Satisfaction, motivation, loyalty and segmentation of tourists in World Heritage cities

              © PASOS. Revista de Turismo y Patrimonio Cultural. ISSN 1695-7121
Vol. 16 N.o 1. Págs. 73-86. 2018
www .pasosonline.org
Tomás López-Guzmán, Jesús Claudio Pérez Gálvez, Guzmán Antonio Muñoz-Fernández
Satisfaction, motivation, loyalty and segmentation
of tourists in World Heritage cities.
Tomás López-Guzmán* Jesús Claudio Pérez Gálvez**
Guzmán Antonio Muñoz-Fernández ***
Universidad de Córdoba (España)
* Profesor Titular de Universidad; E-mail: tomas.lopez@uco.es
** Profesor Contratado Doctor; E-mail: dt1pegaj@uco.es
*** Profesor Contratado Doctor; E-mail: guzman.munoz@uco.es
Abstract: This paper presents research that deals with the study of the motivation, satisfaction and loyalty
of tourists visiting the city of Cordoba, Spain, a World Heritage Site. For this, the results of a study carried
out on tourists during their stay in the city are presented. The study identifies two motivational dimen‑sions
in connection with the visit: one cultural and the other multi-motivational, which includes a variety
of reasons such as gastronomy and pleasure-seeking. Additionally, also analysed in this research is how the
motivation for visiting the city leads to tourists having greater satisfaction with their visit and more loyalty
to that tourist destination.
Keywords: Motivation, segmentation, satisfaction, loyalty, Cordoba, Spain
Satisfacción, motivación, lealtad y segmentación de los turistas en ciudades Patrimonio de la
Humanidad
Resumen: Este artículo presenta los resultados de una investigación sobre la motivación, la satisfacción y
la lealtad de los turistas que visitan la ciudad de Córdoba (España), reconocida como Patrimonio de la Hu‑manidad.
Los resultados procedente de un trabajo de campo consistente en la realización de encuestas a los
turistas mientras que se encontraban en la ciudad. La investigación identifica dos dimensiones motivacio‑nales
en relación con la visita: una cultural y otra multi-motivacional, que incluye una variedad de razonas
como la gastronomía o la búsqueda de desconectar con lo cotidiano. Asimismo, también se analiza en esta
investigación como la motivación para la visitar la ciudad está relacionada con la satisfacción con la visita y
con la lealtad al destino turístico.
Palabras Clave: Motivación, segmentación, satisfacción, lealtad, Córdoba, España
Introduction
The UNESCO Centre in Paris publishes three lists each year: the List of World Heritage Sites (WHS),
the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage and the List of World Heritage in Danger. From the first and
third lists one can see if the recognition is for a cultural place, a natural place or a combination of
both. The inclusion of a specific place or intangible element in these lists implies that it is considered
to be of universal value and at the same time makes it clear that everyone in the world is the owner of
the place or intangible element (responsible for it) and needs to preserve it for future generations. So,
according to Saipradist and Staiff (2007), recognition as World Heritage guarantees the identification,
conservation, and passing on to future generations of places or monuments that have a universal value
from the perspective of history or art. “Outstanding universal value means cultural and/or natural
significance which is so exceptional as to transcend national boundaries and to be of common importance
for present and future generations of all humanity” (UNESCO, 2013: 24).
https://doi.org/10.25145/j.pasos.2018.16.005
PASOS. Revista de Turismo y Patrimonio Cultural. 16 N° 1. Enero 2018 ISSN 1695-7121
74 Satisfaction, motivation, loyalty and segmentation of tourists in World Heritage cities
While, the objective of these UNESCO lists is to preserve and conserve these places, in many cases
it also represents a significant increase in the number of visitors, above all international ones, creating
a strong relationship between the World Heritage list, in particular the one for tangible heritage,
and tourism (Breakey, 2012). In this sense, it is paradoxical that while the objective of UNESCO in
designating World Heritage Sites is to promote their protection, some destinations are prioritising
their tourist development (Su & Wall, 2011). This is mainly seen in the newly designated sites, less
known to tourists, which initially encourage domestic tourism before later focussing on international
tourism (Su & Wall, 2011). Therefore, one could conclude that designation as a WHS means increased
protection for that place, but also an increase in tourists (Landorf, 2009), implying the need for the
sustainable management of the destination. In addition, when UNESCO designates these places as
being of universal value, they become unique attractions as tourist destinations (Breakey, 2012). Along
with these cultural attractions, the services that are offered in the destination must get the satisfaction
of the tourist since this implies the loyalty. Loyalty is measured through both the intention to return
and the recommendation to others (Antón, Camarero & Laguna-García, 2017).
Cordoba is located in southern Spain, in the region of Andalusia. Its population is about 325,000
inhabitants and its economy is mainly based on the service sector, tourism being a key element of this.
In 1984 the Mosque-Cathedral of the city was declared a World Heritage Site and later, in 1994, this
designation was expanded to its historic centre. In addition, each May the city celebrates the Festival
of the Patios, a festival related to the decoration and upkeep of the interior gardens in the traditional
houses, declared Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2012. At present, the city is one of the leading sites for
cultural tourism in both Spain and the rest of Europe, and is a meeting point for thousands of travellers
who arrive each year in the city, attracted by its rich cultural, patrimonial and gastronomic heritage.
