PENGARUH FASILITAS WISATA TERHADAP KEPUASAN

KONSUMEN PADA WISATA OLAHRAGA DI INDONESIA

METODOLOGI PENELITIAN
Untuk Memenuhi Persyaratan Kelulusan Kuliah Metodologi Penelitian

Oleh :
EDRIC WONG
130219056

MANAJEMEN LAYANAN DAN PARIWISATA

FAKULTAS BISNIS DAN EKONOMIKA
UNIVERSITAS SURABAYA
2022
 KATA PENGANTAR

Puji dan syukur kepada Tuhan Yang Maha Esa atas segala berkah dan

KaruniaNya penulis dapat menyelesaikan preproposal ini dengan judul “Pengaruh

Fasilitas Wisata Terhadap Kepuasan Konsumen pada Wisata Olahraga di

Indonesia”. Tujuan dari preproposal ini yaitu sebagai syarat memperoleh gelar

sarjana. Pada kesempatan ini penulis ingin mengucapkan terima kasih kepada

semua pihak yang telah membantu dan mendukung penulis, sehingga preproposal

ini dapat selesai. Pertama penulis ingin menyampaikan terima kasih kepada :

1. Orang tua dan saudara, yang telah mendukung penuh penulis dalam

penyusunan preproposal dari awal hingga selesai

2. Ibu Dr. Erna Andajani, S. T., M. M., CRM. sebagai dosen pembimbing 1

dan Ibu Veny Megawati, S. T., M. M., SCM. sebagai dosen pembimbing 2

penulis. Penulis menyampaikan rasa hormat dan terima kasih kepada kedua

dosen yang sudah bersedia membimbing penulis dengan sabar serta

meluangkan waktu, tenaga dan pikiran dalam penyusunan preproposal ini.

3. Sahabat penulis, atas dukungan yang selalu diberikan kepada penulis

sehingga preproposal ini dapat selesai.

Penulis berharap untuk kedepannya hasil dari preproposal ini dapat berguna dan

memberikan banyak manfaat bagi setiap pembaca. Penulis menyadari bahwa

proposal ini masih jauh dari sempurna. Dalam penyusunan ini penulis telah

berusaha dengan sebaik mungkin. Penulis mengharapkan kritik dan saran dari

berbagai pihak yang mampu membantu penulis dalam menyempurnakan

i
preproposal ini. Tidak lupa juga penulis ingin menyampaikan permohonan maaf

jika ada kesalahan kata dan penulisan yang disengaja maupun tidak disengaja.

Terima Kasih

Surabaya, 28 Maret 2022

Penulis

ii
 DAFTAR ISI

KATA PENGANTAR ………………………………………………… ……… i

DAFTAR ISI …………………………………………………………………...iii

DAFTAR TABEL ……………………………………………………………... v

DAFTAR GAMBAR ………………………………………………………….. vi

BAB I : PENDAHULUAN ……………………………………………………. 1

1.1 Latar Belakang ……………………………………………………………… 1

1.2 Identifikasi Masalah ………………………………………………………… 5

1.3 Batasan Masalah ……………………………………………………………. 6

1.4 Rumusan Masalah …………………………………………………………... 6

1.5 Tujuan Peneltian ……………………………………………………………. 6

1.6 Pengorganisasian Penulisan ………………………………………………… 7

BAB II : TINJAUAN PUSTAKA …………………………………………….. 8

2.1 Tinjauan Pustaka dan Pengembangan Hipotesis ……………………………. 8

2.1.1 Event Quality………………………………………………………. 8

2.1.2 Destination Image …………………………………………………. 9

2.1.3 Perceived Value ………………………………………………….... 9

2.1.4 Tourist Satisfaction ………………………………………………. 10

2.1.5 Tourist Emotion ………………………………………………….. 11

iii
 2.1.6 Event Value ………………………………………………………. 12

2.1.7 Destination Loyalty …………………………………………….. 13

2.1.8 Tourist Loyalty …………………………………………………. 13

2.2 Hipotesis …………………………………………………………………. 14

DAFTAR PUSTAKA ……………………………………………………….. 16

LAMPIRAN …………………………

iv
 DAFTAR TABEL

1.1 Tabel Urutan Destinasi ………………………………………………………. 3

1.2 Hasil GAP Research …………………………………………………………. 4

v
 DAFTAR GAMBAR

2.1 Model Hipotesis…………………………………………………………….. 14

vi
 BAB I

PENDAHULUAN

1.1.Latar Belakang

Pada saat ini banyak orang yang ingin melakukan hidup sehat karena masa

Pandemi Covid 19 ini yang masih melanda di dunia ini. Kesehatan merupakan

hal nomor satu bagi setiap manusia. Maka banyak hal yang dapat dilakukan

untuk memperoleh Kesehatan salah satunya dengan berolahraga. Indonesia

adalah negara yang memiliki begitu banyak tempat wisata olah raga yang dapat

di pilih sesuai dengan minatnya masing masing. Wisata olahraga adalah

kegiatan wisata yang dilakukan dengan melakukan aktivitas olah raga yang

menyenangkan, umumnya dilakukan di kawasan obyek wisata. Wisata olah

raga merupakan salah satu jenis kegiatan wisata yang perkembangannya cukup

pesat di negara kita Indonesia , khususnya di kawasan obyek wisata pantai

ternama semisal Bali, Lombok dan Anyer. Tujuan dari Wisata Olah raga ini

untuk meningkatkan semngat manusia untuk melakukan olah raga dengan

melihat suasana yang indah dari pemandangan wisata di Indonesia.

Saat ini bidang Hospitality sangat berkembang walaupun dimasa pandemic

seperti ini , apalagi dengan banyaknya minat wisatawan yang datang ke

Indonesia untuk menikmati wisata Indonesia. Salah satu hal yang diminati oleh

wisatawan adalah Sport Tourism. Ada beberapa objek sport tourism di

Indonesia yang sedang popular atau sedang diminati oleh wisatawan luar negri

maupun dalam negeri, Pertama yang terpopuler ada “Bersepeda dan Berenang

di pulau Bintan”, pulau Bintan sudah tidak asing lagi karena pernah menjadi

1
tuan rumah dalam acara multi olah raga internasional Bintan Triathlon yang

langsung menggabungkan tiga olah raga , Kedua “Golf di Batam” , Batam

menawarkan kehidupan perkotaan yang ideal dan banyak makanan yang lezat

sekaligus dapat melihat pantai yang indah, Ketiga “Marathon di Borobudur”

seperti yang kita tau bahwa Bororbudur meruapakan warisan keajaiban dunia

dan Borobudur pernah mengadakan marathon kelas dunia yaitu Borobudur

Marathon yang dimana acara ini ditahun lalu mempertemukan ribuan pelari dari

seluruh Dunia, Keempat “Bersepeda di Singkarak, Sumatera Barat”, Singkarak

tidak hanya terkenal dengan pemandangan yang indah tetapi dengat tempat

bersepeda yang ideal juga berbagai event internasional sudah pernah diadakan

disana salah satunya adalah Tou De Singkarak, Kelima “Paralayang di Bogor”

Paralayang di Kota Bogor bisa menjadi referensi pilihan Terbang menembus

langit, menikmati keindahan alam Kota Bogor dari angkasa luas akan menjadi

aktivitas pelepas kebosanan, Keenam “Berselancar di Pulau Nias” Pulau Nias

disebut sebagai tujuan selancar terbaik kedua setelah Hawai , tempat ini sangat

cocok untuk para peminat selancar di dunia, dan yang Terakhir “Yoga di Bali”

seperti kita tau Bali merupakan tempat wisata yang sangat favorit juga di dunia

sehinga banyak wisatwan yang ingin meraskan keindahan Bali , dengan

melakukan Yoga di Bali wisatawan dapat merasakan keindahaan pantai dan

juga ada acara tahunan internasional yang Bernama Bali Spirit Festival yang

mewujudkan konsep Hindu Tri Hita yaitu hidup selaras dengan lingkungan

Spritiual sosial dan Alam.

2
 Tabel 1.1

7 SportTourism Terpopuler Di Indonesia

1 Bersepedan & Berenang di Pulau Bintan

2 Golf di Batam

3 Marathon di Borobudur

4 Bersepeda di Singkarak

5 Paralayang d Bogor

6 Berselancar di Pulau Nias

7 Yoga di Bali

Dengan adanya wisata olahraga di Indonesia yang begitu banyak dan indah

dapat membuat konsumen meningkatkan tourist saticfaction dan destination

loyalty. Para Wisatawan dapat memilih begitu banyak sport tourism yang

masing masingnya memiliki banyak kelebihan.

