Understanding the relationships between perceived travel experiences, overall satisfaction, and destination loyalty

Despite an extensive amount of research on visitor satisfaction, there has been little investigation on how different types of visitors evaluate their travel experiences associated with a particular destination and the effects of these attributes on post-consumption behaviour, especially, in nature-based settings. The study seeks to examine the impacts of perceived travel experiences and personal characteristics on overall satisfaction and destination loyalty. The Flinders Ranges region in South Australia, serving a nature-oriented remote tourism destination was selected as the site for this study, using on-site interviews, and mail-back questionnaires. It was found that natural attractions including the scenery and wildlife were major pull factors which appeal to the majority of tourists. The findings also revealed that discovering new experiences, adventure experiences, and geological attractions have the potential to enhance tourists' novelty-seeking experience and influence return behaviour. Additional findings indicated that visitors' previous experience with the site and length of stay were important determinants of the overall satisfaction. The implications for product development and marketing strategies are discussed.