Why do They Come Back? The Effects of Winery Tourists’ Motivations and Satisfaction on the Number of Visits and Revisit Intentions

ABSTRACT

Few studies have examined the influence of winery tourists’ motivations and satisfaction on number of visits and revisit intentions. This study examined these relationships through 1602 online survey responses from former winery visitors. The data were analyzed through a series of multiple regression analyses. Findings show that among tourists’ motivations, the reputation, reviews, and perceived quality of the winery and its wines significantly affect the number of visits and revisit intentions, while media exposure affects revisit intentions. Further, visitors’ satisfaction with the winery significantly impacts revisit intentions. While visitors’ geographic proximity to the winery increased the number of visits, as expected, distance from the winery is shown to increase revisit intentions. Finally, the number of previous visits had a significant positive effect on revisit intentions.     

Segmentation of Special Event Attendees Using Personal Values

ABSTRACT

This article presents the findings from research undertaken within a conceptual framework that included personal values, satisfaction and post-consumption behavioural intentions. The findings of a quantitative study (n = 354) conducted at a theatre-event indicate that attendees who were more inclined to place importance on their 'connectedness' with others were generally more satisfied with their attendance overall and with most of the attributes of the special event that were measured. Similar results were also found for attendees' post-con-sumption behavioural intentions; however, other personal value systems, such as that associated with hedonism, also emerged as important. These results can be used by managers and marketers of special events to enhance the special event experience and contribute to the industry's sustainability.     

Customer Satisfaction and Behavioural Intentions in a Rural Community Museum Environment

Abstract

This paper examines a cornerstone concept of mainstream marketing theory relating to the importance of customer satisfaction as an influence on future behavioural intentions. The underlying premise is that visitors to a tourist attraction whose expectations are met or exceeded will be satisfied with their experience, and that the degree of perceived satisfaction will positively correlate with their stated intention to repeat purchase and to recommend the experience to others. This paper reports an exploratory project to test the above proposition within a tourism industry context, specifically with reference to the museum sector. The study measures visitor satisfaction levels and future intentions to revisit or recommend the Matakohe Kauri museum in Northland, New Zealand-a rurally isolated tourist attraction which is heavily dependent on referrals to support its continued existence. Research was undertaken by means of a two part structured interview technique, conducted on site with 141 respondents on six separate days in September and October 1996. Visitor expectations were established by questioning prior to entry, whilst a subsequent exit interview captured respondents' perceived degree of satisfaction with their visit. The second interview included a measure of stated intention to return and to recommend the museum to others. Provisional indications are that perceived levels of satisfaction have little bearing on the visitor's stated intention to return to the attraction; however, a significant relationship exists between perceived satisfaction and intention to recommend to others. The results of this research will prove valuable as a foundation for a recommended programme of further research to more rigorously assess the performance of customer satisfaction theory within a rural folk museum environment.     

Factors affecting international event visitors’ behavioral intentions: the moderating role of attachment avoidance

ABSTRACT

This study developed and tested a theoretical framework of event quality, motivation, value, and destination image in order to investigate visitors’ behavioral intentions to revisit an international event, along with the moderating role of attachment avoidance. Results revealed that the relationships among event quality, motivation, value, image, and behavioral intentions were highly significant. Attachment avoidance was additionally found to moderate the relationships between quality and value, motivation and value, value and destination image, and value and behavioral intentions. Findings further provide specific implications for both theoretical insight and marketing practice in the context of annual and international events.     

A multilevel analysis of the service marketing triangle in theme parks

ABSTRACT

This study explores multilevel relationships between employees and visitors within 25 theme parks in Taiwan. The adapted constructs with corresponding items of interactive, internal, and external marketing were developed based on the service marketing triangle theory and previous literature. The results show that interactive marketing influences visitor satisfaction and behavioral intentions; internal marketing influences interactive marketing, and moderates the effect of interactive marketing on satisfaction; external marketing influences satisfaction; and satisfaction affects behavioral intentions. This study demonstrates that examining the influence of cross-level service marketing on internal and external customer satisfaction is crucial to the operational success of theme parks.     