Menurut para Ahli yang ada di jurnal Jeong 2019, Banyak negara dan

wilayah yang bersaing ketat untuk mendapatkan keuntungan dalam industry

pariwisata(Gibson et al., 2008) dan loyalitas sangat penting dalam hal survival

of the fittest dan kesuksesan masa depan suatu destinasi atau organisasi (Alam

et al ., 2012; Oppermann, 2000). Dari pernyataan para ahli tersebut seluruh

dunia berusaha untuk memperoleh keuntungan dari industry pariwisata setiap

negara mereka tetapi Indonesia merupakan negara yang memiliki industry

pariwisata terbanyak sehingga wisatawan luar negri sampai ingin datang ke

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 Indonesia untuk menikmati keindahan wisata di Indonesia, salah satu contoh

kota yang memiliki wisatwan asing adalah di Bali. Menurut para Ahli pada

jurnal Akhoondnejad 2018,(Larson & Steinman, 2009) dan (Hall, O'Mahony,

dan Vieceli2010) masing-masing menunjukkan bahwa kehadiran di olahraga

acara mewakili aliran pendapatan yang signifikan untuk acara tersebut dan

tujuan tuan rumah. Dengan demikian, penonton olahraga dianggap sebagai

segmen pasar ceruk yang berharga yang harus dipahami, ditarik dan

dipertahankan. Pemahaman empiris tentang faktor-faktor mempengaruhi

loyalitas penonton sangat penting untuk kelangsungan hidup jangka panjang

dari acara olahraga (Gandhi-Arora & Shaw, 2002; Hall et al., 2010;), dari

pernyatan para ahli di atas juga menyatakan bahwa dalam dunia Pariwisata

bukan hanya sekedar liburan tetapi wisatawan juga banyak yang tertarik dengan

sport tourism yang ada.

Tabel 1.2

Hasil GAP Research

Jeong 2019 Akhoondnejad 2018

Event quality → destination image significant

Event quality → perceived value significant

Event quality → tourist satisfaction significant not significant

Destination image → tourist satisfaction significant

Perceived value → tourist satisfaction significant

Destination image → destination loyalty significant

4
 Perceived value → destination loyalty significant

Tourist satisfaction → destination loyalty significant

Event quality → Tourist emotion significant

Event quality → Event value not significant

Tourist emotion → Event value significant

Tourist emotion → Tourist satisfaction significant

Event value → Tourist satisfaction significant

Event quality → Tourist loyalty significant

Tourist emotion → Tourist loyalty not significant

Event value → Tourist loyalty significant

Tourist satisfaction → Tourist loyalty significant

Sumber : GAP Research terdahulu

Dari hasil Gap Research menyatakan bahwa terdapat beberapa pengaruh terhadap

kepuasan wisatwan yaitu dimana salah satunya memiliki perbedaan dari kedua

penulis jurnal, event quality terhadap tourist satisfaction yang dimana tercatat

bahwa penulis Jeong 2019 menyatakan significant sedangkan pada penulis kedua

yaitu Akhoondnejad 2018 menyatakan bahwa hal tersebut tidak significant.

Selebihnya setiap penulis menggunakan hipotesis yang berbeda.

1.2.Identifikasi Masalah

Dalam penelitian yang dilakukan Jeong 2019 dan Akhoondnejad 2018

terdapat perbedaan dalam event quality terhadap tourist satisfaction yang

dimana pada Jeong 2019 signifikan sedangkan pada Akhoomdnejad 2018 tidak

signifikan, Karena itu peneliti ingin menggunakan GAP penelitian untuk

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 mengeksplorasi hubungan struktural antara kualitas, tujuan citra, nilai yang

dirasakan, kepuasan wisatawan dan loyalitas destinasi dengan penekanan pada

efek mediasi dari kepuasan wisatawan pada hubungan antara citra destinasi dan

loyalitas destinasi, dan antara persepsi nilai dan loyalitas destinasi dalam

konteks acara olahraga yang berada dalam 7 destinasi wisata olah raga

terpopuler di Indonesia

1.3.Batasan Masalah

Peneliti menggunakan 7 destinasi wisata olah raga terpopuler yang berada

di Indonesia

1.4.Rumusan Masalah

Dari identifikasi masalah diatas maka rumusan masalah yang dapat di

bentuk:

1. Apakah tourism satisfaction wisatwan yang telah merasakan destinasi

wisata olahraga memiliki pengaruh positif terhadap destination loyalty?

2. Apakah event quality memberi pengaruh positif terhadap tourism

satisfaction?

3. Apakah event value memberi pengaruh positif terhadap tourist loyalty ?

1.5.Tujuan Penelitian

Dari rumusan masalah diatas maka tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah :

1. Mengetahui tourism satisfaction wisatwan yang telah merasakan

destinasi wisata olahraga memiliki pengaruh positif terhadap

destination loyalty

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 2. Mengetahui event quality memberi pengaruh positif terhadap tourism

satisfaction

3. Mengetahui event value memberi pengaruh positif terhadap tourist

loyalty

1.6.Pengorganisasian Penelitian

Adapun sistematika urutan penulisan sebagai berikut :

- BAB 1 : PENDAHULUAN

Dalam bab ini menjelaskan mengenai latar belakang, identifikasi

masalah,rumusan masalah, pembatasan masalah,tujuan penelitian dan

pengorganisasian penelitian

- BAB 2 : LANDASAN TEORI

Dalam Bab ini menjelaskan mengenai kajian teori hasl penetilian,

teori dasar variable yang dibahas dalam hipotesis

- BAB 3 :

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 BAB II

LANDASAN TEORI

2.1. Tinjauan Pustaka dan Pengembangan Hipotesis

2.1.1. Event Quality

Menurut para Ahli Telah diterima secara luas bahwa acara

menawarkan banyak manfaat nyata dan tidak berwujud untuk menjadi tuan

rumah masyarakat (Fourie & Santana-Gallego, 2011). Studi menyarankan

saat menyelenggarakan acara, penyelenggara harus mengutamakan kualitas

pelayanan sehingga dapat memuaskan penonton, sponsor dan local

penduduk (Moon et al., 2013). Menurut Bitner dan Hubbert (1994, p. 77),

kualitas layanan adalah paling baik didefinisikan sebagai "kesan

keseluruhan pelanggan tentang inferioritas/superioritas relatif" organisasi

dan layanannya.” Tingkat kualitas layanan yang tinggi sekarang diakui

sebagai sarana untuk memastikan kesuksesan masa depan oleh banyak

perusahaan dan organisasi (Kim Ko and Taman, 2013);(Zeithaml, 2000).

Dengan kata lain, jika pelanggan menganggap suatu peristiwa positif atau

berharga karena berwujud (misalnya desain, peralatan, suasana, dan parkir)

atau tidak berwujud layanan (misalnya kehandalan, keamanan, komunikasi

dan jaminan), dia mungkin tinggal diacara lebih lama, beli oleh-oleh atau

rekomendasikan kepada orang lain melalui media sosial (Brady & Cronin

Jr, 2001).

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2.1.2. Destination Image

Definisi citra tujuan telah diusulkan oleh banyak penulis sejak

karya-karya awal dari Boulding (1956) dan Martineau (1958), yang

menyarankan bahwa perilaku manusia rentan untuk citra yang dirasakan

daripada realitas objektif. Gambar tujuan dapat dilihat sebagai kompilasi

keyakinan, ide, harapan, dan kesan yang terakumulasi sebagai hasil dari

evaluasi atribut individu di tempat tujuan (Crompton, 1979; Dichter, 1985;

Kim and Richardson, 2003). Peneliti baru-baru ini tampaknya setuju bahwa

citra tujuan memiliki dua hal utama: komponen, yaitu citra kognitif dan

afektif (Greaves & Skinner, 2010). Kognitif citra mewakili keyakinan atau

pengetahuan yang dimiliki wisatawan tentang karakteristik dan atribut

destinasi (Govers et al., 2007; Pike dan Ryan, 2004; Zhang et al., 2014),

sedangkan citra afektif mengacu pada perasaan atau respons emosional yang

ditimbulkan oleh tujuan (Baloglu dan Brinberg, 1997; Baloglu dan

McCleary, 1999). Dengan demikian, gambar keseluruhan dapat dibangun

dengan menggabungkan dua faktor ini (Frías et al., 2008).

2.1.3. Perceived Value

Selama tiga dekade terakhir, banyak sarjana bergulat dengan konsep

nilai yang dirasakan dalam konteks pemasaran (Eggert & Ulaga, 2002);

(McDougall & Levesque, 2000) karena mungkin penentu paling kritis dari

perilaku pelanggan (Jin et al., 2013; Le et al., 2013;Wu, 2014). Menurut

(Zeithaml, 1988), p. 10, nilai yang dirasakan dapat didefinisikan sebagai:

9
“penilaian keseluruhan konsumen tentang kegunaan suatu produk (atau

layanan) berdasarkan persepsi dari apa yang diterima.” Dengan kata lain,

nilai yang dirasakan terutama mencerminkan perspektif manfaat yang

diterima dan pengorbanan yang dilakukan (harga, waktu, tenaga, dan

kenyamanan)(Grewal et al., 1998; Sanchez et al., 2006). Studi sebelumnya

juga telah mengidentifikasi positif hubungan antara kualitas layanan dan

nilai yang dirasakan (Ladhari et al., 2008). Chen dan Chen (2010)

mengeksplorasi model terintegrasi yang mencakup kualitas pengalaman,

persepsi nilai, kepuasan, dan niat perilaku untuk wisatawan warisan dan

layanan yang ditunjukkan kualitas memperkuat nilai yang dirasakan.

