A model on tourist behaviour: destination image, visitor satisfaction and loyalty

• Autor(a) principal: Figo, Virgínia Maria de Carvalho Dias Lopes
• Data de Publicação: 2019
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10071/19883
• topic: Turismo; Turismo de herança; Destino turístico; Imagem de destino; Satisfação do turista; Sealdade; Heritage tourism; Destination image; Visitor satisfaction; Loyalty

In what concerns tourism research, there is an increasing interest in areas of investigation as destination image, visitor satisfaction and loyalty, for both scholars and practitioners. The present research goal was to develop a conceptual model for destination image, visitor satisfaction and loyalty and validate its structure, as to gain insights on visitors’ perceptions of destination image, its satisfaction and loyalty, having both theoretical and managerial implications. With this aim, a web review collection approach was selected and online reviews on the University of Coimbra and some of its buildings (Joanine Library, Old Church of Coimbra, and Botanical Gardens) were manually gathered from TripAdvisor. Two hypotheses were presented and tested through qualitative and quantitative data analysis methods. The notion that destination image influences visitor satisfaction, which in turn influences loyalty, in a positive manner was statistically proven. Hence, the link between the variables is in accordance with the literature. For practitioners, one of the main objectives of understanding the links between the referred variables, is to understand how they are applicable to the destination itself. As such, knowledge on destination image, its dimensions and its relationship with satisfaction and loyalty is crucial so they can act upon that data. This research provides a practical way to identify each monument image perception, as each monument set of themes provides a general overview of the issues that matter the most to reviewers and their experiences. Moreover, managers can understand which issues are seen as negative and vice versa and act upon.