Motivation and service quality relationship with visitor satisfaction and loyalty intentions in a mountainous protected area

ABSTRACT

This research examined multidimensional relationships of service quality and motivation with satisfaction and loyalty intentions among visitors at Gaurishankar Conservation Area (GCA) in Nepal. Data were collected via a questionnaire survey with international tourists, and analysis was conducted using partial least square structural equation modeling. Satisfaction was significantly and positively related to both intention to revisit and intention to recommend, thus suggesting the key role of satisfaction on tourists’ loyalty. While the relationships of perceived service environment quality with satisfaction and revisit intention were not significant; perceived service environment quality had a positive and significant association with the intention to recommend. Similarly, motivation to experience nature and perceived service delivery quality were positively and significantly related to both intention to recommend and intention to revisit directly or indirectly via satisfaction. Overall, results suggest that GCA management could improve visitor satisfaction and loyalty by further improving the quality of service environment and quality of service delivery, and by attracting tourists who are motivated to experience nature. Findings also suggest the importance of considering multidimensionality and complex interrelationships of factors related to visitors’ expectations and behaviors in planning destination marketing and service offering.

KEYWORDS:

• Nature-based tourism
• visitor experience
• satisfaction
• Gaurishankar Conservation Area
• Nepal

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.