Thaichon dkk. (2014) menyelidiki struktur hubungan antara kualitas

layanan secara keseluruhan, kepuasan, nilai pelanggan, kepercayaan dan

komitmen dan kualitas layanan yang ditunjukkan terkait dengan nilai

pelanggan. Baru-baru ini, di konteks manajemen olahraga, (García-

Fernández et al., 2018) meneliti hubungan antara kualitas yang dirasakan,

kenyamanan layanan, nilai yang dirasakan, kepuasan dan masa depan niat,

mempertahankan bahwa kualitas yang dirasakan dan kenyamanan layanan

memainkan peran penting dalam memprediksi nilai yang dirasakan

2.1.4. Touriist Satisfaction

Karena konten deskriptor adalah salah satu pertimbangan terpenting

dalam pemasaran literatur, kepuasan pelanggan telah banyak dieksplorasi

dan didefinisikan dalam berbagai cara empat dekade terakhir (Anisimova,

2013; Cho, 2017; Coban, 2012; Hussain, 2016; Liang dan Zhang, 2012; Tuu

10
dan Olsen, 2013; Tontini dkk., 2017; Weng dan Run, 2013). Salah satu dari

definisi yang paling banyak dikutip adalah "kepuasan adalah sejauh mana

seseorang percaya bahwa sebuah pengalaman" membangkitkan perasaan

positif” (Rust & Oliver, 1994).(Barsky & Labagh, 1992) dan (Oliver, 1980)

dilihat kepuasan pelanggan sebagai hasil dari perbandingan antara harapan

dan kinerja produk atau layanan, yang dalam praktiknya mewakili "teori

diskonfirmasi" (Oliver, 1981). Menurut teori ini, jika pelanggan merasakan

kinerja lebih tinggi dari harapan, dia atau dia memiliki tingkat kepuasan

yang tinggi. Sebagian besar studi empiris dalam pemasaran dan pariwisata

literatur telah berfokus pada hubungan positif antara harapan dan kepuasan

(Wang et al., 2009). Bosque dkk. (2006) menyimpulkan harapan

mempengaruhi kepuasan wisatawan, yang dapat digambarkan sebagai hasil

evaluasi yang komprehensif dari kualitas kinerja destinasi, misalnya,

layanan yang diterima, kualitas pemandangan alam dan perasaan

keseluruhan tentang tujuan (Coban, 2012; Kozak, 2003).

2.1.5. Tourist Emotion

Emosi, sebagai fenomena psikofisik, mengacu pada afektif respon

yang berasal dari pengalaman konsumsi. Ini secara luas menerima bahwa

emosi adalah perasaan dan respons terhadap suatu peristiwa stimulus, dan

termasuk pengalaman subjektif (komponen kognitif), perubahan fisiologis

(komponen afektif) dan kecenderungan Tindakan (Biscaia et al., 2012).

(Kuenzel & Yassim, 2007) telah menunjukkan bahwa emosi terdiri dari

berbagai jenis. Di satu sisi, beberapa emosi seperti kegembiraan telah

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ditemukan memiliki efek positif pada perilaku konsumen. Di sisi lain,

beberapa emosi lain seperti sebagai ketakutan, kemarahan dan frustrasi

memainkan peran negatif dalam konsumen perilaku. Menurut Biscaia et al.

(2012), emosi diturunkan dari penilaian kognitif. Hutchinson dkk. (2009)

menunjukkan bahwa evaluasi layanan awal (yaitu, penilaian) mengarah

pada reaksi yang, pada gilirannya, mendorong perilaku” (hal. 299). Emosi

adalah salah satunya faktor penting yang mempengaruhi proses

pengambilan keputusan dan perilaku penonton seperti pilihan, evaluasi,

preferensi dan niat (Kwak et al., 2011). Mereka juga memainkan peran yang

signifikan dan peran sentral dalam pengalaman dan perilaku wisatawan.

Dalam konteks waktu luang, memahami peran emosi telah banyak telah

disarankan, karena reaksi emosional dan pengalaman pesertabergabung

bersama dalam cara yang sangat dekat (Biscaia et al.,2012; Hall et al.,

2010).

2.1.6. Event Value

Menurut (Yoshida et al., 2013), nilai dapat diidentifikasi dalam lima

hal: “(1) nilai adalah harga rendah; (2) nilai adalah himpunan dari manfaat

yang disediakan oleh layanan; (3) nilai adalah pertukaran antara kualitas

yang diterima dan biaya moneter; (4) nilai adalah apa adanya diterima untuk

semua komponen pengorbanan (yaitu uang, waktu dan tenaga); dan (5) nilai

adalah apa yang penting dalam hal karakteristik pelanggan (misalnya

demografi)” (hal. 54). Didefinisikan secara luas, dirasaka nilai adalah

penilaian pelanggan tentang perbedaan antara manfaat yang diterima dari

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produk atau layanan (misalnya kualitas) dan pengorbanan yang dilakukan

untuk mendapatkan produk atau jasa (uang, waktu, dan upaya). Demikian

juga, nilai acara dapat didefinisikan sebagai "penonton" penilaian

keseluruhan dari kekayaan bersih acara olahraga, berdasarkan penilaian

penonton tentang apa yang diterima (manfaat yang diberikan oleh olahraga),

dan apa yang diberikan (biaya atau pengorbanan dalam memperoleh dan

memanfaatkan acara olahraga)” (Jin et al., 2013, hal. 852). Nilai

keuntunganterutama tercermin oleh perspektif konsumen tentang kualitas

dan harga. Namun, Yoshida dkk. (2013) telah menekankan bahwa meskipun

persepsi nilai terutama didasarkan pada evaluasi kognitif, itujuga harus

mencakup aspek hedonis dan simbolik yang penting terutama dalam

pengaturan olahraga.

2.1.7. Destination Loyalty

Mencerminkan komitmen yang dipegang untuk membeli kembali

produk atau jasa di masa depan, sehingga menyebabkan pembelian berulang

(Oliver, 1999)

2.1.8. Tourist Loyalty

Loyalitas dapat didefinisikan sebagai "komitmen yang dipegang

teguh untuk membeli kembali" atau berlangganan kembali produk atau

layanan yang disukai secara konsisten di masa depan, meskipun pengaruh

situasi dan upaya pemasaran telah potensi untuk menyebabkan perilaku

switching” (Kuenzel & Yassim, 2007), P. 44. Berdasarkan pengalaman

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 sebelumnya dan sering terlibat dalamsuatu kegiatan, konsumen

mengembangkan sikap terhadap suatu kegiatan dan memutuskan untuk

mengakses atau menghindarinya (Jin et al., 2013). Proses kesetiaan terdiri

dari: empat fase: kognitif, afektif, konatif dan tindakan (Chen, 2006; Wong

& Tang, 2016). “Loyalitas kognitif berfokus pada aspek kinerja merek,

loyalitas afektif diarahkan kesukaan merek, loyalitas konatif dialami

Ketikakonsumen berfokus pada keinginan untuk membeli kembali merek,

dan loyalitas Tindakan adalah komitmen terhadap tindakan pembelian

kembali” (Chen, 2006, p. 202).

2.2 Hipotesis

Gambar 2.1

Model Penelitian

Sumber : Jeong (2019)

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 Berdasarkan uraian diatas, dalam penelitian Jeong 2019 menghasilkan

hipotesis sebagai berikut :

H1. Kualitas acara secara positif mempengaruhi citra destinasi.

H2. Kualitas acara secara positif mempengaruhi nilai yang dirasakan.

H3. Kualitas acara berpengaruh positif terhadap kepuasan wisatawan.

H4. Citra destinasi berpengaruh positif terhadap kepuasan wisatawan.

H5. Perceived value berpengaruh positif terhadap kepuasan wisatawan.

H6. Citra destinasi berpengaruh positif terhadap loyalitas destinasi.

H7. Perceive value berpengaruh positif terhadap loyalitas destinasi.

H8. Kepuasan Wisatawan berpengaruh positif terhadap loyalitas destinasi.

H9. Kepuasan wisatawan memediasi hubungan antara citra destinasi dan destinasi

loyalitas.

H10. Kepuasan wisatawan memediasi hubungan antara nilai yang dirasakan dan

tujuan loyalitas.

