Consumer satisfaction and services: insights from dive tourism

Abstract

This article focuses on consumer satisfaction in services within the context of tourism, and the dive tourism industry in particular. It identifies the key elements that certified, experienced recreational divers use to determine satisfaction, and discusses the relative importance of the elements. Thereafter, a framework explaining the formation of diver satisfaction is proposed – and the role of emotion is highlighted above other satisfaction antecedents. The findings have practical and academic implications for the wider realms of tourism and other service industries. This research was conducted in Zanzibar, Tanzania, using a combination of participant observation and face-to-face interviews and illustrates the power of such techniques to reach the core of consumer thoughts, actions, and feelings.

Keywords:

• service satisfaction
• consumer satisfaction
• tourist satisfaction
• dive tourism

Notes