The aim of this paper is to present an analysis of tourists at one particular WHS, namely the city
of Cordoba (Spain), in order to identify their motivation, satisfaction with and loyalty to this tourist
destination. To achieve this objective this paper is structured, following this introduction, into a second
part containing a theoretical background; a third part presenting where the methodology used is
explained and a final part where the results of the research are presented and discussed. This paper
ends with the conclusions drawn from the research and the references used.
Theoretical Background
Motivation, satisfaction and loyalty
The identification and understanding of the types of heritage tourist, their motivations, their
behaviour, their perceptions and their experiences are fundamental for the good management of the
destinations and to define the corresponding strategies. As such, according to Vong & Ung (2012),
there are four factors of a destination that are related to heritage tourism: firstly, history and culture;
secondly, the facilities and services at the cultural sites; thirdly, the interpretation of the heritage; and
fourthly, the heritage attractions.
Motivation is fundamental to tourist activity since it is considered a driver of human conduct and
an explanatory factor for some of the aspects related to tourist activity. Its analysis contributes to
understanding the reason why someone visits a tourist destination and what they wish to achieve. The
academic literature related to motivation (Prayag & Ryan 2011; Correia, Kozak & Ferradeira, 2013)
suggests that this variable is influenced by changes in the environment and variations in societal
behaviour. As such, motivation is a dynamic process in which consumers change their motivation in
response to both experience and other variables such as social status or age (Pearce, 1982). In some
instances, however, one observes how consumers of tourist services with identical socio-demographic
characteristics opt for completely different destinations. In general terms, tourists travel either because
they are pushed by internal motives or variables, or because they are pulled by external factors related
to the destination. The push factors are connected to internal and emotional aspects, such as the desire
to rest and relax, discover new places, spend time with the family and/or friends, among others. In
contrast, the pull factors are related to external, cognitive or situational aspects such as cultural and/
or natural settings, cuisine, leisure facilities, etc. (Crompton, 1979). In the case of the city of Cordoba,
it is easy to understand that the city’s inherent characteristics play an important role for those tourists
whose motivations are cultural.
In addition, satisfaction can be defined as the overall assessment that the client gives the service
received compared to the service expected (Antón et al., 2017). This definition fundamentally considers
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Tomás López-Guzmán, Jesús Claudio Pérez Gálvez, Guzmán Antonio Muñoz-Fernández 75
the cognitive and/or affective component of satisfaction (Oliver, 1997), but it is important to note that the
satisfaction variable also has an emotional component (Cronin, Brady & Hult, 2000). Tourist satisfaction
is one of the main topics in the field of research into tourism (Correia et al., 2013) and depends largely
on the attributes of the destination itself, such as its facilities, renown and novelty (Correia et al.,
2013). In turn, satisfaction is related to the tourists’ expectations prior to taking their trip (Antón et
al., 2017). In this regard, satisfaction with such destinations is determined by the overall experience
which includes aspects related to four factors (Chen & Chen, 2010): leisure, culture, education and
social interaction. Thus, all tourist destinations must adopt, along with other elements, systematic
monitoring of the satisfaction levels and use these as part of the evaluation criteria. The study of
tourist satisfaction is important because it identifies to what extent the attributes of the destination
are perceived and explores what image the destination transmits, the ultimate aim being to encourage
and preserve its maintenance. The full satisfaction of tourists is an indispensable requirement if it
is to capture a place in their mind and, therefore, in the market. Since the affective component of the
image of a place is related to the previous experience of the tourist. The feelings and experiences that
shape this experience contribute to the construction of the affective image of destiny (San Martín &
Rodríguez del Bosque, 2010), and therefore of its brand.
Satisfaction can be defined as the overall assessment that the client gives the service received compared
with the service expected. This definition considers the cognitive component of satisfaction, but it is
important to note that the satisfaction variable also has an emotional component (Cronin et al., 2000).
All tourist destinations must adopt, among others, systematic monitoring of the satisfaction levels and
use these as part of the evaluation criteria. Tourist satisfaction is important for many reasons. One of
these is that it allows us to identify to what extent the attributes and components of the destination
are perceived, and explores the character that is transmitted through the image of the destination in
order to encourage the maintenance of the attributes or components in question.
