Examining the Structural Relationships among Antecedents of Tourist Satisfaction and its Behavioral Consequences: Case of Puducherry (India)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12727/ajts.27.4Keywords:
Destination Image, Destination Quality, Tourist Satisfaction, Tourist Loyalty, Perceived ValueAbstract
Tourist satisfaction is an essential tool for increasing destination competitiveness. It is also considered the most vital factor in ensuring visitors revisit the place. Puducherry union territory is one of the best tourist destinations in India, where tourism is one of the service sectors that shows an imperative dimension in the economic growth of the union territory. To get an attempt to gain a better understanding of tourists' satisfaction in Pondicherry destination, this study follows the method of a case study to examine the relationship among antecedents of tourist satisfaction and its outcomes and also to factually test the latent constructs that probably affect tourist satisfaction, which could act on tourist loyalty. The theoretical research model was evolved to support a thorough review of available conceptual and factual research in the emerging tourism-marketing field. The factual data were collected using the survey method using structured questionnaires in the union territory of Puducherry. For the analysis, a total of 271 responses were accepted. Structural Equation Modeling with the statistical tool of Smart PLS was used to analyze the data. The findings supported the hypothesized Tourist Satisfaction Model, showing that visitor satisfaction directly affected tourist loyalty. Both the image of the destination and the perceived quality of the destination were direct predictors of total visitor satisfaction. Overall, tourist satisfaction influenced tourist loyalty directly and beneficially. Based on the study results, theoretical and managerial implications were established and suggestions were made for future studies.
References
Abdulla, S. A. M., Khalifa, G. S., Abuelhassan, A. E., & Ghosh, A. (2019). Antecedents of Dubai revisit intention: The role of destination service quality and tourist satisfaction, Restaur. Bus, 118(10), 307-316. Aliman, N. K., Hashim, S. M., Wahid, S. D. M., & Hardin, S. (2014). Tourist expectation, perceived quality, and destination image: Effects on perceived value and satisfaction of tourists visiting Langkawi Island, Malaysia. Asian Journal of Business and Management, 2(3). Al-Laymoun, M., Alsardia, K., & Albattat, A. (2020). Service quality and tourist satisfaction at homestays. Management Science Letters, 10(1), 209-216.
Ardani, W., Rahyuda, K., Giantari, I. G. A. K., & Sukaatmadja, I. P. G. (2019). Customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions in tourism: A literature review. International Journal of Applied Business and International Management, 4(3), 84-93. Bagozzi, R. P., & Yi, Y. (1988). On the evaluation of structural equation models. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 16(1), 74–94. Cheng, T. M., & Lu, C. C. (2013). Destination image, novelty, hedonics, perceived value, and revisiting behavioral intention for island tourism. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 18(7), 766-783. Chin, W. W. (1998). The partial least squares approach to structural equation modeling. In G. A. Marcoulides (Ed.), Modern methods for business research (pp. 295–336). Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Dmitrovic, T., Cvelbar, L. K., Kolar, T., Brencic, M. M., Ograjenšek, I., & Žabkar, V. (2009). Conceptualizing tourist satisfaction at the destination level. International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, 3(2), 116-126. Fornell, C., & Larcker, D.F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39-50. Framke, W. (2002). The destination as a concept: A discussion of the business-related perspective versus the socio-cultural approach in tourism theory. Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, 2(2), 92-108. Fuchs, M., & Weiermair, K. (2003). New perspectives of satisfaction research in tourism destinations. Tourism Review, 58(3), 6-14. Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2013). A Primer on Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Thousand Oaks: Sage. Hasan, M. K., Abdullah, S. K., Lew, T. Y., & Islam, M. F. (2019). Determining factors of tourists’ loyalty to beach tourism destinations: A structural model. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 33(1). DOI:10.1108/APJML-08-2018-0334
Jeong, Y., & Kim, S. (2019). A study of event quality, destination image, perceived value, tourist satisfaction, and destination loyalty among sport tourists. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics.32(4). DOI:10.1108/APJML-02-2019-0101 Jin, N., Lee, S., & Lee, H. (2015). The effect of experience quality on perceived value, satisfaction, image and behavioral intention of water park patrons: New versus repeat visitors. International Journal of Tourism Research, 17(1), 82-95. Le Chi, C. (2016). A formative model of the relationship between destination quality, tourist satisfaction, and intentional loyalty: An empirical test in Vietnam. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 26, 50-62. Lin, C. H., & Kuo, B. Z. L. (2016). The behavioral consequences of the tourist experience. Tourism Management Perspectives, 18, 84-91. Maleki, F., & Gholamian, A. (2020). Antecedents and consequences of ethnic tourist satisfaction: The moderating role of ethnic identity. Journal of Heritage Tourism, 1-15. DOI: 10.1080/1743873x.2020.1712408 Meng, Z., Wei, Y., & Yu, Y. (2011). On the life cycle of cultural heritage engineering tourism: A case study of Macau. Systems Engineering Procedia, 1, 351-357. Mohajerani, P., & Miremadi, A. (2012). Customer satisfaction modeling in the hotel industry: A case study of Kish Island in Iran. International Journal of Marketing Studies, 4(3), 134. Nunnally, J. C., & Bernstein, I. H. (1994). Psychometric theory (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw- Hill. Oriade, A., & Schofield, P. (2019). An examination of the role of service quality and perceived value in visitor attraction experience. Journal of destination marketing & management, 11, 1-9. Pantouvakis, A. (2013). The moderating role of nationality on the satisfaction loyalty link: Evidence from the tourism industry. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 24(9-10), 1174-1187.
Ryu, K., Lee, H. R., & Kim, W. G. (2012). The influence of the quality of the physical environment, food, and service on restaurant image, customer perceived value, customer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management. Sadeh, E., Asgari, F., Mousavi, L., & Sadeh, S. (2012). Factors affecting tourist satisfaction and its consequences. Journal of Basic and Applied Scientific Research, 2(2), 1557-1560. San Martín, H., Herrero, A., & García de los Salmones, M. D. M. (2019). An integrative model of destination brand equity and tourist satisfaction. Current Issues in Tourism, 22(16), 1992-2013. Song, Z., Su, X., & Li, L. (2013). The indirect effects of destination image on destination loyalty intention through tourist satisfaction and perceived value: The bootstrap approach. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 30(4), 386-409. Suhartanto, D., Brien, A., Primiana, I., Wibisono, N., & Triyuni, N. N. (2020). Tourist loyalty in creative tourism: The role of experience quality, value, satisfaction, and motivation. Current Issues in Tourism, 23(7), 867-879. Suhartanto, D., Wibisono, N., Agustina, R., & Loveldy, Z. A. C. (2019, November). Experience quality and value: An assessment in the creative tourism industry. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering (Vol. 662, No. 7, p. 072007). IOP Publishing. Wang, X., Zhang, J., Gu, C., & Zhen, F. (2009). Examining antecedents and consequences of tourist satisfaction: A structural modeling approach. Tsinghua Science and Technology, 14(3), 397-406. Werts, C. E., Linn, R. L., & Joreskog, K. G. (1974). Quantifying unmeasured variables. In H. M. Blalock, Jr. (Ed.), Measurement in the Social Sciences, Chicago: Aldine Publishing Co., 270-292.
Wu, H. C., & Li, T. (2017). A study of experiential quality, perceived value, heritage image, experiential satisfaction, and behavioral intentions for heritage tourists. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 41(8), 904-944. Yoon, Y., & Uysal, M. (2005). An examination of the effects of motivation and satisfaction on destination loyalty: A structural model. Tourism Management, 26(1) .
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2022 Atna Journal of Tourism Studies
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
