DOI: 10.11118/978-80-7509-820-7-0388

FACTORS TO ENHANCE ECOTOURIST’S ECOTOURISM LOYALTY, MODERATING EFFECT OF SOCIAL INFLUENCE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL OWNERSHIP

Sinh Duc Hoang, Hung Viet Vo, Zuzana TUČKOVÁ

Purpose: This study aims to provide novel insights via a joint investigation of the moderating effect of social influence and psychological ownership on ecotourism loyalty. It further explores and makes significant contributions to the Expectation Confirmation Theory.
Design/methodology/approach: Using longitudinal survey data gathered from 156 respondents before and after their travels, this research assesses the moderating role of social influence and psychological ownership on two of the well-established relationships in ecotourism loyalty.
Findings: Results show that social influence and psychological ownership have a strong moderation effect on the relationship between ecotourism satisfaction and ecotourism loyalty.
Practical implications: This study has two specific practitioner contributions. First, the study findings emphasize the importance of expectation management from the perspective of expectation management. Managers should exercise caution when providing false information about the location. There are dangers in setting unrealistic expectations for both travel planning and tourism management. Social media is regarded as a powerful ‘word-ofmouth’ source that can be used to exert negative influence from dissatisfied customers. As a result, proper social media management is critical. Second, researchers point out that vacationers’ cognitive-affective connection to a destination is critical, along with the intangibles mentioned earlier, as a sense of ownership, ambiance, and perception of the image of the place they have of the destination. When people want to identify with a destination, they feel ownership of it. The brand strategy needs to be embedded in the destination strategy to target different target tourism identity parameters, like image, style, and values. A destination’s connectivity to people’s values can be generated if the destination is viewed as a place that people identify with rather than a transient location.

Keywords: social influence, psychological ownership, ecotourism loyalty

pages: 388-396, Published: 2021, online: 2021