The role of perceived restorative capacity and crowding on satisfactiona study in different tourist spaces

  1. Kevin Arbelo
  2. Naira Delgado
  3. Cristina Ruiz
  4. Estefanía Hernández-Fernaud
Journal:
International Journal of Social Psychology, Revista de Psicología Social

ISSN: 0213-4748 1579-3680

Year of publication: 2021

Volume: 36

Issue: 2

Pages: 265-299

Type: Article

DOI: 10.1080/02134748.2021.1882225 DIALNET GOOGLE SCHOLAR

More publications in: International Journal of Social Psychology, Revista de Psicología Social

Abstract

The objective of this study is to analyse the effect of perceived crowding and perceived restorative capacity on tourist satisfaction in different tourist environments. After visiting three tourist spaces, 1,958 tourists were surveyed. Three scales were used: (1) perceived restorative capacity of tourist environments; (2) perceived crowding; and (3) satisfaction, enjoyment and intention to recommend. The results showed that the perception of restorative capacity is intensely related to satisfaction measurements. In all three tourist spaces, satisfaction decreases as perceived restorative capacity drops. Likewise, the perception of crowding shows an inverse relationship with satisfaction; tourists who had a strong sense of being disturbed over the number of people at the site had lower levels of satisfaction, enjoyment and intention to recommend. The results show the important role played by perceived restorative capacity and the perception of crowding on tourist satisfaction and the need to explore the role of psycho-environmental variables on satisfaction by incorporating the unique features of the place visited.

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