15
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https://www.tourismnews.id/sport-tourism/pr-1291518043/7-destinasi-wisata-

olahraga-terpopuler-di-indonesia?page=allhttps://www.tourismnews.id/sport-

tourism/pr-1291518043/7-destinasi-wisata-olahraga-terpopuler-di-

indonesia?page=all

18
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 The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/1355-5855.htm

APJML
32,4 A study of event quality,
destination image, perceived
value, tourist satisfaction,
940 and destination loyalty among
Received 14 February 2019
Revised 22 August 2019
sport tourists
30 September 2019
12 November 2019
Accepted 19 November 2019
Yunduk Jeong
Department of Sport Management, Kyonggi University, Suwon, Korea, and
Sukkyu Kim
Department of Sport Science,
Dongguk University – Gyeongju Campus, Gyeongju, Korea

Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore structural relationships between quality, destination
image, perceived value, tourist satisfaction and destination loyalty with emphasis on the mediating effect of
tourist satisfaction on relations between destination image and destination loyalty, and between perceived
value and destination loyalty in the context of small-scale sporting events.
Design/methodology/approach – Construct validity of the measurement scale was verified by confirmatory
factor analysis, factor loadings, average variance extracted, construct reliability and correlation analysis.
Reliability of the measurement scale was verified by Cronbach’s α analysis. A structural equation modeling test
with maximum likelihood estimation was used to test structural relationships between variables in the proposed
model using the responses of 311 participants.
Findings – Results showed significant and powerful impacts of: event quality, destination image and
perceived value on tourist satisfaction; destination image, perceived value, and tourist satisfaction on
destination loyalty and demonstrated; and tourist satisfaction fully mediates relationships between
destination image and destination loyalty, and between perceived value and destination loyalty.
Originality/value – The study shows: it is meaningful to include quality and value in tourism destination
image-satisfaction-loyalty models; provides empirical evidence that tourist satisfaction fully mediates the
relation between perceived value and destination loyalty; and confirms small-scale as well as large-scale
sporting events should be viewed as important aspects of marketing strategies aimed at improving quality,
image, value, satisfaction and loyalty.
Keywords Destination image, Perceived value, Tourist satisfaction, Destination loyalty, Event quality
Paper type Research paper

Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing
and Logistics
Vol. 32 No. 4, 2020
pp. 940-960
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1355-5855
DOI 10.1108/APJML-02-2019-0101
Introduction
Many countries and regions are fiercely competing to obtain advantage in the tourism industry
(Gibson et al., 2008), and loyalty is of great significance in terms of survival of the fittest and
future success of a destination or organization (Alam et al., 2012; Oppermann, 2000). A majority
of marketing managers invest considerable time, effort and energy to attract new customers to
all areas of spending (Su et al., 2011). However, market saturation and restrictions on marketing
budgets expenses have increased, and building customer loyalty is now considered a
cost-effective means of attracting customers (Coelho and Henseler, 2012). Previous studies have
documented retaining regular customers in the long-term costs much less than securing new
customers (Petrick, 2005), and that a 5 percent increase in customer retention can increase profits
by 85 percent (Reichheld, 1993; Reichheld and Sasser, 1990). Similarly, Assael (1984, p. 47)
mentioned that “success depends not on the first purchase but on repurchase, and it is unlikely
that any brand can survive over time without some degree of loyalty.” Therefore, it is critical
destination managers understand what produces destination loyalty (Gursoy et al., 2014).
 Based on general acceptance of the notion that loyalty is a driving force when choosing a Destination
destination (Su et al., 2011), an increasing number of authors are suggesting that destination loyalty among
image, perceived value and tourist satisfaction might be key factors of destination loyalty in sport tourists
the context of tourism. Destination image describes the total impression perceived by tourists
of a destination (Beerli and Martın,́ 2004) and is linked with their decision making, destination
choice, subsequent evaluations and future intentions (Baloglu and McCleary, 1999; Echtner
and Ritchie, 1991). In particular, building a favorable destination image through sporting 941
events could ultimately lead to destination loyalty, because sporting events reportedly create
various opportunities to improve an image, advertise local products, boost local patriotism
and create jobs (Kaplanidou, 2012; Kim et al., 2014), although it should be added that
discussion continues about the legacies of sporting events full stop (Boukas et al., 2013;
Girginov, 2012). In marketing literature, value is widely acknowledged as the customers’
overall appraisal of the service they received from a service organization (Hellier et al., 2003).
Thus, perceived value is becoming of prime concern to destination marketers because the
competitive edge of a destination hinges on ability to create and transmit core values of a
destination (Sanchez et al., 2006). Numerous studies of consumer behavior have considered
customer satisfaction important factor because customers spoken assessments of products
reflect potential business success (Oliver, 1980). As stated by Chi and Qu (2008, p.624)
“customer satisfaction has always been considered an essential business goal because it is
assumed that satisfied customers buy more.” Furthermore, if tourists are satisfied with a
destination, they are more likely to exhibit a high level of loyalty for the destination
(Koo, 2003). In addition, destination image and perceived value have been reported to be the
most important antecedents of tourist satisfaction (Allameh et al., 2015).
However, few published studies indicate event quality might influence destination image and
perceived value. In other words, exploring the critical antecedent of a destination’s image
and perceived value has been largely ignored by many marketing and tourism researchers
(Gan and Wang, 2017; Jiang et al., 2017). Jin et al. (2013) commented on this lack of research effort
in the sport tourism literature despite knowledge that reactions, feelings and behaviors of
tourists are formed by the quality of sporting events and the services provided, and that these
help develop destination images and perceived values. Accordingly, we considered exploring
mutual relationships between event quality, destination image, perceive value, tourist
satisfaction and destination loyalty collectively and systematically might result in important
competitive advantage of a destination in the tourism industry. In addition, existing studies have
three major limitations. First, they overlooked the importance of small-scale sporting events that
like larger events can attract many tourists and attract media attention (Wong and Tang, 2016).
Second, according to Kim, Holland and Han (2013) little empirical work has been conducted to
determine whether perceived value is related to tourist satisfaction and loyalty. Third, despite
the many studies performed on tourist satisfaction, nothing is known of its mediating effect on
the relation between perceived value and destination loyalty in the context of sport tourism.
Accordingly, the present study was undertaken to investigate the structural relationships
between sporting event quality, destination image, perceived value, tourist satisfaction and
destination loyalty, and thus, to provide comprehensive evidence of relations between destination
marketers and increase understanding of the psychology and behavior of tourists and aid the
development of marketing strategies. Above all, we endeavored to examine the positive effect of
event quality on perceived value and destination image and the mediating effect of satisfaction at
a small-scale sporting event to broaden our understanding of destination marketing.

Literature review and research hypotheses

The city of Gyeongju
Gyeongju is a coastal city in the far Southeastern part of North Gyeongsang Province in
South Korea, and in 2017 had a population of 257,903 (Lee, 2018). For close to 1,000 years,
APJML the city was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Silla, which later governed about
32,4 two-thirds of the Korean peninsula (Yoo, 2019) – the longest period for any dynasty in the
history of Korea. A vast number of archeological sites and cultural properties of this
dynasty have been well maintained throughout the city, truly making it “the museum
without walls” ( Jang, 2019). In particular, the Bulguksa Temple and Seokguram Grotto are
major historical sites, and were declared UNESCO World Heritage sites in 1995. In 2000, the
942 Gyeongju historic area, which contains the ruins of temples and palaces, outdoor pagodas
and statuary, reliefs, Buddhist art and the Yangdong Folk Village (a traditional clan village
dating back to the Joseon dynasty) was also designated by UNESCO (Lee, 2012). Thanks to
the many major cultural and historical sites, Gyeongju has become one of the most popular
tourist destinations in South Korea. Recently, Gyeongju decided to increase the number of
sports tourists with sporting events, sports stadiums and football teams that allow the city
to develop as a sporting destination. The Gyeongju International Marathon is an annual
event, and the competition features an international elite-level marathon race for men and
women, as well as amateur fun-run events for the half-marathon, 10K, and 5K distances
(Lee, 2017a, b).

Event quality
It has been widely accepted that events offer many tangible and intangible benefits to host
communities (Fourie and Santana-Gallego, 2011). Studies suggest when hosting events,
organizers should prioritize service quality so as to satisfy spectators, sponsors and local
residents (Moon et al., 2013). According to Bitner and Hubbert (1994, p. 77), service quality is
best defined as “the customer’s overall impression of the relative inferiority/superiority of
the organization and its services.” A high level of service quality is now recognized as a
means of ensuring future success by many companies and organizations (Kim Ko and
Park, 2013; Zeithaml, 2000). In other words, if a customer considers an event positive or
valuable due to tangible (e.g. design, equipment, ambience and parking) or intangible
services (e.g. reliability, security, communication and assurance), he/she might stay at
the event longer, purchase souvenirs or recommend it to others through social media
(Brady and Cronin, 2001; Ko et al., 2010).
Previous studies have viewed event quality as a multi-dimensional construct consisting
of tourist/spectator perceptions. In terms of sporting events, some research developed
measurement scales allow spectator perceived service quality to be evaluated (Ko, 2005).
Jin et al. (2013) proposed a four-dimension framework comprised of game quality, interaction
quality, outcome quality and physical environment quality. Game quality refers to
spectators’ evaluations of player skill and information. Interaction quality concerns
assessment of event staff and volunteers responsible for service delivery and satisfaction
about interactions with other spectators. Outcome quality provides “a measure of consumer
perception of gain received from interaction with the service provider” ( Jin et al., 2013,
p. 852), whereas physical environment quality concerns consumer evaluations of stadium
ambience and the design, cleanliness and safety features of facilities.

Destination image
Definitions of destination image have been proposed by many authors since the early works
of Boulding (1956) and Martineau (1958), who suggested that human behavior is susceptible
to perceived image rather than an objective reality. Destination image can be viewed as a
compilation of beliefs, ideas, expectations and impressions accumulated as a result of
evaluations of individual attributes at a destination (Crompton, 1979; Dichter, 1985; Kim and
Richardson, 2003). Recent researchers appear to concur destination image has two major
components, that is, cognitive and affective image (Greaves and Skinner, 2010). Cognitive
image represents the beliefs or knowledge a tourist holds of the characteristics and
attributes of a destination (Govers et al., 2007; Pike and Ryan, 2004; Zhang et al., 2014), Destination
whereas affective image refers to feelings or emotional responses conjured by a destination loyalty among
(Baloglu and Brinberg, 1997; Baloglu and McCleary, 1999). Accordingly, overall image can sport tourists
be constructed by combining these two factors (Frías et al., 2008).
Some attempts have been made to address the relationship between event quality and
destination image. For example, Moon et al. (2011) examined the theoretical relationship
between event quality at an international sporting event and destination image, and argued 943
event quality perceptions, particularly of intangible factors, contributes to forming positive
destination image. Moon et al. (2013) tested links between event quality, perceived value and
behavioral intention, and confirmed event quality is associated with destination image.
Likewise, Tosun et al. (2015) indicated that destination service quality has a positive and
significant effect on the perception of the destination’s affective image. Accordingly, these
results elicited the idea of a relationship between event quality and destination image:
H1. Event quality positively influences destination image.

