Determinants of continuous visiting behavior to Palawan, Philippines: Integrating Uncertainty Reduction Theory and Expectation Confirmation Theory.

Abstract

Palawan is a globally known island located in the Philippines. It has received several recognitions from a variety of international tourism organizations. The study aims to identify the factors affecting continuous visiting behavior to Palawan's travel accommodations. The study incorporated covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM) to apply ideologies of Uncertainty Reduction Theory (URT) and Expectation Confirmation Theory (ECT). 712 valid respondents answered an online questionnaire that was distributed to several social media platforms. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) identified that interactive uncertainty significantly influenced perceived performance compared to passive uncertainty. Both the physical environment and attitude of employees significantly produced an impact on service experience and price acceptance. However, the physical environment negatively influenced price acceptance. Meanwhile, the attitude of employees was the sole exogenous variable that influenced price acceptance. Food and beverage didn't contribute a significant influence on service experience and price acceptance. Additionally, perceived performance and service experience contributed to positive confirmation. It was also revealed that confirmation was significant towards price acceptance, but was insignificant towards tourist satisfaction. Moreover, price acceptance significantly influenced tourist satisfaction. This study is the first comprehensive study that analyzed the visiting behavior in Palawan. Finally, integrating URT and ECT can be applied and extended, especially for analyzing the visiting behavior of different tourist destinations worldwide.