Thirdly, loyalty is very closely related to the future behaviour of the visitor. This has been found
in various academic studies (Yoon & Uysal, 2005; Chi & Qu, 2008; Yuksel, Yuksel & Bilim 2009; San
Martín, Collado & Rodríguez del Bosque, 2013; among others). Loyalty is measured through both the
intention to return and the recommendation to others (Antón et al., 2017). Loyalty to the destination
is a fundamental element in marketing strategies, being considered the best estimator of consumer
behaviour (Chen & Chen, 2009). Visitor loyalty translates into a stable source of income and increased
profitability for the destination. Furthermore, loyal visitors become a channel, sharing positive information
and communication with other people (Baker & Crompton, 2000). Studies on visitor loyalty normally
distinguish between two types of loyalty. Behavioural loyalty, linked to repeat purchasing, and attitudinal
loyalty, linked to an attitude of recommending the tourist destination to other people and returning to
visit it in the future (Oppermann, 2000; Barroso, Martín & Martín, 2007; Chen & Tsai, 2007). Therefore,
loyalty implies that these two concepts (repetition of the visit and of the recommendation of the visit)
are closely related and they measure the level of loyalty to the destination through different items
(Bigné, Sánchez & Sánchez, 2001; Antón et al., 2017).
Segmentation of the heritage tourists
Following Nguyen and Cheung (2014), one of the most debated issues in heritage tourism is determining
who is a heritage tourist. This entails the delimitation of whether all the visitors of a WHS are heritage
tourists, or only some of them. In this regard, the academic literature has shown different classifications
of the tourist categories in this class of destinations. Among other classifications we highlight those of
Silberberg (1995) which, taking into account the interest of the visitors, are classified as those accidentally
motivated by cultural tourism, those with adjunct motivation by cultural tourism, those partly motivated
by cultural tourism and those greatly motivated by cultural tourism. On the other hand, Poria, Butler
and Airey (2003), and based on their personal perspective with respect to these destinations, classify
them in three categories: those tourists that do not consider the heritage site as part of their personal
perspective, those tourists that consider the heritage site as part of their personal perspective and
those tourists that consider the heritage site as part of their personal perspective although they are
not aware of it. For their part, McKercher and Du Cros (2003) propose a segmentation that divides the
tourists in those destinations into five different types: purposeful cultural tourists, sightseeing cultural
tourists, causal cultural tourists, incidental cultural tourists and serendipitous cultural tourists. This
same segmentation is followed by Nguyen and Cheung (2014).
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76 Satisfaction, motivation, loyalty and segmentation of tourists in World Heritage cities
In accordance with the review of the literature, the hypothesis to examine would be the following:
H1: The visitors have, in certain destinations, in addition to a cultural motivation, another type of
motivation of a social or psychological nature that influences their behaviour in that place (Crompton,
1979; Aziz, Rahman, Hassan & Hamid, 2015).
H2: According to the different motivations for visiting a certain destination, there are different types
of tourists (San Martín & Rodríguez del Bosque, 2010; Nyaupane & Andereck, 2014; Alonso, Sakellarios
& Pritchard, 2015).
H3: The motivation affects the satisfaction of the tourist experience, with the satisfaction level being
higher among the tourists with greater cultural motivation (Correia et al., 2013).
H4: The satisfaction of the tourist is an essential requirement for good ranking in the market of any
tourist destination (Chi & Qu, 2008; Yuskel et al., 2009).
Methodology
Objective
The fundamental objective of this paper is to present an analysis of the relationships between three
fundamental constructs in the visitor decision making process, motivation, satisfaction and loyalty, for
a World Heritage tourist site, the city of Cordoba (Spain). The initial hypothesis is that visitors have
different motivations and that this will affect satisfaction with their tourist experience. Equally, that
satisfaction will in turn affect the loyalty shown towards this destination, understanding this loyalty
from the attitudinal perspective (the intention to make a return visit and recommending visiting it).
When a tourist destination satisfies a tourist it has the chance to sell them the same service or other
similar services in the future, obtains free publicity for the city among their relatives, friends and
acquaintances, and achieves a certain position in the market.
The field work consisted of conducting a survey of a representative sample of visitors, considering
aspects that allow for the identification and better understanding of the key factors for tourism in
Cordoba. These key factors can be used as a basis to establish recommendations that provide more and
better use of the tourist activity in the city.
Questionnaire and procedure
The working data were obtained from a questionnaire carried out on a representative sample of
visitors. Starting from an initial survey, further refinement, including a pre-test with an initial sample
of tourists of similar characteristics to the final sample, led to the establishment of the definitive format.
The final version of the questionnaire looked for maximum clarity in the questions, the most suitable
answers in order to achieve the identified research objectives and was as concise as possible so as not to
unduly lengthen visitor interviews. Once the final questionnaire had been designed it was then translated
into English, French and German. The survey was structured into four broad sections. A first section
designed to obtain the characteristics of the trip with questions being asked on the length of stay, type
of accommodation, management of the trip and transport, among others. A second section focused on
the motivations that had brought them to Cordoba and their preferences regarding the tourist sites
that they planned to visit. A third section on their impressions of certain attributes relating to Cordoba
as a tourist destination, level of satisfaction felt based on their experience and attitudinal loyalty.
