Perceived Value in Sustainable Coastal and Marine Destinations: A Study of Jacó in Costa Rica

Abstract

Perceived value influences the future behavior of tourists in sustainable coastal destinations, and thus is crucial for the elaboration of development plans. This study aims to: (i) identify the dimensions of the perceived value of demand in a coastal and marine destination; (ii) determine the dimensions of the perceived value that predict the satisfaction of the demand of a coastal and marine destination; and (iii) establish the dimensions of perceived value that predict loyalty variables such as return, recommendation, and saying positive things about a coastal and marine destination. This research was carried out in Jacó, a sustainable tourist destination on the Pacific Ocean coast located in the Central American country of Costa Rica. The sample collection was carried out on-site in June 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. This quantitative study used a sample of 304 valid questionnaires. Factor analysis and the multiple regression method were performed for data analysis. The results show three dimensions in the perceived value, namely, the emotional and functional value, the social value, and the economic value. The emotional and functional dimension is the most important predictor of satisfaction and loyalty in variables such as return, recommendation, and saying positive things about a coastal and marine destination. The results can serve as a management guide for managers of coastal and marine destinations and as information for service providers to develop products according to demand.

Loyalty in the time of COVID-19: A review of the literature in tourism destination settings

“…The operationalization of destination loyalty typically included scale items referring to recommendation or positive word-of-mouth (WOM) about the destinations, combined with other revisit intentions items within the same loyalty construct. However, some investigations specified and operationalized tourists’ recommendations or endorsements as additional, separate constructs in their models (e.g., Chebli et al, 2021 ; Kralikova et al, 2021 ; Koç et al, 2022 ; Suhartanto et al, 2022 ; Carvache-Franco et al, 2022a , b ).…”

“…As indicated in Table 1 , the majority of the articles reported that their survey participants were domestic tourists, which is not surprising due to travel restrictions and border closures during 2020. Indeed, most studies that used samples of international tourist respondents collected their survey data later in 2021 (e.g., Otero-Gomez and Giraldo-Perez, 2022 ; Šerić and Mikulić, 2022 ; Carvache-Franco et al, 2022a , b ). Of the reviewed studies, 7 utilized co-variance based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM), while 11 employed partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), in line with the growing popularity of PLS-SEM in tourism marketing research ( Hair et al, 2021 ).…”

“…The review of the research results reported in the articles reveal a variety of constructs that predict destination loyalty as illustrated in Figure 1 . The determinants of destination loyalty found as statistically significant with available effects as Beta coefficients ( Vogt and Johnson, 2016 ) were: satisfaction (β = 0.790) by Papadopoulou et al (2022) ; destination image (β = 0.530) by Zaman et al (2021) ; emotional and functional value (β = 0.477) by Carvache-Franco et al (2022b) ; perceived values (β = 0.382) and emotions (β = 0.434) by Tu et al (2022) ; happiness (β not reported) by Kralikova et al (2021) ; cultural-archaeological and sun-beach motivations (β not reported) by Garcia-Reinoso et al (2021) ; emotional solidarity’s dimensions of feeling welcomed (β = 0.560), emotional closeness (β = 0.240), and sympathetic understanding (β = 0.530) by Woosnam et al (2021) ; tourists’ cultural intelligence (β = 0.166) by Zaman et al (2021) ; destination experiencescape’s dimensions of key attractions (β = 0.250) auxiliary elements (β = 0.380), and atmosphere (β = 0.230) by Lin et al (2022) ; and the overall consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) of the destination (β = 0.590) by Otero-Gomez and Giraldo-Perez (2022) .…”

Perceived value and its relationship to satisfaction and loyalty in cultural coastal destinations: A study in Huanchaco, Peru

“…These two dimensions were also predictors of tourists’ satisfaction and loyalty. Finally, Carvache-Franco et al [ 23 ] found three dimensions of perceived value in Costa Rica, namely emotional and functional value, social value, and economic value.…”

“…In Costa Rica, Carvache-Franco et al [ 23 ] also found that the emotional and functional dimension is the most important predictor of satisfaction and loyalty variables, such as return, recommendation, and word-of-mouth intentions about a coastal and marine destination. For Tkaczynski et al [ 34 ], whale watchers’ interest in protecting the environment was a significant predictor of perceived quality and emotional value.…”