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.     

Examining the Effect of Tour Guide Performance,Tourist Trust,Tourist Satisfaction,and Flow Experience on Tourists' Shopping Behavior

This study contributes to a model describing the effect of tour guide performance on tourist shopping behavior by examining the mediating effects of perceived credibility trust, perceived benevolence trust, and tourist satisfaction as well as the moderating effect of flow experience. Our analysis confirms that tour guide performance has positive effects on perceived credibility trust, perceived benevolence trust, and tourist satisfaction. However, only perceived benevolence trust and tourist satisfaction mediate the relationships between tour guide performance and tourist shopping behavior. Nevertheless, tour guide performance, as evaluated through perceived credibility trust and tourist satisfaction, has the strongest effect on tourist shopping behavior when compared to other routes in the model. In addition, the moderating effect of flow experience is confirmed in the perceived benevolence trust and tourist shopping behavior relationship, but it does not have any effects on other links. In light of our findings, managerial implications are discussed as well.     

Conference mobile application: Participant acceptance and the correlation with overall event satisfaction utilizing the technology acceptance model (TAM)

Abstract

Although many studies have been conducted focusing on technology trends and acceptance, there is a lack of research investigating the factors that influence conference attendees’ attitudes toward a mobile event app based on the technology acceptance model (TAM) framework. The purpose of this study was to examine the determinants that influence conference attendees’ attitude toward using a conference mobile event app. The results found that perceived usefulness was the greatest predictor of the app users’ attitude toward the mobile event app, attitude is a significant predictor of overall conference satisfaction, and perceived ease of use was the only significant variable found to vary between age groups. The study’s findings have implications for stakeholders in the MICE industry and the open-ended survey responses offer insights into what conference attendees deem as valuable app functionality and how attendees’ age group may affect technology preferences.     

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.     

Developing and validating a mobile catering app success model

This study develops and validates a mobile catering app success model based on the e-commerce system success model and marketing literature. Specifically, a research model which describes the relationships among system quality, information quality, service quality, product quality, perceived price, perceived promotions, perceived value, user satisfaction, intention to reuse, and eWOM is examined. Data collected from an online survey are analyzed against the research model using PLS-SEM. The results indicate that product quality, perceived price, perceived promotions, and eWOM can be added to the e-commerce system success model to form a mobile catering app success model. Additionally, the findings show that perceived value influences eWOM more strongly than does user satisfaction while user satisfaction affects intention to reuse more strongly than does perceived value. The findings of this study provide several important theoretical and practical implications for developing a successful mobile catering app.     

Assessing the asymmetric impact of interpretation environment service quality on museum visitor experience and post-visit behavioral intentions: a case study of the National Palace Museum

This paper examines the asymmetric positive–negative relationship between interpretation environment service quality, museum visitor experience, and post-visit behavioral intentions. The researchers collected 406 valid questionnaires from visitors to the main exhibit building in the National Palace Museum. Results suggest that the asymmetric effect differs depending on the attribute being examined. When visitors reported their perceptions of personal and sociocultural interpretation environment services, negative perceptions had a larger impact on museum visitor experience than positive perceptions. Moreover, results suggest that museum visitor experience functions as a mediator between perceptions of interpretation environment service quality and post-visit behavioral intentions.     

Satisfaction Measurement of Small Tourism Sector (Museum): Samoa

The purpose of this study was to determine the relative importance of the Robert Louis Stevenson (RLS) museum in Samoa in the measurement of tourist satisfaction. A correlation model was performed to determine the relationship of the satisfaction and attributes of the museum and visitors' intention to recommend the museum. In addition, an analysis of variance was employed to determine any significant differences among different demographic or trip characteristics groups. The results show that the visitor who has a high satisfaction intends to recommend the RLS museum to others. The implications of the study's findings concerned initiatives to expand its market to international tourists, especially Americans and Asians.     

