Visitors’ loyalty and price perceptions: the role of customer engagement

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis research focuses on word-of-mouth behavior as a form of customer influencer behavior, which represents an important facet of customer engagement. While recent research suggests positive direct effects of engagement on loyalty and customers’ price perceptions, this research contributes to the literature by examining customers’ affective attitude toward the destination, extending previous research approaches. The study was conducted at the WWF-funded visitor center in a national forest park and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Results indicate that engaged customers form more positive attitudes, resulting in increased future loyalty and positive price perceptions, empirically supporting various conceptual approaches. Furthermore, the results show that purely cognitive approaches are inadequate for understanding customers’ price perceptions. This is of importance for sustainable services or ecotourism destinations, as customers’ attitudes and willingness-to-pay judgments are influenced by, among other things, environmental beliefs and an interest in ecotourism.