Visitors’ Satisfaction and Loyalty toward Protected Areas: Exploring the Role of Motivations and Perceived Quality

Abstract

Visitor satisfaction and loyalty are critical for the sustainability of protected areas (PAs). However, there is a substantial knowledge gap regarding the dynamic influences of motivation and perceived quality on these variables. To address this gap, this study examines the complex relationships between visitor motivations and the perceived quality of PA attributes, and their role as contributors to satisfaction and loyalty. A survey was conducted among visitors of a Portuguese PA, yielding 316 questionnaires. The results from the PLS-SEM model indicate that only nature and relaxation motivation directly affects satisfaction. Motivations can have different effects on the perceived quality of various PA attributes, and these attributes mediate the motivation-satisfaction relationship to different degrees. Satisfaction was found to mediate the quality-loyalty relationship. These findings contribute to the underdeveloped body of knowledge regarding the antecedents of satisfaction and loyalty in PAs, while providing substantial management implications for the park under analysis.

Luís Filipe Silva

J. Cadima Ribeiro 

Francisco Carballo Cruz

[Resumo de artigo disponível em Leisure Sciences - An Interdisciplinary Journal, publicado online em 2023/11/27 (https://doi.org/10.1080/01490400.2023.2285348)]