Lastly, a final section that included the general characteristics of the visitors such as age, gender and
education level, among others. The surveys were conducted by a team of four interviewers who were fully
qualified and trained for the occasion, linked to Cordoba Tourism Consortium (CTC) and coordinated and
managed by the authors of this research. The tabulation of the data was carried out by the collaborating
team using the software SPSS v. 22. The questionnaires were offered in the four languages mentioned
above (Spanish, English, French and German) chosen according to the native language and origin of
the visitors or in English, in order not to exclude anybody. A total of 1,352 surveys were completed
during the months of December 2014 to April 2015. The surveys were conducted on different days, at
different times and in different locations around the city in order to collect information from the widest
possible range of people and situations, and on the premise that the tourist interviewed had spent a
specified time in the destination and could, therefore, give a well-founded opinion (Correia et al., 2013;
Remoaldo, Vareiro, Ribeiro & Santos, 2014). The survey used in this research is based on previous work
(Poria et al., 2003; Correia et al., 2013; Remoaldo et al., 2014). A non-probabilistic sampling technique
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Tomás López-Guzmán, Jesús Claudio Pérez Gálvez, Guzmán Antonio Muñoz-Fernández 77
was used, which is commonly used with this type of research, where interviewees are available to be
interviewed in a determined place at a certain time (Finn, Elliott-White & Walton, 2000). It was not
stratified by gender, age, education, nationality or any other variable. The questionnaire rejection rate
was low and not significant with regard to any variable. Under no circumstances was the duration of
the survey more than 15 minutes.
The results presented in this article refer to the motivations or reasons for visiting the city of Cordoba,
the degree of satisfaction with the experience of the visit and attitudinal loyalty. The main contribution
of this paper is to carry out an analysis of the relationships between these three fundamental variables
in the process of the decision to visit. Doing this has required different statistical techniques to be
used such as factor analysis, cluster analysis and analysis of variance (ANOVA with multiple post-hoc
comparisons).
Sampling and sampling error
The specific framework of our research is tourists visiting the city of Cordoba, regardless of whether
they stay in the city overnight or not, or whether they visit other places. In terms of the number of
tourists visiting the city, the figure used and shown in Table 1 is the number of tourists staying in hotels
in the city. Therefore, starting from the figure of 899,869 visitors, the sample error for a 95% confidence
level would be ± 2.66%. Table 1 contains the datasheet for the research.
Table 1: Technical sheet of the research
Total number of tourists (2014) 899,869 visitors
Sample 1,352 surveys
Procedure Convenience sampling
Survey Period From December 2014 to April 2015
Sampling error 2.66%
Confidence level 95.0%; p = q = 0.5
Control of the sample Production and supervision of the work by the authors of the research
Source: Own elaboration
Results of the research and discussion
Motivations for the visit
One fundamental aspect in relation to tourism is knowing what the traveller is looking for or expecting
when they visit. The motivation variable conditions the selection made because it is thought to be
one of the main drivers for tourists when taking a trip. There could be many reasons why individuals
choose a destination and travel there. As a result, a question containing different items was included
in the tourist survey in an attempt to identify the most frequent and relevant motivations for travel
identified in previous research (Lee, Lee & Wicks, 2004; Yuan & Jang, 2008; Devesa, Laguna & Palacios,
2010), adapting them and taking into account the specific characteristics of this tourist destination
and the visitors. A total of 13 items were selected and measured on a 5-point Likert scale (1 being not
very important and 5 being very important) to determine the relative importance of a series of factors
in their decision to visit the city (all of these items are shown in table 4). Both internal and external
factors were included, as established by Crompton’s theory (1979) of pull factors and push factors. The
Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the final scale stood at 0,600, indicating valid internal consistency between
the scale’s elements. The critical level (p) associated with the F statistic (984,975) of the analysis of
variance to test the null hypothesis that all elements of the scale have the same mean (ANOVA) is less
than 0,001, it being impossible to confirm the hypothesis that the means of the elements are the same.
An item-item correlation analysis allowed for the identification of up to eight of them that,
generally speaking, showed low correlations. These items have been omitted from the following factor
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78 Satisfaction, motivation, loyalty and segmentation of tourists in World Heritage cities
analysis, without that resulting in a significant reduction in the level of consistency between the
motivation variables (Cronbach’s alpha = 0,597; F=238,791, < 0,001). Starting from the motivation
reasons or variables shown in table 2, a factor analysis has been carried out which has allowed for the
extraction of two motivational dimensions for visiting the city of Cordoba. Although our interest lies
in the factor scores derived from these components as a tool to establish the strength of each visitor’s
motivation, it is useful to describe each of the factors extracted. The first factor encompasses very
diverse interests and here the gastronomic, pleasure-seeking and convenience motivations converge.
This factor represents visitors seeking a destination that allows them to enjoy the cuisine of Cordoba
and take a break from the stresses of everyday life in a way that fits with the family budget. This
component explains 31% of the total variance of the matrix of motivations. The Cronbach’s alpha
coefficient (0,620) for the four items that make up this dimension of motivation show the reliability of
the sub-scale. The second of the factors found explains slightly more than 24% of the total variance of
the matrix of motivations and is related to cultural motivations, a common factor in tourist destinations
with an important historical and/or artistic heritage. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient (0,608) also
shows a reliable sub-scale. These results show the existence of different motivational schemas for the
city of Cordoba as a tourist destination, and are in keeping with the central element of Crompton’s
motivational theory (1979), that categorises into two large blocks the motives that have an impact on
tourist behaviour. Firstly, socio-psychological motives, where the trip or the visit is a means to satisfy
the social or psychological needs of individuals or groups. And secondly, cultural motives, in which the
satisfaction obtained is in relation to the attributes of the tourist destination itself.
