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Drawing on the literature on service quality, marketing, and tourism, the present study tests a comprehensive model of the effects of perceived quality (PQ) on loyalty in the context of a tourism destination. Using a sample of 249 residents from the United Kingdom and the United States who visited Australia between 2008 and 2012, this research applies partial least squares–structural equation modeling to examine these relationships. PQ is operationalized as a multidimensional construct determined by six destination dimensions: natural and well-known attractions, variety of tourist services, quality of general atmosphere, entertainment and recreation, general environment, and accessibility. Our results support the conceptualization of PQ as a “reflective first-order, formative second-order” model (also referred to as a molar, or type II, higher order model, see Diamantopoulos A, Riefler P, and Roth KP (2008) Advancing formative measurement models. Journal of Business Research 61(12): 1203–1218). Results from this study found that the six reflective first-order dimensions of PQ form the higher (second)-order PQ construct. Moreover, PQ has a stronger effect on loyalty (both direct and indirect through satisfaction) compared to perceived value, which only exercises an indirect effect on loyalty. The study presents new insights on the operationalization of PQ and the network of causal relationships among PQ, value, satisfaction, and loyalty in tourism destinations.

The present study examines a comprehensive model of travelers’ use of online travel reviews as a form of user-generated content (UGC) through an expanded unified theory of acceptance and use of technology 2 (UTAUT2) framework. The UTAUT2, which includes Performance Expectancy (PE), Effort Expectancy (EE), Social Influence (SI), Facilitating Conditions, Hedonic Motivation (HM), Price-Saving Orientation, and Habit, within this study incorporates two new variables: Trustworthiness and Homophily. We empirically examine the expanded model on a sample of 200 residents in the United Kingdom. The partial least squares–structural equation modeling analysis revealed that Homophily, PR, and Price-Saving Orientation are the strongest predictors of individual usage intentions’ of UGC. Moreover, the dimension of Habit, operationalized as a subjective measure of impulsive and automatic use of UGC, was found to be the strongest predictor of travelers’ actual UGC usage. This study enhances our understanding of the explanatory variables driving the usage of online reviews (e.g. contrary to prevalent knowledge from previous works, Trustworthiness in the present study was nonsignificant), thus providing far-reaching theoretical and practical recommendations for tourism researchers and practitioners.