Tourist satisfaction and subjective well-being : an index approach

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to propose an index approach to study the impact of travel experience on tourists' satisfaction and the further impact on their sense of well-being. Based on the latest development of tourist satisfaction research, that is, the tourist satisfaction indices, this innovative study further extends the two-stage framework of tourist travel experiences to account for subjective well-being and subsequently calculates a tourist well-being index. A questionnaire with 496 respondents was used, which focused on four service sectors' tourist satisfaction indices. From this, a destination overall tourist satisfaction index and a tourist well-being index were produced using the results of structural equation modelling. Some key findings include the higher the impact of the trip on tourist's sense of well-being the higher the loyalty towards the destination. Different cultures had different results concerning the trip experiences (satisfaction) and the impact of the latter on their subjective well-being. Group travellers also had a significantly more positive experience compared with solo travellers. A new innovative indices system capturing tourist satisfaction and its causes and outcomes, in particular its impact on tourist's subjective well-being, was developed. This research therefore extends work done on the impact of tourist experience and quality of life/subjective well-being.