Relationships between perceptions of virtual destination environment, satisfaction and loyalty
Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology
ISSN: 1757-9880
Article publication date: 17 August 2015
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to clarify the relationships between virtual destination environment factors and visitors’ satisfaction and loyalty. Virtual destination environment factors are based upon Kaplan and Kaplan’s preference matrix. Kaplan and Kaplan (1982) developed a preference matrix to describe how people use information to satisfy their needs of making sense and exploration in a physical environment. According to the model, while coherence and legibility help one to understand the place, variety and mystery landscape encourage exploration. Each of the factors can be associated with elements of the virtual destination environment.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were collected from 170 users who visited My Destination Barcelona Facebook page. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, as well as structural equation modelling (SEM) were used to analyze the data.
Findings
The study explored the relationships between virtual destination environment, satisfaction and loyalty based on the Kaplan and Kaplan’s preference matrix. According to the findings, when the virtual destination environment includes a variety of visuals and enough information related to the destination, and at the same time, when it includes environmental factors which stimulate curiosity, excitement and entertainment, the virtual destination environment will provide visitors’ satisfaction and loyalty.
Research limitations/implications
Several limitations of the present study should be mentioned. First, data from this study were collected from visitors of only one destination Facebook page (My Destination Barcelona) as a virtual destination environment. Second, although the sample size (N = 170) in the study seems enough for SEM, it is quite low. In addition, the use of a convenience sampling approach could decrease external validity. Thus, future studies should consider developing a systematic design to better represent the population.
Originality/value
This paper examines how online visitors perceive virtual destination environment and how perception directly influences visitors’ satisfaction feelings and indirectly affects their loyalty.
Keywords
Citation
Yüncü, D. (2015), "Relationships between perceptions of virtual destination environment, satisfaction and loyalty", Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, Vol. 6 No. 2, pp. 160-173. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTT-07-2014-0021
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2015, Emerald Group Publishing Limited