What Drives Tourists to Visit Community Camping Destinations
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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine how multiple destination attributes of community camping stays influence tourist satisfaction and, in turn, how satisfaction affects behavioral intentions. To achieve this objective, the study examined the structural components of the attributes of emerging community-based camping tourism destinations by testing 4 hypotheses. Using a sequential mixed-methods design, 20 community stakeholders were interviewed, yielding results that could be categorized into a total of 50 variables spread across 7 elements, namely: 1) environmental and community resources, 2) activities for tourism, 3) service encounter, 4) COVID-19 safety measures and price reasonableness, 5) security and privacy, 6) location and community activities, and 7) food and accommodation facilities. This was followed by a survey of 402 campers measured on a seven-point Likert scale. The research tested four hypotheses related to the impact of the seven standard elements on tourist satisfaction and behavioral intentions. It was found that 4 elements significantly influence tourist satisfaction and behavior: activities for tourism, service encounter, COVID-19 safety measures and price reasonableness, and location and community activities. Moreover, tourist satisfaction levels were found to affect tourists' behavioral intentions. Tourism planners and managers should prioritize locally rooted activities and host training over facility upgrades alone. Policymakers could adopt the seven-factor framework for campsite certification. Future research could diversify the sample, employ longitudinal designs, and examine other mediators.
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