Perceived value
Over the past three decades, many scholars wrestled with the concept of perceived value in the
marketing context (Eggert and Ulaga, 2002; McDougall and Levesque, 2000) because it is
probably the most critical determinator of customer behavior ( Jin et al., 2013; Le et al., 2013;
Wu, 2014). According to Zeithaml (1988, p. 10), perceived value may be defined as
“a consumer’s overall assessment of the utility of a product (or service) based on perceptions
of what was received.” In other words, perceived value mainly reflects a customers’
perspective of benefits received and sacrifices made (price, time, effort and convenience)
(Grewal et al., 1998; Sanchez et al., 2006). The previous studies have also identified a positive
relationship between service quality and perceived value (Ladhari and Morales, 2008). Chen
and Chen (2010) explored an integrated model that included experience quality, perceived
value, satisfaction and behavioral intentions for heritage tourists and demonstrated service
quality strengthens perceived value. Thaichon et al. (2014) investigated structural
relationships between overall service quality, satisfaction, customer value, trust and
commitment and indicated service quality is linked with customer value. Recently, in the
context of sports management, García-Fernández et al. (2018) examined the relationships
between perceived quality, service convenience, perceived value, satisfaction and future
intentions, maintaining that perceived quality and service convenience play a pivot role in
predicting perceived value. In accordance with previous research, these observations suggest
that event quality affects perceived value:
H2. Event quality positively influences perceived value.

Tourist satisfaction
Because descriptor content is one of the most important consideration in the marketing
literature, customer satisfaction has been widely explored and defined in various ways over
the past four decades (Anisimova, 2013; Cho, 2017; Coban, 2012; Hussain, 2016; Liang and
Zhang, 2012; Tuu and Olsen, 2013; Tontini et al., 2017; Weng and Run, 2013). One of the
most cited definitions is “satisfaction is the degree to which one believes that an experience
evokes positive feelings” (Rust and Oliver, 1994). Barsky (1992) and Oliver (1980) viewed
customer satisfaction as the result of comparisons between expectations and performances
of a product or service, which in practice represents “disconfirmation theory” (Oliver, 1981).
According to this theory, if a customer perceives performance is higher than expectation, he
or she has a high satisfaction level. Most empirical studies in the marketing and tourism
literature have focused on the positive relationship between expectation and satisfaction
APJML (Wang et al., 2009). Bosque et al. (2006) concluded expectation influences tourist satisfaction,
32,4 which can be described as the result of a comprehensive evaluation of the quality of the
destination performance, for example, the services received, quality of natural landscapes
and overall feeling about the destination (Coban, 2012; Kozak, 2003).
A vast amount of literature is dedicated to the positive relationship between service
quality and satisfaction (Kasiri et al., 2017; Kassim and Asiah Abdullah, 2010). Han and
944 Hyun (2015) analyzed a conceptual model of impact of quality, satisfaction, trust and price
reasonableness in the medical tourism industry and found that both perceived medical
quality and perceived service quality critically influence satisfaction. Han and Hyun (2017)
explored the relationships between overall restaurant image, image congruence and
satisfaction with the quality of the physical environment, service and food, with the
intention of revisiting hospitality management, and they stressed that all quality
dimensions are associated with satisfaction. Recently, in the context of sports tourism, there
is a growing body of evidence that shows event quality predicts tourist satisfaction. Jeong
et al. (2019) investigated the relationships between event quality, tourist satisfaction, place
attachment and behavioral intentions, and emphasized that positive perception of event
quality is related to the formation of satisfaction. Given the direct impact reported in
existing studies, it was expected that event quality would positively impact tourist
satisfaction:
H3. Event quality positively influences tourist satisfaction.
Supportive evidence also exists of a positive relation between destination image and
satisfaction (Assaker et al., 2011). Wang and Hsu (2010) proposed an integrative model
depicting relationships between destination image, satisfaction and behavioral intentions
and realized destination image is closely associated with satisfaction. Prayag and Ryan
(2012) explored the relationships between destination image, place attachment, personal
involvement, visitor satisfaction and loyalty and confirmed a more positive destination
image results in higher levels of visitor satisfaction. Chiu et al. (2016) investigated the
influence of destination image and tourist satisfaction on loyalty in a case study of Chinese
tourists in Korea, and indicated destination image is primary antecedent of satisfaction.
Therefore, we propose the following hypothesis concerning the impact of destination image
on tourist satisfaction:
H4. Destination image positively influences tourist satisfaction.
Previous studies have consistently reported a positive relationship exists between perceived
value and satisfaction (Edward and Sahadev, 2011; Jin et al., 2015; Pandža Bajs, 2015;
Wu, 2014). Meng et al. (2011) examined the relationship associated between cruise image,
perceived value, satisfaction and post-purchase behavioral intention and indicated
perceived value significantly and positively influences satisfaction. Hur et al. (2013)
tested the effects of perceived value and satisfaction on loyalty, and revealed hedonic, social
and functional value importantly boost satisfaction. Kim and Park (2017)
explored relationships between perceived value, satisfaction and loyalty in the context of
community-based ecotourism in South Korea, and found that perceived value significantly
predicts satisfaction. These findings led us to hypothesize:
H5. Perceived value positively influences tourist satisfaction.

Destination loyalty
Efforts to study brand and consumer loyalty date back more than 50 years (Oppermann, 2000).
It is believed study of brand loyalty originated from Copeland’s (1923) study, in which loyalty
was referred to as “brand insistence” ( Jacoby and Chestnut, 1978). Subsequently, researchers
explored the definition and construct of and attempted to measure loyalty (Gursoy et al., 2014). Destination
A review conducted by Jacoby and Chestnut (1978) cited a considerable number of approaches loyalty among
to the definition of loyalty and what constitutes loyalty in the broad area of consumer behavior. sport tourists
Oliver (1999, p.34) viewed loyalty as “a deeply held commitment to re-buy or re-patronize a
preferred product/service consistently, thereby causing repetitive same-brand or same-brand
set purchasing despite situational influences and marketing efforts that prompt switching
behavior.” Recognition that good relationships between managers and customers contribute to 945
the development of customer loyalty (Dick and Basu, 1994; Oliver, 1999), resulted in the
recognition that studies of loyalty should be intensified.
Loyalty for a tourist destination has been recognized as the most significant factor of the
stable growth of a destination (Stepchenkova and Mills, 2010). In some studies, destination
loyalty was dichotomized into attitudinal and behavioral loyalty (Zhang and Mao, 2012).
Behavioral loyalty is based on the actual behavior of customers or consequences of customer
behavior (Lee, Graefe and Burns, 2007), and thus, reflects the likelihood of repeat visitation.
Attitudinal loyalty emerged as an important concept in terms of understanding consumer
psychological phenomena (Oppermann, 2000), and concerns a positive attitude by tourists
toward a destination, for example, an intention to recommend the destination to others
(Pritchard and Howard, 1997). However, considerations of behavioral or attitudinal loyalty
may not correctly reflect destination loyalty (Chen and Gursoy, 2001), and a combination of
the two probably provides the most accurate and comprehensive estimate of destination
loyalty (Oppermann, 2000). For this reason, we suggest that destination loyalty should be
developed and measured by integrating of assessments of behavioral and attitudinal loyalty.
If a tourist has a positive impression of a destination, it is likely he/she will revisit or
recommend it to others (Zhang et al., 2014). Many attempts have been made to address the link
between destination image and loyalty. Coban (2012) provided supportive evidence of a
relationship between destination image, satisfaction and loyalty and underlined that
destination image leads to loyalty. Jamaludin et al. (2012) explored the relationships between
destination image, tourist satisfaction and destination loyalty using travel motivation and
information sources, and showed destination image is a critical determinant of destination
loyalty. Similar relations were apparent in a recent study conducted by Folgado-Fernández
et al. (2017), who developed a model of the effect of tourists’ food experiences at Spanish
gastronomic festivals on destination image, and these events’ contributions to both destination
and event loyalty, and demonstrated that the destination image is the main antecedent of
destination loyalty. Based on empirical perspectives described in the literature, we postulate:
H6. Destination image positively influences destination loyalty.
There is increasing awareness that perceived value is a strong predictor of product or service
loyalty (Yang and Peterson, 2004). Similar evidence was provided by a study conducted by
Auka (2012) on the effects of satisfaction, service quality and perceived value on customer
loyalty, in which a positive relationship was demonstrated between perceived value and
loyalty. Eid (2015) investigated the influences of various dimensions of perceived value on
customer satisfaction, loyalty and retention and revealed quality value, emotional value, social
value and Islamic value of perceived value directly affect loyalty. Likewise, Gumussoy and
Koseoglu (2016) provided useful additional evidence on the existence of a positive link
between these two variables. They examined the effects of service quality, perceived value
and fairness on customers’ satisfaction and loyalty in the context of hospitality literature, and
underlined perceived value leads to loyalty. As such, we propose the following hypothesis:
H7. Perceive value positively influences destination loyalty.
A number of studies have supported the notion that satisfaction and loyalty are
closely related (Song et al., 2012). Gursoy et al. (2014) proposed a conceptual model that
APJML analyzed antecedents of destination loyalty and presented evidence that the relationship
32,4 between satisfaction and destination loyalty is positive and significant. As we have seen,
Chiu et al. (2016) examined the influence of a destination’s image and tourist satisfaction on
loyalty among Chinese tourists in Korea, and demonstrated the effect of satisfaction on that
loyalty. Wu (2016) tested a theoretical model containing destination image, consumer travel
experience, satisfaction and destination loyalty in the tourism context and found
946 satisfaction is more inclined to build destination loyalty. Hence, we propose:
H8. Tourist Satisfaction positively influences destination loyalty.

