Exploring the impact of visitor satisfaction on loyalty towards a specific destination

Abstract

Previous visitor satisfaction studies have identified a clear relationship between visitor satisfaction and destination loyalty. However, this conclusion has also been questioned, because the majority of studies on tourism destination marketing examine mainly the cognitive element of visitor satisfaction. The present study moves a step further than previous ones, because it still incorporates the cognitive element, but nevertheless investigates the affective element. The impact of emotions in visitor satisfaction is examined, after which the prognostic ability of the cognitive elements and emotions is compared. A major conclusion of the study is that the cognitive element of visitor satisfaction, together with emotions (positive and negative), yield a positive relationship with tourism destination loyalty. Further analysis indicates that, in tourism, the emotional element is a more reliable indicator of visitor loyalty than the cognitive element.