Delighted or Satisfied? Positive Emotional Responses Derived from Theme Park Experiences

This study uses cognitive appraisal theory (CAT) to explain why some visitors may be delighted and others satisfied having had similar experiences, as well as the respective effects of these two outcomes on revisit intentions. A survey (n = 645) of visitors to a theme parks showed that tourists’ different evaluations of their experience on certain appraisal dimensions proposed by CAT, such as the degree of goal realization, goal relevance, and novelty, led to either delight or satisfaction. Tourists’ level of loyalty intentions also varied systematically with their particular emotional response. These findings provide practitioners with an understanding of how to design favorable experiences for their customers.     

Potential for collaboration among agricultural food festivals in Korea for cross-retention of visitors

Abstract

This study examines visitor intentions to attend different agricultural food festivals within the same region to explore whether they can collaborate to promote cross-visits. Building upon the literature on co-branding and satisfaction, this study proposes the direct effect as well as the mediating roles of involvement and variety seeking between visitor satisfaction with a current festival and behavioral intentions to visit similar festivals. The results found that all relationships appeared to be positive and significant as conceptualized and visitor intentions to attend similar festivals were as high as those to visit the festival that had been attended again. Furthermore, comparison of three models suggested that the partial mediation model (PMM) is a significant improvement over the direct effect (DEM) and full mediation (FMM) models. This study seeks to make both theoretical and practical contributions to agricultural food festivals and rural tourism, specifically to the cross-retention potential of visitors to relevant festivals.     

The Effect of Length of Stay on Travelers' Perceived Satisfaction with Service Quality

SUMMARY

Consumer satisfaction related to service quality during the vacation experience is of paramount importance to the travel and tourism industry. This study tests empirically the effects the number of nights spent on a vacation have on the levels of satisfaction recent travelers report for three service aspects of the travel destination: perceived satisfaction with tourism service providers; perceived “freedom from defects” of tourism services; and perceived reasonableness of the cost of tourism services. Differentiation in satisfaction scores between “short-term visitors” (i.e., those who stayed from one to six nights) and “long-term visitors” (i.e., those who stayed seven or more nights) were examined. Significant differences between the two groups of visitors were present for (1) perceived satisfaction with industry professionals delivering the service experience at the travel destination, (2) perceived satisfaction with “freedom from defects” of the actual services at the destination, and (3) perceived reasonableness of the cost of services at the travel destination. Suggestions for how tourism industry professionals can make use of this information are presented.     

Tour guide performance and sustainable visitor behavior at cultural heritage sites

Abstract

Using structural equation modeling, this study investigates how tour guide performance influences visitors’ sustainable behavior at cultural heritage sites by examining the mediating effects of visitor experience and satisfaction. The structural model was tested on a sample of 390 visitors at Petra Archaeological Park in Jordan. Tour guide performance was found to have a significant direct and indirect effects in enhancing visitor sustainable behavior. Moreover, the findings showed that visitor experience and satisfaction significantly mediates the relationship between tour guide performance and visitor sustainable behavior. This research contributes to our understanding of the tour guide role in maximizing visitors’ appreciation and enjoyment, and minimizing their negative impacts on heritage sites. Managerial implications are discussed in light of the empirical findings.     

The Effect of Healthy Food Knowledge on Perceived Healthy Foods’ Value,Degree of Satisfaction,and Behavioral Intention: The Moderating Effect of Gender

ABSTRACT

This study seeks to determine how knowledge about healthy food impacts its perceived value, satisfaction, and behavioral intention among college students to access healthy foods, and to investigate the moderating effect of gender on the formulated relationships. The results show that knowledge about healthy food positively influences perceived value and behavioral intentions, and perceived value is a significant predictor of satisfaction and behavioral intentions toward healthy foods. In addition, knowledge about healthy food does not significantly influence on satisfaction in this study. The results regarding the moderating effects of gender show that gender only moderates the relationship between satisfaction and behavioral intentions toward healthy foods. These results offer useful information for foodservice companies and educational institutions; more specifically, for gaining a better understanding of college students’ behaviors and perceptions toward healthy foods and developing marketing strategies accordingly.     