Mediating effects of tourist satisfaction

With respect to the mediating effect of tourist satisfaction on the relation between
destination image and destination loyalty, previous studies have shown destination image
affects destination loyalty (Coban, 2012; Folgado-Fernández et al., 2017; Jamaludin et al.,
2012). The indirect effect of destination image on destination loyalty through tourist
satisfaction could be explained by Chi and Qu (2008), who indicated destination image
affects satisfaction which, in turn, influences loyalty. Thus, it can be inferred tourist
satisfaction mediates the relationship between destination image and destination loyalty.
With respect to the mediating effect of tourist satisfaction on the relation between
perceived value and destination loyalty, previous studies have shown a positive relationship
between perceived value and destination loyalty (Auka, 2012; Eid, 2015; Gumussoy and
Koseoglu, 2016). The indirect effect of perceived value on destination loyalty through tourist
satisfaction could be explained by Gallarza and Saura (2006), who indicated the sequential
relationship perceived value → satisfaction → loyalty. Therefore, based on former studies,
we assert tourist satisfaction mediates the relationship between perceived value and
destination loyalty (Figure 1):
H9. Tourist satisfaction mediates the relationship between destination image and destination
loyalty.
H10. Tourist satisfaction mediates the relationship between perceived value and destination
loyalty.

Method
Data collection
As we have seen, Gyeongju is one of the most famous tourist destinations in South Korea,
especially for domestic visitors ( Jeong et al., 2019). Data for the current study were collected
from domestic visitors who attended the 2017 International Marathon in the city

Destination
Image
H1 H4 H6
H9
Event H3 Tourist H8 Destination
Quality Satisfaction Loyalty
H10
H2 H5 H7
Figure 1.
Proposed research Perceived
model Value
of Gyeongju. A team comprising the authors and three trained research assistants Destination
administered a face-to-face questionnaire-based survey in the stadium and near the ticket loyalty among
office on October 15, 2017, using a convenient sampling method. At the stadium and near sport tourists
the ticket office were the most cost-effective locations to obtain a representative sample.
Only tourists were invited to participate in the study; locals were totally excluded. In total,
350 respondents were approached and asked to take part in the survey without reward.
No-one was solicited to participate. In total, 330 questionnaires were completed, but 19 were 947
subsequently eliminated because some important questions were not answered. The
remaining 311 satisfactorily completed questionnaires were analyzed. The sample was
composed of 198 males (63.7 percent) and 113 females (36.3 percent). Most respondents
(39.9 percent; n ¼ 124) were in their 50s, 44.7 percent (n ¼ 139) were educated to university
level, and 21.5 percent (n ¼ 149) earned $20,000–$29,999 per annum. A more complete
demographic profile of the respondents is provided in Table I.

Measures
The survey instrument was developed based on the study objectives and a literature review.
A seven-point Likert scale, anchored on unimportant (1) and extremely important (7),
was used in the survey instrument. Event quality was assessed using 12 items (3 items
addressed game quality, 3 interaction quality, 3 outcome quality and 3 physical
environment quality); these items were adapted from those used by Jin et al. (2013) and
Ko et al. (2011). Destination image was assessed using five items derived from Kaplanidou
(2009). Perceived value was assessed using four items derived from Petrick (2002). Tourist
satisfaction was assessed using three items derived from Lee, Yoon and Lee (2007) and Yoon
and Uysal (2005). Destination loyalty was assessed using six items adapted from Grappi and
Montanari (2011), Lam and Hsu (2006) and Prayag et al. (2017). To ensure face validity, three
South Korean sport tourism professors were invited to examine the survey items.

Variables Categories n %

Gender Male 198 63.7

Female 113 36.3
Age 20–29 70 22.5
30–39 19 6.1
40–49 62 19.9
50–59 124 39.9
W 60 36 11.6
Education Elementary, middle and high school 98 31.5
Associated degree 55 17.7
University 139 44.7
Graduate 19 6.1
Marriage Single 84 27
Married 210 67.5
Cohabitation 11 3.5
Separation/Divorce 4 1.3
Bereavement 2 0.6
Annual household income o $9,999 38 12.2
$10,000–$14,999 39 12.5
$15,000–$19,999 61 19.6
$20,000–$29,999 67 21.5
$30,000–$44,999 36 11.6 Table I.
$45,000–$64,999 21 6.8 Demographic
$65,000–$99,999 11 3.5 characteristics of
W $100,000 38 12.2 respondents
APJML Data analysis
32,4 Data collected using the questionnaire was computed using SPSS 22.0 and AMOS 22.0
software packages. SPSS was used to perform the frequency analysis, correlation analysis
and reliability analysis, and AMOS was used to conduct confirmatory factor analysis and
structural equation modeling.

948 Validity and reliability

When a structural equation model has a lot of items, the number of items should be
adjusted by item parceling (Bandalos and Finney, 2001). Item parceling is a method of
parceling using averages when analysis is difficult in a structural equation model due to a
large number of observable variables (Bandalos, 2002). To utilize item parceling,
convergent validities regarding constructs of game quality (It was exciting to watch
skillful players, skill performance of players was excellent and information about this
event was easy to obtain), interaction quality (The demeanor of the staff was pleasant,
I enjoyed being with the other spectators, and spectators followed the regulations),
outcome quality (I view the outcome of this event favorably, I enjoyed the social
interaction at this event, I spent quality time with my friend/family) and physical
environment quality (The facility was clean and well maintained, I am impressed with the
facility design, I believe the facility is safe) should be satisfactory. For convergent
validities, we calculated factor loadings whose values all exceeded the recommended value
of 0.55 (range 0.665–0.903) (Tabachnick and Fidell, 2007). Since the convergent validities
of all constructs were satisfactory, observable variables in each construct were parceled
on average as event quality. In other words, sub-factors of event quality were converted
into four observable variables.
The five-factor (event quality, destination image, perceived value, tourist satisfaction
and destination loyalty) CFA model used had a total of 377 degrees of freedom. Model
fit results revealed acceptable fit to data ( χ2/df ¼ 2.731, NFI ¼ 0.922, RFI ¼ 0.909,
IFI ¼ 0.949, TLI ¼ 0.940, CFI ¼ 0.949 and RMSEA ¼ 0.075). All model fit indices were
considered acceptable based on the criteria recommended by Hair et al. (1998) and
Kline (1998).
To evaluate convergent validity, we calculated factor loadings, construct reliability (CR)
and average variance extracted (AVE). Factor loadings values all exceeded the recommended
value of 0.55 (range 0.730–0.946) (Tabachnick and Fidell, 2007). CR values all exceeded the
recommended value of 0.7 (range 0.868–0.948) and AVE values all exceeded the minimum
requirement of 0.5 (range 0.663–0.753) (Fornell and Larcker, 1981) (see Table II). Hence,
convergent validities regarding all constructs were satisfactory.
For discriminant validity, we compared AVE values for each construct with the square
of the correlation coefficient values between latent variables and verified that the AVE
values were greater than the square values ( Jeong et al., 2019). Since it was difficult to verify
all variables, the pair with the highest correlation was selected and verified. The highest
correlation obtained was 0.698 (event quality – destination image) (see Table III) and its
square value (0.698)2 was 0.487. AVE for event quality was 0.694 and AVE for destination
image was also 0.663. Since all AVE values were greater than the square of the highest
correlation, discriminant validity was satisfactory.
Furthermore, coefficient αs were as follows: 0.740 for game quality, 0.830 for
interaction quality, 0.895 for outcome quality, 0.915 for physical environment quality,
0.937 for event quality, 0.919 for destination image, 0.909 for perceived value, 0.910 for
tourist satisfaction and 0.966 for destination loyalty (see Table II). All α scores were above
the recommended 0.70 point and indicate that the scales were reliable (Nunnally and
Bernstein, 1994).
Items β CR AVE Cronbach
Destination
loyalty among
Event quality sport tourists
Game quality 0.774 0.901 0.694 0.937
Interaction quality 0.808
Outcome quality 0.884
Physical environment quality 0.864
949
Destination image
People in Gyeongju are friendly 0.730 0.907 0.663 0.919
Gyeongju offers suitable accommodation 0.853
Gyeongju is a safe city 0.796
Gyeonggju has beautiful natural scenery 0.872
Gyeongju is an interesting city 0.913
Perceived value
This event made me feel good 0.778 0.888 0.664 0.909
The quality of the event was outstanding 0.866
Overall, the event is better than I expected 0.871
It was a good decision to attend the event 0.873
Tourist satisfaction
Overall satisfaction 0.873 0.868 0.687 0.910
When compared with my expectation 0.895
When I consider my invested time and effort 0.868
Destination loyalty
I will recommend Gyeongju to other people 0.871 0.948 0.753 0.966
Say positive things about GJ to other people 0.898
Encourage friends and relatives to visit GJ 0.894
I will probably visit GJ in the next 12 months 0.946
I intend visiting GJ in next 12 months 0.926 Table II.
I want to visit Gyeongju City 0.919 CFA measurement
Notes: χ2/df ¼ 2.731, NFI ¼ 0.922, RFI ¼ 0.909, IFI ¼ 0.949, TLI ¼ 0.940, CFI ¼ 0.949 and RMSEA ¼ 0.075 model