Table 2: Rotated component matrix - Motivation to Visit the City of Cordoba
Motivation variables
Components
Dimensions
1 2
Taste its gastronomy 0.712
Multi-motivational
Disconnect from everyday life 0.709
Be an affordable tourist destination 0.683
Visit the patios of Cordoba 0.622
Find out more about its heritage 0.859
Cultural
Discover its history and heritage 0.842
Eigenvalues 1.873 1.477
% variance explained 31.208 24.609
% accumulated variance 31.208 55.817
KMO 0.639
Bartlett’s sphericity test Chi-square = 814.503 sig < 0.001
Extraction method: Principle component analysis. Rotation method: Varimax with Kaiser
Source: Own elaboration.
In line with the core of the motivational theory of Crompton (1979), as well as with the diverse
research (Aziz et al., 2015), the results obtained in this research allow verifying one of the posed research
hypotheses: the visitors have, in addition to a cultural motivation, another type of motivation of a social
or psychological nature that influence their behaviour in the destination (H1).
The study of motivations provides a basis on which to create a segmentation for the city of Cordoba
as a tourist destination. For this, a non-hierarchical cluster analysis was conducted using the factor
scores of the two dimensions extracted. Using the criterion of maximising the variance between types
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Tomás López-Guzmán, Jesús Claudio Pérez Gálvez, Guzmán Antonio Muñoz-Fernández 79
and minimising the variance within each of them, the best solution that meets the criteria is that of
establishing three clusters or groups. Table 3 shows the characterisation of the clusters from the means
of the motivation variables for the 13 items included in the questionnaire.
Table 3: Characterisation of clusters from means of the motivation variables
Motivation variables
Cluster Memberships
ANOVA
1 2 3
Mean Mean Mean F Sig.
Taste its gastronomy 2.8(*) 4.3(*) 3.6(*) 251.509 < .001
Disconnect from everyday life 3.1(*) 4.7(*) 4.2(*) 299.328 < .001
Be an affordable tourist destination 2.5(*) 4.0(*) 3.3(*) 221.588 < .001
Visit the patios of Cordoba 2.6(*) 3.9(*) 3.2(*) 153.569 < .001
Find out more about its heritage 4.2(*) 4.3(*) 2.6(*) 398.730 < .001
Discover its history and heritage 4.8(*) 4.8(*) 3.6(*) 497.633 < .001
Attend cultural events: exhibitions, festivals etc. 1.8(*) 2.3(*) 2.0(*) 13.335 < .001
Visit family or friends 1.3(*) 1.5(*) 1.8(*) 10.919 < .001
Desire to see new sights 4.2(*) 4.7(*) 4.3(*) 35.347 < .001
Proximity to my place of residence 1.5(*) 2.0(*) 2.3(*) 31.335 < .001
The tourist fame and reputation of the city 4.0(*) 4.4(*) 3.7(*) 55.737 < .001
Work or business trip (meeting, conference, etc.) 1.1(*) 1.2(*) 1.3(*) 3.639 < .027
Another visit on my tour 2.8*) 3.2(*) 2.8*) 9.090 < .001
The items in bold correspond to questions from the questionnaire used in the factor analysis to extract the
two-dimensional motivations.
(*) The values in bold show significant differences in two of the means of the three clusters in the post-hoc
ANOVA analysis.
In order to compare the significant differences between the different means, the Games-Howell test has
been applied.
Source: Own elaboration.
The ANOVA F statistic allows us to test that the compared means are not equal, but it does not allow
us to identify where the differences detected are found. To identify which mean differs from another, a
particular type of test has been used called multiple post hoc comparisons, or a posteriori comparisons.
In order to make these comparisons one cannot assume that the population variances are the same
(the critical level associated with the Levene statistic is lower than 0.05 for almost all of the cases,
so we can reject equality of the variances). The ANOVA F statistic is based on two assumptions being
met; normality and homoscedasticity. Given that we cannot assume that the population variances are
the same, Brown-Forsythe and Welch statistics are used as an alternative to the ANOVA F statistic
(table 4). The critical level associated with both statistics is lower than 0.05. Therefore, we can reject
the hypothesis of equality of means and conclude that the means of the motivational variables of the
three clusters being compared are not equal.
