An Extended Model of In-Situ Trip Satisfaction Formation

Abstract

Tourists’ satisfaction with their trips has two elements: affective (emotional impressions) and cognitive (rational evaluations). The former often depends on the latter (which includes the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and contextual sub-elements). Trip satisfaction, nevertheless, is usually measured after the trip has finished. Thus, a lag effect may have certain impacts on the evaluations. In addition, the influences of the current COVID-19 pandemic on tourists’ satisfaction, in general, and their emotions, in particular, have not yet been considered. The purpose of this study is to examine tourists’ in-situ emotions by tracing their antecedents, including the above-mentioned factors and those beyond them. Using data collected from one young tourist sample (n = 298) in Vietnam, this study found that the intrapersonal element of “nonverbal communication skills,” the interpersonal element of “relationship satisfaction,” and the contextual elements of “destination attributes” and “symbolic values” were influencers of these tourists’ positive emotions. The situational elements of “COVID-19 self-efficacy” and “COVID-19 fear” did not have positive impacts. Theoretical contributions to the literature, and practical implications for trip operators and tourists are discussed.

Keywords: In-Situ Trip Satisfaction, Communication Skills, Destination Attributes, Relationship Satisfaction, COVID-19

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