Sense of belonging to a lesbian,gay, bisexual,and transgender event: the examination of affective bond and collective self-esteem

ABSTRACT

This study examined behavioral intentions of sexual minority attendees at an event from a sense-of-belonging perspective. Based on social identity theory, attendees’ social representations are examined via affective bond at the event level and collective self-esteem at the community level. A survey was conducted with 261 respondents from the sexual minority community at a large, annual lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) event. Findings revealed that affective bond positively impacts satisfaction and behavioral intentions. In addition, collective self-esteem also had a positive influence on behavioral intentions. Theoretical and managerial implications for event managers and destination managers are provided.     

Investigating the role of festivalscape in culinary tourism: The case of food and wine events

This paper analyses the importance of festivalscapes in determining emotions, satisfaction and future behavior of participants at food and wine events. The study applies a structural equation model (SEM) with latent variables to survey responses of visitors to the “Friuli DOC” Italian festival. The main results are that festivalscape and emotions have significant direct effects on satisfaction, which in turn has a significant effect on behavioral intention. The effects of the festivalscape on visitors' future behavior are only indirect and mediated by satisfaction. Thus, in order to enhance their visitors' behavioral intentions, festival organizers should monitor emotions and satisfaction deriving from the subjective perception of exogenous characteristics as food and wine quality, comfort and entertainment.     

Satisfaction or Quality Comes First: An Empirical Analysis

This article assesses and compares two different models that include (a) the relationships of quality dimensions with satisfaction and associated intended future behavior and (b) the relationships of satisfaction with quality dimensions and associated intended future behavior for visitors who attended entertainment events/shows at two venues. A structural analysis of 8,446 responses provided by the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority in Charlotte, North Carolina, suggests that both models are statistically acceptable and some significant relationships are found among satisfaction, three quality dimensions (the entertainment show offered, the services associated with the venue, and the treatment by staff), and intended future behavior. A brief comparison of the two models is discussed in terms of the structural relationships, the strengths, and the values of goodness-of-fit indices. The findings may contribute to the conceptual development of the existing literature as one of the first few works to study satisfaction, quality, and future behavior intentions in the entertainment and event area. The article ends by providing practical facilitation of related managerial directions in the entertainment industry and suggests directions for future research.     

An Empirical Study of Behavioral Intentions in the Food Festival: The Case of Macau

The behavioral intentions of visitors play an important role in predicting future profits in the food festival. The purpose of this study is to identify the dimensions of festival quality and examine the interrelationships between behavioral intentions and the other constructs related to behavioral intentions as perceived by visitors to the food festival using structural equation modeling (SEM). The dimensions of festival quality are built and a multi-dimensional and hierarchical model is used as a framework to synthesize the effects of festival quality and visitor satisfaction on behavioral intentions of visitors to the Macau Food Festival (MFF). The findings of this study are based on SEM analysis of a convenience sample of 428 respondents. The findings reveal that there are four primary dimensions and 11 sub-dimensions of festival quality in the MFF.     

The evaluation of visitor experiences using the peak-end rule

ABSTRACT

As the peak-end rule suggests that the peak and the end moments are a better predictor of the overall evaluations of experiences than an average of the total experiences, the purpose of this study was to examine the role of the peak-end rule in predicting overall satisfaction with the visitors’ experiences. The data was collected from 187 visitors who participated in alleyway historical tour areas. The results of this study support for the peak-end rule of visitor experiences associated with travel and tourism behavior. The study also suggests distinct roles for the visitors’ positive experiences of enjoyment, happiness, and pleasure with the demographic variables to explain the visitor satisfaction. Additionally, the research finding implies that the visitor experiences were enhanced at the peak and end moments rather than at the most memorable episodes during the historical tour activities. Tourism practitioners may provide a range of meaningful opportunities and differentiated programs with the participants by identifying the relationships between the peak-end experience and visitor satisfaction. Future research can focus on investigating other important antecedents of individuals’ experiences, and identifying the complex nature of visitors’ perceptions and their relationships with their experiences.     