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80 Satisfaction, motivation, loyalty and segmentation of tourists in World Heritage cities
Table 4: Robust tests for homogeneity of variances and
equality of means for the motivation variables
Motivation variables Homogeneity of
Variances (Levene) Equality of Means
Taste its gastronomy 18.198 < .001
Welch 247.847 < .001
Brown-Forsythe 222.892 < .001
Disconnect from everyday life 80.334 < .001
Welch 245.263 < .001
Brown-Forsythe 262.631 < .001
Be an affordable tourist
destination 44.319 < .001
Welch 211.456 < .001
Brown-Forsythe 200.825 < .001
Visit the patios of Cordoba 10.418 < .001
Welch 152.165 < .001
Brown-Forsythe 144.094 < .001
Find out more about its heritage 0.185 < .831
Welch 376.064 < .001
Brown-Forsythe 384.982 < .001
Discover its historical and
patrimonial wealth 154.755 < .001
Welch 215.923 < .001
Brown-Forsythe 330.232 < .001
Attend cultural events:
exhibitions, festivals etc. 30.606 < .001
Welch 13.518 < .001
Brown-Forsythe 14.703 < .001
Visit family or friends 37.277 < .001
Welch 9.962 < .001
Brown-Forsythe 9.947 < .001
Desire to see new sights 36.625 < .001
Welch 35.954 < .001
Brown-Forsythe 31.002 < .001
Proximity to my place of
residence 45.642 < .001
Welch 37.772 < .001
Brown-Forsythe 31.120 < .001
The tourist fame and reputation
of the city 6.628 < .001
Welch 54.657 < .001
Brown-Forsythe 50.281 < .001
Work or business trip (meeting,
conference, etc.) 13.57 < .001
Welch 3.656 < .027
Brown-Forsythe 3.334 < .036
Another visit on my tour 7.04 < .001
Welch 9.072 < .001
Brown-Forsythe 9.304 < .001
Source: Own elaboration.
The first of the segments accounts for 32.7% of the sample, being one of the two groups that scores
highly in the items related to the cultural dimension. Another important point is the fact that it shows
the lowest scores in the items related to the multi-motivational dimension. This is a visitor who only
seeks a travel option that allows them to increase their cultural level. This group or cluster has been
called cultural tourist. The second segment accounts for 48.9% of the sample, and is characterised by
having the highest scores in all those items used to extract the two motivation dimensions. This is
a tourist who in addition to discovering and finding out more about the historical and monumental
heritage of the city, sees the visit as a way to escape from their routines, while enjoying the cuisine of
Cordoba. Therefore, we have called this group the pleasure seeking-gastronomic convenience cultural
tourist. The last segment is the smallest group, accounting for only 18.4% of the sample size, and
characterised by showing low significant scores in items related to the cultural dimension. Regarding
the multi-motivational dimension, intermediate significant scores are generally noted and it only shows
a high score in the item on disconnecting from everyday life. As a result, this group could correspond
to a pleasure seeking tourist.
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Tomás López-Guzmán, Jesús Claudio Pérez Gálvez, Guzmán Antonio Muñoz-Fernández 81
The results obtained by this research are in relation to that posed by McKercher and Du Cros (2006)
in the sense that around 11% of the tourists in heritage sites are visitors that search for the acquisition
of knowledge in their visit. Also, in line with other research (Silberberg 1995; Nyaupane & Andereck,
2014; Alonso et al., 2015; Aziz et al., 2015), the segmentation obtained allows verifying the posed research
hypothesis: according to the motivations there are different types of tourists (H2).
Motivation and satisfaction with the visit
The satisfaction reported by visitors to the city of Cordoba is very high. This was measured for two
items relating to the experience on a scale of 1-5, with 1 being strongly disagree and 5 strongly agree
-table 6-. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the scale reaches a value of 0.815, showing good internal
consistency between the items since the critical level (p) associated with the F statistic (114,506) of
the analysis (ANOVA) is less than 0.001, it therefore being impossible to confirm the hypothesis that
the means of the elements are the same. The results show that 87% of the visitors were quite satisfied,
with scores greater than or equal to 4 for both items. 81% of respondents stated that the decision to
visit the city had been entirely the right one and 65% had fully enjoyed it. Having identified that the
visitors left very satisfied, this very important aspect is examined in more depth by analysing what
relationship could exist with the reasons or motives for the visit, since this is crucial for good tourist
management and planning. The objective is to determine what motivations impact on the satisfaction
felt by visitors to a World Heritage city such as Cordoba. The results show that the two motivational
dimensions extracted differ significantly in the degree of perceived satisfaction from the visit -table 5-.
Table 5: Differences in the mean degree of satisfaction and motivational dimensions
Motivational
Dimensions
ANOVA Homogeneity of
Variances Pearson
Correlation
F Sig. Levene Sig.
Multi-motivational 5.464 < .001 2.273 < .045 0.15(**)
Cultural 23.591 < .001 0.325 < .898 0.32(**)
(**) The correlation is significant at the .01 level (bilateral)
Source: Own elaboration.
The correlation indices, whilst not being high, confirm the level of consistency between the mean
degree of satisfaction and the motivation dimensions. The value of the cultural dimension shows that
the greater the presence of reasons related to this, the greater the perception of satisfaction.