Variable 1 2 3 4 5

Event quality 1
Destination image 0.698** 1
Perceived value 0.503** 0.586** 1
Tourist satisfaction 0.616** 0.676** 0.570** 1 Table III.
Destination loyalty 0.588** 0.581** 0.507** 0.617** 1 Correlations between
Note: **p o0.01 variables

Results
Structural path model
The fitting indices of the structural path model results were as follows: χ2/df ¼ 2.929,
NFI ¼ 0.915, RFI ¼ 0.902, IFI ¼ 0.942, TLI ¼ 0.943, CFI ¼ 0.942 and RMSEA ¼ 0.079, which
indicated model fit was satisfactory based on the results of previous studies (NFI and CFI
of W0.9 by Hair et al. (2006) and an RMSEA of o0.8 by Browne and Cudeck (1993).
Estimates of structural coefficients (paths) provided the basis for testing the proposed
hypotheses. As shown in Table IV, event quality had a significantly positive effect
on destination image (0.790, p o0.001), perceived value (0.582, p o0.001) and tourist
satisfaction (0.239, p o0.01), which offered supportive evidence for H1–H3. The path
APJML coefficient from destination image to tourist satisfaction and destination loyalty were also
32,4 positive and statistically significant (0.415 and 0.251, respectively, p o0.001, and p o0.001),
which supported H4 and H6. H5 and H7 were also supported, as perceived value
significantly and positively influenced tourist satisfaction and destination loyalty (0.242 and
0.162, respectively, p o0.001, and p o0.01). Tourist satisfaction was found to influence
destination loyalty directly (0.370, p o0.001), which supported H8.
950 As shown in Table V, tourist satisfaction fully mediates the relationship between
destination image and destination loyalty as the direct effect was not significant and the
confidence interval included 0 point, whereas the indirect effect was significant and the
confidence interval did not include 0 point; thus, H9 was supported. Next, tourist
satisfaction was found to fully mediate the relationship between perceived value and
destination loyalty as the direct effect was not significant and the confidence interval
included 0 point, whereas the indirect effect was significant and the confidence interval did
not include 0 point; thus, H10 was supported.

Discussion
Managerial implications
Tourism destinations are facing relentless competition, and the challenges posed continue to
intensify (Chi and Qu, 2008), and thus, it is important to understand what drives tourist
behavior. From a practical point of view, our findings have important marketing
implications for tourism destinations. Based on the results of the current study, we offer the
following plan to maximize event quality and destination image as this strategy would be
expected to increase perceived value, tourist satisfaction and destination loyalty.
First, previous studies have shown event quality is composed of four latent dimensions:
game quality, interaction quality, outcome quality and physical environment quality, which
we believe helps destination managers better understand the factors that contribute to
destination image, perceived value, tourist satisfaction and ultimately destination loyalty.

Standardized
Hypothesis Path coefficient SE CR Test results

1 Event quality → destination image 0.790 0.077 11.223*** Accepted

2 Event quality → perceived value 0.582 0.073 8.992*** Accepted
3 Event quality → tourist satisfaction 0.239 0.108 2.692** Accepted
4 Destination image → tourist satisfaction 0.415 0.092 5.060*** Accepted
5 Perceived value → tourist satisfaction 0.242 0.061 4.286*** Accepted
Table IV.
Results of structural 6 Destination image → destination loyalty 0.251 0.084 3.511*** Accepted
equation modeling 7 Perceived value → destination loyalty 0.162 0.067 2.773** Accepted
analysis and 8 Tourist satisfaction → destination loyalty 0.370 0.084 4.648*** Accepted
hypothesis testing Notes: **p o0.01; ***p o0.001

Path Estimate 95% CI (bias-corrected) p

Destination image → tourist Direct effect 0.251 −0.109–0.540 0.196

satisfaction → destination loyalty Indirect effect 0.154 0.059–0.409 0.013
Total effect 0.405 0.143–0.629 0.010
Table V. Perceived value → tourist Direct effect 0.162 −0.050–0.360 0.195
Mediating effects of satisfaction → destination loyalty Indirect effect 0.090 0.037–0.196 0.008
tourist satisfaction Total effect 0.252 0.054–0.424 0.039
Furthermore, we suggest destination managers and event organizers consider these four Destination
latent dimensions of event quality to ensure that sporting event tourists’ needs and wants loyalty among
are accommodated. To improve game quality, event organizers should strive to secure sport tourists
skillful players to attract tourist interest and attention as watching high-level games and
cheering for favorite players are motivations underlying tourist participation in sporting
events. Furthermore, high-quality games with excellent players result in successful events,
and this positively influences destination image, perceived value and tourist satisfaction. 951
Also, efforts should be made to offer tourists many performances and events during a
sporting event. Intuitively, fun events, such as giveaway, fan signing and musical
performance events, add to tourist experience and event satisfaction and increase the
likelihood of destination revisits and of destination recommendation to family, friends and
acquaintances. To enhance interaction quality, volunteers should be trained and educated to
create the right attitude; a welcoming smile and friendly demeanor during a sporting event
enhance tourists’ images of the destination ( Jin et al., 2013). Regarding environmental
quality, destination managers should pay more attention to facility safety. Sometimes,
repair delays or failure to complete facilities compromise tourist and player safety.
Therefore, facility safety should be considered a priority when hosting a sporting event.
The present study confirms destination image is positively related to tourist satisfaction
and destination loyalty, which highlights the important contributions made by destination
image to the development of individual satisfaction and loyalty. Accordingly, improving the
image tourists have of a destination should be a goal of management. Destination managers
could improve the image of a destination by utilizing social media. According to Xiang and
Gretzel (2010), social media such as blogs, YouTube and Facebook should be considered
“Internet-based applications containing consumer-generated content” that create and share
customer experiences, ideas and opinions. In fact, a high proportion of tourists rely on social
media to obtain specific information about destinations rather than television, newspapers,
or magazines (Habibi et al., 2014; Zeng and Gerritsen, 2014). Accordingly, destination
marketers should utilize social media as a promotional tool for improving destination image.
We also suggest, well-educated employees should be stationed at popular hotels, restaurants
and information desks as well as at stadiums and facilities, as those that visit a destination
without a guide invariably experience difficulties when sightseeing.

