IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0283963.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The five influencing factors of tourist loyalty: A meta-analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Lidong Wang
  • Xiuhong Li

Abstract

Background: The factors influencing tourist loyalty are widely highlighted in the literature. However, we find that the relationship between some influencing factors and loyalty is still inconsistent, and we don’t yet know the strength and magnitude of the relationships. To address this issue, this study examined a meta-analysis of the five factors (satisfaction, motivation, perceived value, perceived quality, and experience quality) influencing tourist loyalty and its sub-dimensions. Methods: The samples included articles from major academic databases, including Web of Science, Wiley Online, EBSCO, SAGE, Taylor and Francis, and Elsevier. Studies written in Chinese were retrieved from CNKI.com. We used the following keywords for retrieval: loyalty, behavioral intention, recommendation intention, word-of-mouth, revisit intentions, intention to revisit, willingness to recommend, and similar related terms. Conceptual and empirical studies published between January 1989 and September 2021 were extracted. To test whether there was publication bias, we used Fail-Safe-Number (FSN) to verify the stability of the results. The homogeneity test of the selected statistical model was based on the Q test and I2. The results were obtained by combining multiple single effect values into the combined effect value. Results: We developed 21 hypotheses and proposed a theoretical framework and analyzed 114650 accumulated sample sizes from 242 independent empirical studies. Among the 21 hypotheses proposed in this paper, the remaining 20 hypotheses have been proved except for hypothesis H6. Conclusions: The findings showed that the five factors had varying degrees of positive and significant relationships with tourist loyalty and its sub-dimensions. In the descending order of effects, the five factors are degree of satisfaction, quality of experience, perceived value, perceived quality and motivation. We discussed the significance of the meta-analysis, theoretical and practical implications for destination marketing.