The formation of visitor behavioral intention to creative tourism: the role of push–Pull motivation

This study proposes and examines a behavioral intention to re-experience model consisting of experience quality, perceived value, satisfaction, and push–pull motivation factor as the determinants. For this purpose, self-administrated questionnaires were utilized to gather data from 369 participants of five creative tourism attractions in Indonesia. To examine the proposed model and hypotheses, partial least square modeling was applied. The results provide evidence that pull motivation impacts visitor behavioral intention to re-experience. It also demonstrates that push motivation impacts visitor behavioral intention to re-experience and is strengthened by experience quality and perceived value.     

Exploring Cruise Experiences,Satisfaction, and Loyalty: The Case of Aruba as a Small-Island Tourism Economy

In light of increasing global competition amongst international cruise destinations; growing demand for cruise tourism; and the lack of empirical studies on the “real” destination experience, satisfaction, and intentions to return and recommend (i.e., cruise destination loyalty), the current study investigates cruise visitor satisfaction, cruise destination experience, and the resulting behavioral intention as it relates to the cruise destination of Aruba, Dutch Caribbean. Because of increased reliance of small island economies on cruise tourism receipts and visitor expenditures, cruise ports throughout the Caribbean are seeking ways to improve the quality of destination services and experiences. Results indicate that cruise visitors are satisfied with their visit to Aruba and that overall destination experience in addition to satisfaction, were found to be significant predictors of cruise visitor loyalty.     

Destination Image and Behavior Intention of Travelers to Thailand: the Moderating Effect of Perceived Risk

This study examined the influence of destination image and overall satisfaction toward behavioral intention of travelers to Thailand. The results found that destination image dimensions of quality of hotels and restaurants and cultural and natural attractions significantly influenced overall satisfaction. In addition, overall satisfaction had a positive effect on behavioral intention. This study further investigated the moderating effect of perceived risk on the relationship between overall satisfaction and behavioral intention. Travelers with low perceived risk of these natural disasters had a tendency for greater positive destination image, overall satisfaction, and behavioral intention than travelers with high perceived risk.     

THEMEQUAL—Adapting the SERVQUAL Scale to Theme Park Services: A Case of Hong Kong Disneyland

Faced with keen competition in the theme park operating environment, operators have realized the necessity of maintaining a high standard of service quality in order to survive. Because of the scarcity of literature on theme park service quality, the present study adapts the SERVQUAL model and modifies it as the THEMEQUAL model to measure the gap between perceived service quality and expected service quality from visitors under the theme park setting. The Hong Kong Disneyland is selected due to its importance to the Hong Kong tourism industry. The impact of the dimensions of the model on visitor satisfaction is also examined. Results expressed visitor satisfaction in terms of physical environment, but signified dissatisfaction on employee performance. Among the six dimensions of the model, “responsiveness and access,” “assurance,” and “empathy” are the critical predictors of visitor satisfaction. Discussions on the findings are presented and managerial implications are explained in detail.     

A journey through the museum: Visit factors that prevent or further visitor satiation

Museums seek to provide visitors with memorable experiences. However, some visitors experience a hedonic decline and satiation after their visit. The present research aims to evaluate how the time spent, the route, and the anticipation of the visit might either prevent or further visitor satiation. A field study and a field experiment are performed. Findings reveal that spending more time in the museum and anticipating the content can increase the perceived satiation and diminish visitors' emotional response, although the attention level diminishes for short visits and when the content is not anticipated. In a real context, following a free route reduces perceived satiation, with visitors following a self-regulatory process and adapting the time spent to the level of satiation.     

A conceptualization of the relationships between service quality and visitor satisfaction,and their links to destination selection

Six different conceptualizations of the relationship between visitor satisfaction and service quality have been suggested in the literature. A model is developed which integrates and reconciles these differences. Its central components are recognition of the distinction between quality of performance and quality of experience, and those between individual transactions and global or overall satisfaction and quality. At the transaction level, satisfaction is the affective psychological response to a destination, while service quality is cognitive belief about the destination's features or attributes. Both overall service quality and overall satisfaction are attitudes with cognitive and affective components.     

