A structural decompositional analysis of eco-visitors’ motivations, satisfaction and post purchase behaviour

Abstract

A series of studies have demonstrated the relevance of visitors’ motivation, satisfaction and post-consumption behaviour to sustainable management of attractions, but existing knowledge on the intricate causal relationships among these issues in the context of eco-tourism is limited. Using data from 342 visitors to the Kakum National Park in Ghana and a structural equation modelling approach, this study advances understanding of the intersecting relationships, both at aggregate and at disaggregate levels, among eco-visitors’ motivation, satisfaction and future behaviour. The ensued results not only confirm but also offer unique insights into the hypothesis that specific expectations, which are mirrored in travel motivations, matter to specific satisfaction evaluations with consumptions experiences and downstream effects on future behaviour. However, these causal relationships are not uniform after controlling for eco-visitors’ sex, educational attainment and marital status. Implications of the results to theory and sustainable practice in eco-tourism settings have been discussed