Fourth International Conference on Tourism and Leisure Studies

Abstract

Past research shows satisfaction and loyalty as the main outcomes of visitor experience. However, both satisfaction and loyalty may be dependent on time. The temporal nature of satisfaction and loyalty may be captured with longitudinal studies tracking satisfaction and loyalty not only after the experience but also at different times before the decision for the next visit. Alternatively, comparison studies measuring satisfaction and loyalty of different visitors with different duration of time since the previous visit may also provide a glimpse into the changing nature of these concepts. In addition, loyalty may depend on exposure to different emotional stimuli after the visit. Evidence suggests that emotional components are the most important factors of visitor experience (Palmer, 2010); hence, exposure to positive emotional stimuli could influence post-visit experience and loyalty. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of time on visitor satisfaction and loyalty, as well as to analyze the influence of post-visit emotional stimuli on visitors’ behavioral intentions. A scenario-based experiment was conducted online with respondents who visited Orlando during the last twelve months. The results show that time after the visit has negative effects on visitor satisfaction and loyalty, suggesting the temporal nature of both concepts. Findings also show that post-visit emotional stimuli could positively influence visitors’ behavioral intentions, which means that it is possible to influence customer loyalty afterwards.