From the segmentation carried out there was an analysis of the relationships that the three groups
or clusters identified could have with perceived satisfaction. The results reveal a very positive rating
of the experience by the three groups of visitors identified. The rating is higher in the second cluster,
which corroborates the importance of the motivation dimensions detected. In line with the above,
satisfaction with the visit appears to increase to the degree that cultural, gastronomic and pleasure‑
-seeking reasons prevail. The third cluster shows that these visitors who relate to a lesser extent with
one of the two dimensions identified, value their tourist experience less. All this shows that visitors give
a significantly different rating of their experience depending on whether this is more or less related to
the reasons for the trip. This fact has a clear management implication for tourism companies and the
city’s public sector since initiatives designed to increase visitor satisfaction must begin by analysing
the reasons for taking the trip so that they can have an impact on the presence and provision of the
right tourist product.
The results obtained show that visitors give a significantly different evaluation of their experience
in Cordoba depending on whether they are more or less related to the reasons providing the motivation
for the trip and with this, they confirm one of the posed research hypotheses: motivation affects the
satisfaction of the tourist experience, with the level of satisfaction being higher among the tourists
with a greater cultural motivation (Correia et al., 2013) (H3).
PASOS. Revista de Turismo y Patrimonio Cultural. 16 N° 1. Enero 2018 ISSN 1695-7121
82 Satisfaction, motivation, loyalty and segmentation of tourists in World Heritage cities
Table 6: Characterisation of clusters from satisfaction variable means
Variables
Tourist experience satisfaction
Cluster membership ANOVA Mean
1 2 3
Mean Mean Mean F Sig.
My decision to visit Cordoba was the right one 4.80(*) 4.88(*) 4.56(*) 32.805 < .001 4.80
I enjoyed the visit to Cordoba 4.66(*) 4.79(*) 4.39(*) 39.540 < .001 4.67
Mean degree of satisfaction 4.74(*) 4.84(*) 4.48(*) 45.270 < .001 4.74
(*) The values in bold show significant differences in two of the means of the three clusters in the post-hoc
ANOVA analysis. In order to compare the significant differences between the different means,
the Games-Howell test has been applied.
Source: Own elaboration.
The equality of variances statistic does not allow us to assume that the population variances are the
same (table 7). The robustness tests on the means of the satisfaction variable show that the averages
of the satisfaction variable between the three clusters compared are not the same.
Table 7: Robust tests for homogeneity of variances and
equality of means for the satisfaction variables
Variables
Tourist experience satisfaction
Homogeneity of
Variances (Levene)
Equality of Means
My decision to visit Cordoba was the
right one
91.294 < .001 Welch 19.589 < .001
Brown-Forsythe 23.848 < .001
I enjoyed the visit to Cordoba 54.776 < .001 Welch 29.453 < .003
Brown-Forsythe 32.312 < .001
Mean degree of satisfaction 51.111 < .001 Welch 29.988 < .001
Brown-Forsythe 34.377 < .001
Source: Own elaboration.
Motivation and loyalty to the tourist destination
Interest in the analysis of satisfaction comes from the relationship between this variable and
other similar concepts such as loyalty. This can be defined as a commitment by the visitor to the
tourist destination, and manifests itself through their intention to return to visit it in the future and
recommending it to family, friends, and/ or acquaintances (attitudinal loyalty). For this, an item was
included in the questionnaire that measured the intention to return to the destination, and another
two items tried to capture the intention to recommend it. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the scale
is 0,676, indicating valid internal consistency since the critical level (p) associated with the F statistic
(473,441) of the variance analysis (ANOVA) is less than .001. In line with the satisfaction reported,
the results show a high degree of loyalty from the visitors to Cordoba as a tourist destination. 68% of
respondents said that after their current experience they would return in the coming years - scores> = 4
-. Equally, 90% of the respondents, with scores in both items >= 4 - indicated that they would encourage
their family and friends to visit the city and would recommend this destination if someone were to ask
for their advice. As a whole, 45% of the sample showed total loyalty with values equal to 5 in the three
items. This result is in keeping with the city being a tourist destination with an acceptable percentage
of return visitors, since three out of every ten people interviewed had previously visited it.
The results show that both cultural motivations as well as pleasure-seeking, gastronomic and
convenience reasons are significantly different in terms of the mean degree of loyalty declared (table 8).
PASOS. Revista de Turismo y Patrimonio Cultural. 16 N° 1. Enero 2018 ISSN 1695-7121
Tomás López-Guzmán, Jesús Claudio Pérez Gálvez, Guzmán Antonio Muñoz-Fernández 83
Table 8: Differences in the mean degree of loyalty declared and motivational dimensions
Motivational
Dimensions
ANOVA Homogeneity of
Variances
Pearson
Correlation
F Sig. Levene Sig.
Multi-motivational 10.131 < .001 1.398 < 0.193 0.30(**)
Cultural 8.483 < .001 0.828 < 0.578 0.26(**)
(**) The correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (bilateral)
Source: Own elaboration.
The results by segment show very high mean loyalty values for the three segments of visitors identified
-table 9-. As with the degree of satisfaction, the mean evaluations are higher in the second cluster and
lower in the third, so higher levels of satisfaction bring with them a higher degree of loyalty and vice
versa. The Levene statistic does not allow us to assume equality in the population variances - table
11 -, once again using Welch and Brown-Forsythe statistics to validate that the means of the three
clusters compared are not equal.
