Exploring Motivation, Satisfaction and Revisit Intention of Ecolodge Visitors

Abstract

Purpose – This paper demonstrates that the recommendations regarding visitor satisfaction and revisit intention reported in the international literature apply to the management of ecolodges in Sri Lanka. Design/Methodology/Approach – Data from 362 self-report questionnaires completed by visitors between January 2014 and January 2015 were analysed by structural modelling using SPSS and AMOS to confirm the significance that reported direct and indirect relationships of the latent factors ecolodge attributes, tourist motives, visitor satisfaction, and revisit intention have for Sri Lankan ecolodges. Findings – Responses of visitors to Sri Lankan ecolodges were like those of ecolodge visitors in other countries. Ecolodge attributes had a strong direct influence on both international tourist motives to visit Sri Lanka and visitor satisfaction. Further, travel motives and satisfaction have a substantial direct influence on tourist intentions to revisit individual ecolodges and hence Sri Lanka more broadly. Originality of the research – Having confirmed that the factors which influence satisfaction and revisit intention of visitors to Sri Lankan ecolodges are consistent with the research findings from other countries, this is the first study to demonstrate that recommendations from the international ecolodge literature are applicable to and can inform the management and sustainability of ecolodges in Sri Lanka.

Exploring Recreationist-Environment Fit Hospitality Experiences of Green Hotels in China

“…In the context of tourism, service quality, satisfaction, involvement, previous experience, place attachment, and perceived value can influence guests' intentions to revisit [128][129][130]. Of these, satisfaction is one of the most important determinants, which is widely understood in tourism experiences [56,131]. Several studies have proven that the more the guests express their satisfaction with destinations, the more likely they will be to revisit [132,133].…”

Ecolodge Entrepreneurship in Emerging Markets: A New Typology of Entrepreneurs; The Case of IRAN

“…Simpson et al, [88] Identifying factors influencing revisit intention of ecolodge visitors 362 visitors to Sri Lankan ecolodges…”

“…unsustainable ecotourism business practices [23,76,77], 2) profile of ecotourists, their motivations, characteristics, attitudes, satisfaction and related segmentation [39,[78][79][80][81][82][83][84][85][86][87][88][89][90], 3) service quality, attributes, performance goals and sustainable management of ecolodges [15,18,[91][92][93][94]] 4) contribution of ecolodges in local sustainable development [95][96][97], and 5) miscellaneous themes namely private tourism ecolodge concessions, pedagogical process for designing an ecolodge [98,99].…”

Effects of Recreational Camping on the Environmental Values of National Parks in Sri Lanka

“…With the rising demand for natural area tourism in Sri Lanka, the demand for alternative accommodation choices has also increased ( Sumanapala et al . 2015 , 2017 ; Simpson et al . 2020 ).…”

“…However, due to the variability in environmental conditions, the magnitude and level of use, site specific physical developments at campsites, and campsite visitor characteristics (such as visitor behaviours, attitude, and environmental orientation) such research findings may have some limited applicability in the Tropical Asian context. Furthermore, several authors have reported on the importance of demonstrating the local relevance of research and management practices in order to sustain or enhance nature-based tourism experiences ( Bandara 2009 ; Fernando & Kaluarachchi 2016 ; Simpson et al . 2020 ; Marasinghe et al .…”