The perceived value and profile of protected areas visitors: A case study of the Guayas province, Ecuador

Abstract

In the literature on tourism and travel, there is a large number of studies on the perceived value, however, natural protected areas and its relationship with the profile of the tourist has been little investigated. Hence, the importance of posing the main objective, to evaluate the relationship between the perceived value with the satisfaction and loyalty of the visitors of Morro Mangroves Wildlife Refuge, Santay Island National Recreation Area and Samanes National Recreation Area, three vulnerable protected areas located in the province of Guayas in Ecuador. The study was conducted in situ with 382 surveys, finding that the perceived values that are related to satisfaction and loyalty were functional value and emotional value.

The perceived value in ecotourism related to satisfaction and loyalty: A study from Costa Rica

“…Regarding the perceived value and its relation to general satisfaction, our results have found that all the dimensions of the perceived value were significantly and positively related to general satisfaction. Similar results were found in other studies (Carvache-Franco et al, 2019;Jaya, 2018;Lee et al, 2007;Lee et al, 2010;Peña et al, 2012;Sun et al, 2013), which indicates that all dimensions of perceived value are related to overall satisfaction.…”

“…Also, for Jaya (2018), the perceived values that should be the material of the evaluation were the functional and the emotional values, comparable to our economic-functional and emotional results. For Carvache-Franco et al (2019), functional and emotional values were linked to satisfaction and loyalty, results that are closely related to ours (economic-functional and emotional values). The findings of this study contribute to the literature by establishing that the main perceived values related to general satisfaction are the "functional-economic value" and the "emotional value."…”

“…But as seen in this research, the economic and functional value can be merged into a single dimension called "economic and functional" value. Regarding the relationship of perceived value with general satisfaction, the findings show that all dimensions of perceived value are related to general satisfaction, as previous studies have also shown (Carvache-Franco et al, 2019;Jaya, 2018;Lee et al, 2007;Lee et al, 2010;Peña et al, 2012;Sun et al, 2013). The main perceived values that are related to overall satisfaction are "functional-economic value" and "emotional value," closely related to the results reported in other studies (Kim and Park, 2017;Kim and Thapa, 2018;Jaya, 2018;Carvache-Franco et al, 2019).…”

“…Table 5 shows the results. As presented in Table 5, all dimensions of perceived value were significantly and positively related to overall satisfaction, so there is a significant relationship between perceived value and overall satisfaction, coinciding with several studies (Carvache-Franco et al, 2019;Jaya, 2018;Lee et al, 2007;Lee et al, 2010;Peña et al, 2012;Sun et al, 2013). The economic and functional dimension was the one most related to overall satisfaction, so prices and the quality of services should improve to increase the satisfaction of tourists in these destinations.…”

“…Among the theoretical implications, previous literature has found four perceived values in ecotour-ism: economic, functional, emotional and social (Carvache Franco et al, 2019;Kim & Thapa, 2018;Park, 2017, Lee et al, 2007;Lee et al, 2010, Solís-Radilla et al, 2016Williams & Soutar, 2009). But as seen in this research, the economic and functional value can be merged into a single dimension called "economic and functional" value.…”