Tourists Loyalty to Rural Tourism Destination based on Perceptions

Abstract

This study examined the impacts of tourists’ perceptions of quality, image, value, and experience on their loyalty with the mediating role of overall satisfaction and trust in one of the rural tourism destinations. A survey of 540 respondents was conducted across Javaherdeh, one of the main rural destinations in Ramsar, Iran. The structural, convergent, divergent, and diagnostic validity was performed to confirm the validity of the questionnaire, and the reliability was confirmed by composite reliability and Cronbach’s alpha test. Analyzing data using SPSS22 and SmartPLS3, supported the conceptual model and indicated that perceived quality can positively affect the perceived image, which has a significant and positive impact on perceived value and overall satisfaction. Additionally, it was revealed that perceived value positively influences the perceived experience and perceived quality and overall satisfaction have a significant and positive impact on trust. Finally, the perceived experience and overall satisfaction were found to positively affect loyalty. Based on all the results, “Creating an integrated network of rural tourism services to facilitate marketing communication and informing tourists” was presented as the main aspect of the study. The paper includes discussions of the theoretical and managerial implications of the findings.

Keywords: Loyalty, Tourists Perceptions, Rural Destination, Rural Tourism, Javaherdeh Village, Ramsar

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