Suggested Citation

  • Lidong Wang & Xiuhong Li, 2023. "The five influencing factors of tourist loyalty: A meta-analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 18(4), pages 1-21, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0283963
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0283963
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0283963
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0283963&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0283963?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Akhoondnejad, Arman, 2016. "Tourist loyalty to a local cultural event: The case of Turkmen handicrafts festival," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 468-477.
    2. Yuksel, Atila & Yuksel, Fisun & Bilim, Yasin, 2010. "Destination attachment: Effects on customer satisfaction and cognitive, affective and conative loyalty," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 274-284.
    3. Chi, Hsin-Kuang & Huang, Kuo-Chung & Nguyen, Huan Minh, 2020. "Elements of destination brand equity and destination familiarity regarding travel intention," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    4. Chen, Ching-Fu & Chen, Fu-Shian, 2010. "Experience quality, perceived value, satisfaction and behavioral intentions for heritage tourists," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 29-35.
    5. Qu, Hailin & Kim, Lisa Hyunjung & Im, Holly Hyunjung, 2011. "A model of destination branding: Integrating the concepts of the branding and destination image," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 465-476.
    6. Xiaoting Chi & Seul Ki Lee & Young-joo Ahn & Kiattipoom Kiatkawsin, 2020. "Tourist-Perceived Quality and Loyalty Intentions towards Rural Tourism in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-18, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Foroudi, Pantea & Akarsu, Tuğra Nazlı & Ageeva, Elena & Foroudi, Mohammad M. & Dennis, Charles & Melewar, T.C., 2018. "PROMISING THE DREAM: Changing destination image of London through the effect of website place," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 97-110.
    2. Samuel Bates, 2021. "A Glance at Tourism Economics over the last decade [Coup d'œil sur l'Économie du Tourisme de la dernière décennie]," Post-Print hal-03263048, HAL.
    3. Sanjar Jumanazarov & Alisher Kamilov & Kiattipoom Kiatkawsin, 2020. "Impact of Samarkand’s Destination Attributes on International Tourists’ Revisit and Word-of-Mouth Intention," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-17, June.
    4. Barnes, Stuart J. & Mattsson, Jan & Sørensen, Flemming, 2014. "Destination brand experience and visitor behavior: Testing a scale in the tourism context," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 121-139.
    5. Lujun Su & Yinghua Huang, 2018. "How does Perceived Destination Social Responsibility Impact Revisit Intentions: The Mediating Roles of Destination Preference and Relationship Quality," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-22, December.
    6. Stylos, Nikolaos & Bellou, Victoria & Andronikidis, Andreas & Vassiliadis, Chris A., 2017. "Linking the dots among destination images, place attachment, and revisit intentions: A study among British and Russian tourists," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 15-29.
    7. Kateřina RYGLOVÁ & Ida VAJČNEROVÁ, 2014. "Possible complex approaches towards evaluating the quality of a destination in the context of tourism management," Agricultural Economics, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 60(5), pages 199-207.
    8. Massomeh Cheraghzadeh & Mehdi Rahimian & Saeed Gholamrezai, 2024. "Effective factors on tourist satisfaction with the quality of ecotourism destination: evidence from Iran," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(11), pages 28699-28726, November.
    9. Dan Yao & Ke Zhang & Lin Wang & Rob Law & Mu Zhang, 2020. "From Religious Belief to Intangible Cultural Heritage Tourism: A Case Study of Mazu Belief," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-15, May.
    10. Veasna, Sou & Wu, Wann-Yih & Huang, Chu-Hsin, 2013. "The impact of destination source credibility on destination satisfaction: The mediating effects of destination attachment and destination image," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 511-526.
    11. Chen, Ching-Fu & Phou, Sambath, 2013. "A closer look at destination: Image, personality, relationship and loyalty," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 269-278.
    12. Yongjun Su & Junjie Xu & Marios Sotiriadis & Shiwei Shen, 2021. "Authenticity, Perceived Value and Loyalty in Marine Tourism Destinations: The Case of Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-14, March.
    13. Lishan Xie & Xinhua Guan & Shih-Shuo Yeh & Tzung-Cheng Huan, 2025. "Using value co-creation behavior as a mediator to explore the influence of virtual tourism community characteristics on destination brand equity," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 32(1), pages 1-16, January.
    14. Sinh Duc Hoang & Zuzana TuÄ ková & Nhat Tan Pham & Tuan Hoang Tran & Diep T. N. Nguyen, 2024. "Moderating Effect of Social Media in Shaping Ecotourism Loyalty: A Two-Stage-Cross-Sectional Study," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(2), pages 21582440241, May.
    15. Chi, Hsin-Kuang & Huang, Kuo-Chung & Nguyen, Huan Minh, 2020. "Elements of destination brand equity and destination familiarity regarding travel intention," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    16. Chee Hua Chin & May Chiun Lo & Zaidi bin Razak & Pooria Pasbakhsh & Abang Azlan Mohamad, 2020. "Resources Confirmation for Tourism Destinations Marketing Efforts Using PLS-MGA: The Moderating Impact of Semirural and Rural Tourism Destination," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-23, August.
    17. Nam Hoai Dang & Oswin Maurer, 2021. "Place-Related Concepts and Pro-Environmental Behavior in Tourism Research: A Conceptual Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-20, October.
    18. Sujin Bae & Timothy Hyungsoo Jung & Natasha Moorhouse & Minjeong Suh & Ohbyung Kwon, 2020. "The Influence of Mixed Reality on Satisfaction and Brand Loyalty in Cultural Heritage Attractions: A Brand Equity Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-22, April.
    19. Eduard Cristobal-Fransi & Francisco Hernández-Soriano & Berta Ferrer-Rosell & Natalia Daries, 2019. "Exploring Service Quality among Online Sharing Economy Platforms from an Online Media Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-18, July.
    20. Di Wu & Caiyun Shen & Enxu Wang & Yaoyao Hou & Jun Yang, 2019. "Impact of the Perceived Authenticity of Heritage Sites on Subjective Well-Being: A Study of the Mediating Role of Place Attachment and Satisfaction," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-19, November.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0283963. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.