Evaluating museum visitor experiences based on user-generated travel photos

ABSTRACT

This research introduces online travel photos published on social media platforms as a complementary data resource to examine the behavior and experience of museum visitors. The practical value of online travel photos is demonstrated through a case study of popular Hong Kong museums, particularly by using the photo content and metadata available from the Flickr platform. The proposed approach is a generic method for understanding museum visitor behavior and preferences, and supports museum practitioners in developing improved products for visitors. The case study findings are particularly beneficial for tourism managers, especially those in Hong Kong, in promoting and attracting tourists to visit local museums.     

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.     

Perceived Restorativeness of Visits to Cultural Heritage Sites

This study aimed to examine whether a causal relationship exists between perceived restorativeness and emotional healing, visitor satisfaction, and intention to revisit with respect to a visit to the Seooreung Shrine in South Korea. Attention restorativeness theory claims that four factors (being away, fascination, extent, and compatibility) induce a restorative environment. The results of the conducted survey support the four factors of attention restorativeness theory. Two distinct groups were identified and differences were discovered between the groups with respect to satisfaction and perceived restorativeness. Emotional healing exerted more influence on intention to revisit than visitor satisfaction. This study delivers a significant outcome as pioneer research on healing tourism by discovering emotional healing as a precedent variable to visitor satisfaction and intention to revisit in the area of cultural heritage tourism.     

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.     

Beyond the authentic taste: The tourist experience at a food museum restaurant

This study investigates the factors influencing food experiences perceived by food tourists in the context of a food museum and its associated restaurant. A qualitative exploratory approach was employed, using Chinese tourists visiting Hangzhou Cuisine Museum in Zhejiang province. This research finds that food tourists look for knowledge accumulation and gastronomic experiences when visiting a food museum and restaurant complex, and each experience is formed by both tourist and setting factors. The findings highlight the significant and more complex engagement of setting factors in the museum restaurants. The institutionalised characteristics of museums are equally expected within the in-house restaurants, and social trust in the museum along with external factors that verify authentic representation of the museum contributed to the perceived authenticity of the food tourist's dining experience. This paper discusses broad implications for food experience design at food museums and restaurants as emerging tourism attractions.     

Examining Relationships among Expo Experiences,Service Quality,Satisfaction, and the Effect of the Expo: The Case of the Expo 2012 Yeosu Korea

The enduring legacy of a mega-event can be the unique opportunities it provides for visitors. Thus, focusing on the visitors’ experiences should be a priority for the tourism industry. Festivals and mega-events are typical experiential products that provide high-quality experiences in the field of tourism. This study examines Pine and Gilmore's concept of the experience economy in the context of a mega-event. Specifically, the relationships among Expo experience, quality, satisfaction, and the effect of the Expo 2012 Yeosu Korea are examined. This study empirically tests whether the Expo experience and Expo quality influence visitor satisfaction. It also investigates whether visitor satisfaction influences the effect of the Expo. A self-administered survey was conducted for visitors (N?=?377) of the Expo. The results of testing Pine and Gilmore's concept of the experience economy reveal that among four dimensions, esthetic experience followed by entertainment experience were the most important experiences influencing visitor satisfaction. The results also show that the effect of the Yeosu Expo was determined by Expo satisfaction. However, the findings indicate that educational and escape experiences were not closely related to satisfaction for Expo visitors.     

Examining the Differential Impact of Human Crowding Versus Spatial Crowding on Visitor Satisfaction at a Festival

Human crowding at a festival can affect visitor satisfaction differently to spatial crowding. Festival visitors perceive human crowding as a situation in which the festival is full of people. Spatial crowding, on the other hand, is perceived as restricting movement. We hypothesized that human crowding affects visitor satisfaction in a positive way (by increasing positive affect and decreasing negative affect), whereas spatial crowding affects visitor satisfaction in a negative way (by decreasing positive affect and increasing negative affect). We tested these hypotheses using data collected through an on-site survey at the 2012 Seoul Lantern Festival in South Korea: 423 visitors attending the festival completed the survey. The survey results supported the hypotheses. Managerial implications of the findings are also discussed.