Memorable Tourism Experiences Inspired by the Beauty of Nature

Abstract

Purpose – Today's tourists are increasingly looking for an active, healthy and meaningful way to spend their time at a destination. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to determine the key dimensions of memorable tourism experiences (MTEs) that influence tourists' satisfaction with the vacation experience motivated by the beauty of nature and landscape, as well as the impact of satisfaction with vacation experience on behavioural intentions. Design – Using a structured questionnaire on pencil and paper, data were collected from a sample of 334 travellers who were citizens of the Republic of Croatia and whose primary motive for travel was to visit a natural attraction. Methodology/approach – The questionnaire adopted previously validated scales and was used to explore MTEs, satisfaction with the vacation experience and behavioural intentions. The hypotheses were empirically tested using partial least square structural equation modelling. Findings – The results show that not all MTE dimensions influence satisfaction with the vacation experience among tourists whose primary travel motive was the beauty of nature and landscape. Hedonism, refreshment, and involvement as MTE dimensions had a statistically significant influence on satisfaction with the vacation experience. In addition, satisfaction with the vacation experience had a statistically significant influence on several behavioural intentions, with the strongest influence on intention to recommend. Originality of the research – Tourists in nature-based destinations were found to exhibit specific behaviours, as not all MTE dimensions contribute equally to satisfaction with the vacation experience. This study extends the body of knowledge on tourism experience theory by empirically testing its premises on tourists motivated by the beauty of nature and landscape.

Exploring Tourist Preferences on the Visitor Management System: the Case Study of Plitvice Lakes National Park

“…Natural landscapes are widely recognised as important reasons for choosing one tourist destination over another (Lončarić et al 2021). For this reason, it is considered essential to examine in depth the preferences of tourists (Perera et al 2015).…”

“…For those who chose to return to visit the PLNP, having travelled many times towards the same nature-based destination creates a desire to participate in new events or to benefit from a variety of facilities (e.g. the sale of products and restaurant services) that can diversify their experience (Lončarić et al 2021). These aspects had already been identified among the strategies adopted in previous studies (McCool et al 2021), in order to increase the duration of visits and the average expenditure of visitors.…”

“…Services and facilities are actually a fundamental part of the physical infrastructure of a tourist destination, making a territory more attractive and competitive (Mandić et al 2018). Furthermore, tourist attractions, events, local food and craft products can provide an excellent opportunity to experience the local culture (Lončarić et al 2021), sensitising visitors to explore the various aspects that characterise a place. Finally, from an economic and market point of view, the range and quality of services greatly influence the success of a tourist destination (Radisic and Basan 2007).…”

“…Particularly, in countries where the economy is strongly dependent on tourism, management aspects relating to tourist destinations are of fundamental importance. This is the case in the Republic of Croatia, where PAs are selected as one of the main reasons for visiting the country (Marković et al 2013, Lončarić et al 2021.…”

Intensi Perilaku Berwisata Alam Pasca Vaksinasi Covid-19

“…DTW berbasis alam memberikan kontribusi nyata bagi pariwisata dimasa pandemi, seperti nilai ekonomi dan non-ekonomi, serta peran potensialnya dalam pemulihan sektor pariwisata, pasca Covid-19 sebagaimana diadvokasi oleh UNWTO (Spalding et al, 2020). Pengalaman liburan berbasis alam juga secara ilmiah meningkatkan kepuasan paling tinggi diantara destinasi tujuan wisata (DTW) lainnya (Lončarić et al, 2021).…”