Antecedents and loyalty of tourists visiting secondary cities in provinces in southern Thailand

Abstract

Developing loyalty among tourists who visit secondary cities of provinces in Southern Thailand represents a way to support entrepreneurs in the areas of tourist attractions and businesses that are part of the networks of tourist service provision. However, the promotion of tourist loyalty is crucial problem in Southern Thailand. Despite the significant growth of tourism industry in Thailand, still the tourist loyalty is needed to promote to achieve higher performance in tourism industry. To address this challenge, this study examined the role of tourist attraction potential, government policies, service innovation and travel intention on tourist loyalty. To achieve this purpose, this study considered mixed method approach and data collection is performed through questionnaire survey and interviews in Southern part of Thailand. Statistical tool is used to examine the relationship between variables. Results of the study investigated that; tourist attraction potential, government policies, service innovation and travel intention have vital contribution to promote tourist loyalty in Southern part of Thailand. This study recommended that the tourism management companies should promote tourist loyalty by promoting tourist attraction potential, government policies, service innovation and travel intention.