The role of satisfaction in cultural activities’ word-of-mouth. A case study in the Picasso Museum of Málaga (Spain)

Abstract

Word of mouth has become a relevant area of research in tourism activities in the last decades. However, the effects on this recommendation of tourists’ emotions is an underdeveloped area, particularly in cultural tourism. This tourism is the second most important segment in terms of numbers of tourist arrivals in countries with significant tourism, such as Spain. Taking stock of the recent advances in cultural tourism, this paper explores the specific factors that affect word of mouth in museums. As a novel approach, an experiment (painting a self-portrait) with 127 international visitors was conducted in a famous museum (Picasso Museum in Malaga, Spain). The participants painted themselves in a self-portrait. The results show that strengthening pleasure and activation of emotions in tourists when they are conducting cultural activities has a positive effect on their satisfaction, affecting this positively the word of mouth about the museum.