas, recognizing that the findings represent perception-based associations that are a promising foundation for future longitudinal and behavioral research. Full article

Experience has become a central source of competitiveness in wellness tourism, yet natural features in resorts often remain passive scenery rather than deliberately designed service content. This prospective, four-group randomised controlled service-evaluation study examined whether brief nature-based wellness micro-interventions developed from natural elements already present in a coastal health and wellness resort were associated with more favourable immediate evaluations of experience quality, satisfaction, perceived innovativeness, added value, and recommendation intention. Of 120 adult hotel guests randomly allocated in equal proportions to cloud noticing, forest therapy elements, active control, or standard stay, 114 completed the final evaluation. A contextually adapted 22-item instrument based on service-performance logic and tourism-experience research was used. The forest-therapy-elements and cloud-noticing conditions showed the most favourable overall evaluation profiles, followed by active control and standard stay. The clearest differentiation concerned perceived innovativeness, while recommendation intention was most strongly associated with perceived added value and satisfaction. These findings are relevant to wellness-tourism development because they indicate that natural elements already present in a resort may acquire additional perceived service value when translated into structured, facilitated, and place-sensitive guest activities. Because outcomes were immediate self-reports obtained in a single resort and participants and facilitators could not be blinded, the findings should not be interpreted as proof of lasting behavioural effects. They suggest a promising low-infrastructure service-development pathway whose effects on actual recommendation, repeat visitation, willingness to pay, loyalty, and destination outcomes require confirmation in multi-site and longitudinal research. Full article

Rural tourism destinations increasingly converge on standardized facilities and packaged landscapes, eroding the place-based distinctiveness that motivates rural travel. Although previous research has distinguished affective and cognitive experiential mechanisms, it remains unclear whether these pathways are differentially associated with sustainability-oriented and loyalty-related behavioral intentions. Addressing this gap, the present study examines how tourists’ perceptions of rural destinations are associated with these two forms of behavioral response. Building on the established distinction between affective and cognitive experiential mechanisms, two perceptual systems are linked to parallel affective and cognitive experiential routes to examine their distinct behavioral associations. An affective route, in which perceived locality and authenticity foster place attachment, and a cognitive route, in which perceptions of planning quality foster tourist satisfaction, are expected to specialize by outcome. Survey data were collected from 411 visitors to rural tourism destinations in Hainan, China, and analyzed using a latent-variable structural equation model with bias-corrected bootstrap tests of competing indirect effects. The results reveal a clear distinction between the two behavioral systems. Locality and authenticity are positively associated with place attachment, which in turn is associated with sustainable behavioral intention, whereas planning quality is positively associated with tourist satisfaction, which is associated with revisit and recommendation intention. The competing-mediation analysis further indicates that locality is associated with sustainable behavioral intention primarily through place attachment rather than satisfaction, and this affective pathway remains consistent across visitor-origin subgroups. Given the cross-sectional design, these relationships should be interpreted as associations rather than evidence of causality. The findings re-conceptualize locality as a measurable tourist perception and demonstrate that sustainability-oriented behavioral intention and loyalty-related intention represent distinct behavioral outcomes associated with different experiential pathways. For destination planners and managers, the findings suggest that strengthening authentic rural character may support sustainability-oriented behaviors, whereas improving the planning and service environment may encourage revisit and recommendation intentions. Full article

Rural tourism strategies in underdeveloped countries have gained popularity in recent years due to rural tourism’s significance in the sustainable development of society. Thus, by integrating affective event theory in the context of rural tourism, the present study underscores the formation of tourists’ loyalty to rural tourist destinations based on the perspectives of affective atmosphere and memorable tourism experience for rural tourist destinations. Drawing on 541 valid samples from tourists to Xidi and Hongcun, which are famous rural tourist destinations in China, both SEM and fsQCA were employed to capture the linear effects and configurational pathways leading to tourists’ loyalty to rural tourist destinations. The results indicate that conviviality, therapeutics, authenticity, and playfulness significantly enhance tourists’ memorable tourism experience, which subsequently strengthens their loyalty to rural tourist destinations. Complementing these findings, the fsQCA results reveal multiple equifinal and causally asymmetrical configurations associated with high loyalty. Through the combined use of symmetric and asymmetric approaches, this study offers a more holistic understanding of the formation of destination loyalty and provides theoretically grounded and practically meaningful insights for rural tourism development and strategic destination management. Full article

This study investigates the structural impact of marine conservation dimensions and institutional frameworks on visitor experiences and behavioral intentions within the National Marine Park of Alonissos–Northern Sporades (NMPA). Anchored in the sustainability prism model (SPM), the research examines how conservation-driven environmental capital, alongside economic, socio-cultural, and institutional pillars, influences tourist satisfaction and destination loyalty. Primary quantitative data were garnered via a cross-sectional survey administered to a statistically robust sample of 2251 visitors. Structural equation modeling (SEM) reveals that all four SPM dimensions significantly influence both immediate satisfaction and long-term loyalty. Crucially, the empirical outputs unveil an asymmetric dualism: while immediate tourist satisfaction is predominantly driven by the sensory consumption of pristine biodiversity and active marine conservation (β = 0.577), long-term loyalty is fundamentally anchored in the perceived efficiency of the institutional conservation governance framework (β = 0.413). These findings underscore the imperative of integrating transparent institutional mechanisms with active ecosystem preservation to secure the socio-ecological viability of marine conservation areas. Ultimately, this study provides actionable insights for balancing escalating ecotourism demands with strict, zero-compromise biodiversity conservation in vulnerable marine sanctuaries. Full article