Mix between Satisfaction and Attributes Destination Choice: A Segmentation Criterion to Understand the Ski Resorts Consumers

Abstract

This study examined the attributes prioritized by tourists when choosing a winter sports destination and their degree of satisfaction with the services provided by Portugal's only ski resort. Two hundred tourists completed a questionnaire with factor analysis then deployed to extract the data that served as the basis for cluster analysis. Our results report discrepancies between the attributes valued by tourists when choosing winter sports destinations and their degree of satisfaction with the ski resort's services. Moreover, the combination between attributes/motivations prevailing in destination selection and the subsequent satisfaction with the services provided may generate information of relevance to evaluating organizational competitiveness. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Measuring Service Quality of Ski Resorts: An Approach to Identify the Consumer Profile

“…These results, however, showed an opposite trend when compared with results obtained by Matzler et al [50], concluding that the quality of slopes was considered as an important factor for male tourists, and services associated with the quality of restaurants were considered more satisfactory to female tourists. Although this study's results did not indicate significant differences when compared with respect to gender, several studies have found differences in consumer profile between men and women [41,43]. This approach, was also mentioned in other studies conducted in other sports contexts, concluding that the motivation and expectation regarding dimensions of service quality, may dependent of gender variable [27,54].…”

“…Not having that kind of experience can affect appreciation of services, since there is no reference to compare [41]. The results in Table 3 show that cluster 4 is composed by 54.9 % of consumers who had never attended another ski resort, corresponding precisely to tourists/visitors satisfied with everything.…”

“…With regard to tourist consumer profile, it is also essential to understand expectations that people consider before traveling (destination attributes), since this expectation will directly affect the satisfaction degree after experiences [29,40,41]. In this sense, the identification of what attributes are most valued in a destination by consumers, as well as the degree of satisfaction after experiencing the services must be studied, because it may influence consumer loyalty to particular destinations.…”

“…Using variables to do segmentation (geographic; demographic; psychographic and behavioral) allows better understand of consumer profiles. This type of analysis is crucial, since several studies have pointed differences in consumer behavior, namely, between men and women; levels of experience; ages; reasons for trips [41,43,47]. …”

#MeTourism: How selfies affect re-visit intention in narcissistic age

“…Identifying factors that influence satisfaction is fundamental to keep the consumers [15]. It is done to find out what makes the customer buy again, so that in the long run it is a strategy that must be done.…”