All of this allows showing evidence that the satisfaction in the destination is an essential requisite
for improving the ranking in the market of any tourist site (Chi & Qu, 2008; Yuskel et al., 2009) (H4).
Table 9: Characterisation of clusters from the loyalty variable means
Attitudinal Loyalty Variables Cluster membership ANOVA Mean
1 2 3
Mean Mean Mean F Sig.
I would recommend visiting it if asked for advice 4.76(*) 4.88(*) 4.55(*) 38.201 < .001 4.78
I will encourage my family and friends to visit 4.65(*) 4.86(*) 4.40(*) 51.536 < .001 4.71
After my experience, I think I will return in the future 3.89(*) 4.40(*) 3.93(*) 32.143 < .001 4.15
Mean degree of loyalty 4.44(*) 4.71(*) 4.29(*) 52.187 < .001 4.55
(*) The values in bold show significant differences in two of the means of the three clusters in the post-hoc
ANOVA analysis. In order to compare the significant differences between the different means,
the Games-Howell test has been applied.
Source: Own elaboration.
Table 10: Robust tests for homogeneity of variances and
equality of means for the loyalty variables
Attitudinal Loyalty Variables Homogeneity of
Variances (Levene)
Equality of Means
I would recommend visiting it if
asked for advice
108.387 < .001 Welch 27.642 < .001
Brown-Forsythe 28.390 < .001
I will encourage my family and
friends to visit
120.616 < .001 Welch 42.268 < .001
Brown-Forsythe 39.290 < .001
After my experience, I think I will
return in the future
13.750 < .001 Welch 32.424 < .001
Brown-Forsythe 29.372 < .001
Mean degree of loyalty 42.343 < .001 Welch 48.877 < .001
Brown-Forsythe 42.456 < .001
Source: Own elaboration.
PASOS. Revista de Turismo y Patrimonio Cultural. 16 N° 1. Enero 2018 ISSN 1695-7121
84 Satisfaction, motivation, loyalty and segmentation of tourists in World Heritage cities
Conclusions
The results of the study provide information on the type of visitor that visits Cordoba as a tourist
destination. From the motivational point of view, the city of Cordoba is a destination that is visited
mainly for cultural reasons, to which we must also add the local cuisine and pleasure-seeking reasons.
Its designation as a World Heritage Site puts Cordoba in a privileged position to continue growing as
a cultural destination in Spain. In this regard, it is necessary to increase the effort made to preserve
its heritage and further highlight the strength of its gastronomy.
In relation to the satisfaction variable, the results show that visitors reported that they had enjoyed
their time in the city of Cordoba, considering that they had been right in choosing the destination, as
well showing a high level of satisfaction with their experience. Equally, the visitors give a significantly
different rating of their experience depending on whether this was more or less related to the reasons
that were the motivation for the trip. This fact has a clear management implication for tourist companies
and the city’s public sector, since initiatives designed to increase tourist satisfaction must begin by
analysing the reasons for taking the trip so that they can have an impact on the presence and provision
of the right tourist product. Public administrations, companies, tourism professionals and even the
host population must make a coordinated effort and each one must accept responsibility for tourist
satisfaction - an essential element in the success of any destination. With respect to the loyalty variable,
the results show that almost a third of the visitors state their intention to repeat their experience in
the future, as well as indicating that they would recommend it and encourage family and friends to
visit. This information is useful for the economic growth of the city, where tourism is one of the main
sources of business and income generation.
Given that visitors with different levels of motivation perceive unequally one destination, one of
the main contributions of this research is to verify that the degree of satisfaction is conditioned by the
motivations of the tourist. The results reveal that the tourists more satisfied with their visit, besides
wanting to know more and better the culture of the city of Cordoba. In fact, the cultural dimension
contributes more to the degree of declared satisfaction. Likewise, the motivations translate into percep‑tions
that are significantly different in relation to the visitor’s commitment to the tourist destination.
Specifically the existence of a segment of tourists whose main motivations are related to the culture and
who also present the highest indices of satisfaction and loyalty to the destination has been detected.
This research does not only provide theoretical but also practical implications. Thus, the results allow
the hotel and tourism companies in the city to have a segmentation of tourist demand. This should serve
to develop products and services according to each segment, contributing to preserve and enhance the
tourist attraction of the destination. In this sense, the favorable attitude of a representative percentage
of tourists to the gastronomy should serve as a reference to encourage the improvement and a greater
supply of the establishments of restoration of the city of Cordoba.
The main limitation of this study relates to the data collected having been obtained from a sample of
visitors to a particular area of Spain, and for a very specific type of tourism, namely cultural tourism.
This limits the possibilities for generalisation and leads to new possibilities through testing this in
other destinations. Despite these limitations, the findings contribute to the literature, highlighting key
aspects of the city of Cordoba as a tourist destination. Finally, as future research we propose undertaking
research to analyse the final satisfaction with the visit through tourism supply indicators related both
to motivations and to other aspects unrelated to the purpose of the visit.
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Recibido: 09/06/2016
Reenviado: 25/01/2017
Aceptado: 18/04/2017
Sometido a evaluación por pares anónimos