The Impact of Hotel Social Events on Employee Satisfaction

ABSTRACT

Employee satisfaction is an important factor in the hospitality industry. This study offers a technique to gauge employee satisfaction and demonstrates its use in an actual setting. A case study of the Mercure Mirage Eilat Hotel evaluated employee's satisfaction, before and after organizational social event, revealing that satisfaction improved after the social event. The findings also demonstrate that the composition of satisfaction altered. Prior to the organizational activity, monetary compensation was of prime importance; following the organizational activity, social issues gained significant importance in forming employee satisfaction.     

Key factors maximizing art museum visitors’ satisfaction,commitment, and post-purchase intentions

As there is a lack of empirical research examining art museum visitors’ post-purchase behaviors, this study tested the theoretical associations among image congruence, quality, affective experiences, satisfaction, and commitment to build a sturdy model of behavioral intentions. The concept of involvement was also included as a moderator. A field survey at art museums was conducted. The level of construct validity and reliability for all variables were satisfactory. Results of the structural model revealed that the proposed theoretical framework sufficiently accounted for the variance in intentions. Satisfaction was of greatest importance in generating intentions. Commitment and satisfaction acted as important mediators. Among nine hypothesized direct linkages, eight hypotheses were supported. Findings from the invariance model assessment supported the moderating influence of involvement on the relationships among quality, satisfaction, commitment, and intentions. The strength of such relationships among these variables was greater when museum visitors’ involvement level was high.     

Generational Perception and Satisfaction Differences Related to Restaurant Service Environment

ABSTRACT

The current study considers perception, satisfaction, and importance rating differences of aspects of the dining service environment in a casual-themed restaurant between members of three generations—baby boomers, Gen X, and millennials. The study also assesses the moderating role of generation on the relationship between satisfaction and repeat patronage intentions. Significant differences were found between generations related to satisfaction, importance ratings, and repeat patronage intentions regarding the overall dining service environment. The current study provides assessment of components of the DINESCAPE scale along with items from the DinEX scale related to social connectedness. Implications of the research are discussed.     

How Cultural Differences Cause Dimensions of Tourism Satisfaction

Abstract

This paper develops a conceptual model of the relationship between different cultural values and how they influence consumer satisfaction in the tourism industry. It is hypothesized that cultural differences manifest themselves in different levels of importance being placed upon different aspects of service, and the differences between the levels of importance and the actual service received cause differences in the levels of satisfaction. These hypotheses are tested using 269 independent samples of levels of importance and 411 independent samples of satisfaction of tourists from four cultural groups (Australian, USA/Canadian, Japanese, Mandarin speakers) who visited Melbourne, Australia in the period May-September, 1996. The analysis develops dimensions of importance and satisfaction separately for each cultural grouping, and uses structural equation modeling (Amos 3.6) to develop the causal model measuring the way in which importance of service dimensions cause dimensions of satisfaction. Conclusions from the analysis show little evidence of a causal relationship between importance of service quality attributes and satisfaction. However, significant differences are found between cultures for different levels of satisfaction resulting indirectly from differences in the importance and actual levels of service received.

The implications for cultural differences affecting tourism satisfaction are discussed.     

Service Quality,Satisfaction, and Behavioral Intention Among Forest Visitors

Abstract

This study explores the interrelationships between service quality and satisfaction, and their influence on behavioral intention among forest visitors. On-site surveys were conducted in a forest through face-to-face interviews (n = 395). The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The findings suggest that service quality is an antecedent of satisfaction and satisfaction plays a mediating role between service quality and behavioral intention. Further, service quality has a direct effect on behavioral loyalty, implying that the effect of service quality on behavioral intention is as important as that of satisfaction. The results of the study provide important theoretical implications to nature-based tourism managers.