The tourist experience: Modelling the relationship between tourist satisfaction and destination loyalty

Abstract

Purpose and backgroundGoa is in western India with shorelines along the Arabian Sea which has a long history of a Portuguese colony (earlier to 1961) with tropical spice plantations and cathedrals. With oscillating widespread beaches (Calangute and Palolem) Goa is a tourist attraction (Velha, Panaji) for many locals and foreigners. As a separate state, it has its perspectives in enticing the tourists. The study aims at examining the pre and post-visit behaviors of tourists in Goa and their destination loyalty. Destination loyalty is tested with internal and external satisfaction factors and their influence on tourist satisfaction. Internal factors tested are refreshment, excitement, a new destination to see, visiting friends and relatives. External factors include liking towards nature and historic destinations, infrastructure and facilities, safety and comfort, budget and affordability, and socio-cultural factors. Loyalty is understood on the tourist behavior of revisit to Goa and their goodwill towards Goa tourism destination experience. Research design/methodology/approachThe data is collected from 950 respondents, including local and international tourists who visited Goa during 2018 and 2019. Well, a structured questionnaire with a 5-point Likert scale developed en route for data collection. The questionnaires are administered through a drop-off survey. Most advanced techniques of Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) is designed for the data analysis using software IBM SPSS AMOS. SEM is considered as the most reliable technique for testing the factors in-depth in understanding the crucial components that are manipulating each other. Data is cleaned with Data Imputing Technique, tested for reliability and suitability (KMO and Bartlett- 0.709; Cronbach s Alpha, 0.764), additional precautions are taken in identifying the outliers to avoid inconvenience while computing the data. All the beaches in Goa, Tourist Destinations, Resorts, Hotels, Clubs and Amusement parks, Homestays, Shopping malls, and the pilgrimages are plotted for data collection. The techniques adopted for examining the rapport among the constructs of tourist satisfaction and their loyalty in the Post-Visit stages of their visit to Goa using the concepts of Intrinsic and Extrinsic influencing factors of travel. Demographic/Psychographic [IAO variables; Interests, Activities, and Opinions] profile of the respondents is introduced as a control variable to identify whether there is a direct or inverse correlation on the dependent variable, Tourist Loyalty. Results and findingsThe results are directing that the pre-visit behavior (Intrinsic motives and extrinsic motives) can act as a stimulus for post-visit behavior, which has a direct effect on post-visit (behavioural) intention but has no intervening influence. Re-visit choice and references are generally grounded on destination satisfaction and familiarity. Also, being an education hub, it is found that there are more visitors to Goa on academic, research, or professional purposes. The study indicated that constructive socio-demographic variables hold a momentous impact on tourists’ pre-visit actions. Moreover, the result of the ‘post-visit‘ model indicates that internal satisfaction has a constructive influence on destination loyalty, as compared to external satisfaction. Conclusion, implications, and further researchConcerning this, the study concludes that internal satisfiers has an impact on external satisfiers and accentuates destination loyalty. The study strongly recommends for the service providers to study the tourist behavior and their preferences and act accordingly to attract more tourist customers to Goa.