Attachment as a factor in generating satisfaction with, and loyalty to, rural tourism destinations

Abstract

Place attachment has recently become a research topic of interest
as a relevant concept in understanding some tourist behaviours. It
is a relational concept based on cognitive and emotional
connections with destinations, yet it has seldom been studied as a
loyalty predictor. The objective of this research is to test the
influence that attachment exerts on satisfaction with, and loyalty to,
rural tourism destinations, through destinations’ main dimensions:
identity and destination dependence. The application of attachment
to rural tourism is considered interesting because of the particular
relationships that tourists establish with the associated
environments. In addition, this field lacks causal studies related to
marketing, to better plan, manage and commercialise these
destinations and their companies. To test the theoretical model, a
sample of data on 464 rural tourists was collected through an online
survey. An analysis was carried out using a partial least
squares technique through structural equation modelling. The
results reveal that both destination identity and dependence are
significant antecedents of overall satisfaction with, and loyalty to,
rural tourism destinations, but destination dependence has a
greater influence. The model shows a good capability to explain the
endogenous constructs of overall satisfaction and loyalty.