Research implications
The present study advances knowledge of sport tourism by investigating links between
event quality, destination image, perceived value, tourist satisfaction and destination
loyalty. Findings indicate event quality has a direct effect on destination image, perceived
value and tourist satisfaction, destination image and perceived value are critical factors in
stimulating tourist satisfaction and destination loyalty, and the relationship between tourist
satisfaction and destination loyalty is positive and significant. Furthermore, they suggest
the path from destination image to destination loyalty and the path from perceived value to
destination loyalty fully depend on tourist satisfaction. From a theoretical point of view, the
present study offers several implications to research in marketing and tourism.
First, the present study embraces the argument and call of Jin et al. (2013) by seeking to
understand the role of event quality in the context of event management. More specifically,
the authors noted that event quality is a key consideration of event marketing strategies
focused on customer retention, and they called for further research in other event settings to
ensure external validity of the measurement of event quality, which could be useful and
helpful for event management literature. With their call, we delineate four dimensions
(game quality, interaction quality, outcome quality and physical environment quality) to
accurately reflect the characteristics of sporting event quality, and we evaluate convergent
validity (e.g. factor loadings, CR and AVE); as a result, the validity is satisfactory.
APJML With satisfactory validity for event quality, this study examines the relationships between
32,4 event quality, destination image and perceived value, and shows that event quality acts as
an antecedent of destination image and perceived value, which is congruent with previous
studies (García-Fernández et al., 2018; Tosun et al., 2015). Hence, tourism researchers and
marketers should not underestimate the importance of event quality in predicting
destination image and perceived value.
952 Second, the current study responds to the recent call for marketing or tourism
researchers to conduct integrative models (Prayag et al., 2017). More specifically, in order to
develop a stable model of event quality, we include tourist satisfaction in the proposed
model. At the beginning of an event quality study, Moon et al. (2011) examined the
theoretical relationship between event quality and destination image, and based on that
study, Moon et al. (2013) tested service quality, destination image, perceived value and
behavioral intention. In the same year, Jin et al. (2013) examined whether or not event
quality, perceived value and destination image determine visitors’ future behavioral
intentions. Although these studies build the necessary foundation for event quality, they did
not focus adequately on the importance of tourist satisfaction. A recently conducted study
mentioned that “if tourists highly value a product or service provided at a sporting event,
they are more likely to have a high level of satisfaction” ( Jeong et al., 2019, p. 3073). In line
with prior studies (Han and Hyun, 2017; Theodorakis et al., 2015), the results also confirm
that event quality has a positive effect on tourist satisfaction. Therefore, it is clearly
important for both researchers and marketers to better understand the key relationship
between event quality and satisfaction in the context of event management.
The third implication is that the present study provides empirical evidence of relations
between the formation of destination loyalty and destination image and tourist satisfaction.
Previous authors have held the view that destination image and tourist satisfaction are
positively wedded to destination loyalty (Gursoy et al., 2014; Lee, Graefe and Burns, 2007;
Lee, Yoon and Lee, 2007; Zhang et al., 2014). However, others have indicated destination
loyalty does not guarantee tourists revisiting a destination because they generally incline to
favor a new location despite a satisfactory, positive experience (Trang, 2018). Furthermore,
Chi and Qu (2008) were of the opinion that destination loyalty has nothing to do with
destination image. Nevertheless, the present study reveals and confirms the existence of
critical relationships between destination image, tourist satisfaction and destination loyalty,
and thus, our findings suggest that it would be worthwhile for destination marketers to
make greater investments in sporting events to form tourist loyalty.
The fourth implication is that the present study contributes to tourism studies by
exploring the effects of tourist satisfaction that mediate between destination image and
destination loyalty, and between perceived value and destination loyalty. In broad tourism
settings, prior studies have consistently advocated that tourist satisfaction mediates the
relation between destination image and loyalty (Hernández-Lobato et al., 2006), and our result
also identifies an indirect relationship between destination image and destination loyalty via
tourist satisfaction, being consistent with previous empirical research ( Jeong and Kim, 2019).
Notably, the result demonstrates that tourist satisfaction has a fully mediating effect, which
has not been reported in previous studies. In addition, from the best available knowledge, in
the context of sports tourism, the present study is the first to incorporate tourist satisfaction
as a mediator of the relation between perceived value and destination loyalty. The finding
sheds new light on the full mediatory role of tourist satisfaction on the relation between
perceived value and destination loyalty among sports tourists. This consideration represents
a significant step toward understanding sports tourists’ satisfaction.
Notably, small-scale sporting events offer critical marketing strategies for stimulating
destination image, perceived value, tourist satisfaction and destination loyalty. Although
the positive effects of small-scale events, such as marathons, are admitted, comparatively
little research has been performed on the topic (Keun et al., 2014). In this regard, our findings Destination
contribute to the sport tourism literature by confirming the important impacts of event loyalty among
quality, destination image and perceived value generated by small-scale sporting events on sport tourists
tourist satisfaction and destination loyalty, and suggest that these events should be
considered important in terms of achieving competitive advantage.

Conclusion
As we have seen, the main purpose of this study was to investigate structural relationships
953
between quality, destination image, perceived value, tourist satisfaction and destination
loyalty with emphasis on the mediating effect of tourist satisfaction on relations
between destination image and destination loyalty, and between perceived value and
destination loyalty in the context of small-scale sporting events. Findings showed significant
impacts of event quality on destination image and perceived value; event quality, destination
image and perceived value on tourist satisfaction; destination image, perceived value and
tourist satisfaction on destination loyalty; and demonstrated tourist satisfaction fully
mediates relationships between destination image and destination loyalty, and between
perceived value and destination loyalty. Based on results, contributions of this study were to
incorporate quality and value in tourism destination image-satisfaction-loyalty models;
demonstrated empirical evidence that tourist satisfaction fully mediates the relation between
destination image and destination loyalty, and between perceived value and destination
loyalty in sport tourism industry; and confirmed small-scale as well as large-scale sporting
events should be considered as important for sustaining the success of tourism destinations.
Although the present study sheds light on the benefits of using an integrated approach to
enhance event quality, destination image, perceived value, tourist satisfaction and destination
loyalty, it has several limitations. First, we did not investigate other exogenous variables,
including the positive impact of expectation. Additional studies are required to explore the
effects of more of these variables in order to broaden understanding of the forces that drive
tourist satisfaction and destination loyalty (e.g. by using an event image, the perceived risks,
destination familiarity and identification and novelty-seeking as potential variables). Second,
satisfaction was examined as a potential mediator of the relations between destination image
and destination loyalty and between perceived value and destination loyalty. Nonetheless,
the effects of other potential mediators (e.g. place attachment) should be investigated to
provide a more comprehensive framework. Third, the findings of our study may not be
applicable to other Asian tourism destinations because the tourism characteristics of
Gyeonggju City (South Korea) may differ. To enable the generalization of our findings, similar
studies are required in other tourist destinations.

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About the authors

Yunduk Jeong is currently Post-doctoral Researcher at the University of Georgia in the USA. Prior to
joining the post-doctoral research program, Yunduk received PhD Degree in sport management and
was Lecturer for three years in Kyonggi University in the South Korea. His research interests include
sport tourism, sport organizational behavior and sport human resources management.
Sukkyu Kim received PhD Degree in the department of Sport Management and Industry from the
Beijing Sport University. He is Assistant Professor at department of sport science, Dongguk University
Gyeongju. Sukkyu Kim is the corresponding author and can be contacted at: skkim2018@dongguk.ac.kr

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Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management

journal homepage: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-hospitality-
and-tourism-management

Loyalty formation process of tourists in sporting event: The case

of Turkmen horse races
Arman Akhoondnejad
Department of Tourism, Sport and Society, Lincoln University, Lincoln, New Zealand

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The main objective of this research is to get a further understanding of the determinants of tourist loyalty
Received 10 January 2017 in horse race event. More specifically, the effects of event quality, tourist emotion, event value, and
Received in revised form tourist satisfaction on tourist loyalty, as well as the interrelationships are explored. Using purposive
20 October 2017
sampling, 330 domestic tourists who attended the horse races in the Turkmen Sahra Region, Iran were
Accepted 16 November 2017
surveyed. In order to analyze the effects, structural equation modeling (SEM) is used. The results
demonstrate that event quality influences tourist emotion and loyalty. Tourist emotion determines event
value and tourist satisfaction. Event value influences tourist satisfaction and loyalty. And, tourist satis-
Keywords:
Event quality
faction predicts tourist loyalty.
Tourist emotion © 2017 The Authors.
Event value
Tourist satisfaction
Tourist loyalty

1. Introduction empirically explored loyalty formation process of tourists in

Horse race refers to a competition in which two or more jockeys
ride horses over a set course or distance to identify which of the
horses is the fastest. One of the most popular forms of horse races is
flat race; it refers to a competition in which each jockey gallops his/
her horse between two points around a straight or oval track to
finish first (McManus & Graham, 2014). The relationship between
horse races and tourism has existed for a long time. Horse tourism
is described as a type of tourism where the horse is an element of
the tourism experience. Spectating horse races, as a form of horse
tourism, has been a major leisure activity in many countries in the
world (Jeong, Kim, Ko, Lee, & Jeong, 2009).
Larson and Steinman (2009) and Hall, O'Mahony, and Vieceli
(2010) respectively pointed out that attendance at sporting
events represents a significant revenue stream for such events and
the host destinations. Thus, sport spectators are considered as a
valuable niche market segment which must be understood,
attracted and retained. An empirical understanding of the factors
influencing spectator loyalty is vital for long-term viability of
sporting events (Gandhi-Arora & Shaw, 2002; Hall et al., 2010;
Okayasu, Nogawa, & Morais, 2010). However, little research has
E-mail address: arman.akhoondnejad@lincolnuni.ac.nz.
sporting events (Gandhi-Arora & Shaw, 2002; Jeong et al., 2009;
Osti, Disegna, & Brida, 2012; Tzetzis, Alexandris, & Kapsampeli,
2014; Wong & Tang, 2016).
Among previous research, only one research has focused on
horse races (Jeong et al., 2009). Thus, the literature reveals that
very little is known about which factors make tourists loyal to
sporting events, especially tourists who watch horse races.
Okayasu et al. (2010) have stressed that there is a need to inves-
tigate how tourists become loyal to sporting events. Event quality,
spectator emotion, event value, and spectator satisfaction have
been identified as the determinants of spectator loyalty in the
sport literature. However, the relationships among these con-
structs has not been explored simultaneously yet in the sport, and
particularly in the sport tourism literature. Moreover, there is no
research shedding light on how spectators evaluate the quality in
horse race event. To address these gaps, the current research aims
to incorporate the determinants of spectator loyalty, test their ef-
fects on spectator loyalty, and examine their interrelationships for
tourists. The results will contribute to our knowledge about loyalty
of tourists who watch horse races, a type of sport which has largely
been neglected. Furthermore, with understanding the relation-
ships, horse race executives can focus their attentions to best
satisfy their spectators and make them loyal, which in turn lead to
their continued success.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2017.11.006
1447-6770/© 2017 The Authors.
 A. Akhoondnejad / Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management 34 (2018) 48e57
2. Literature review and research hypotheses
2.1. Sport tourism, event sport tourism, small-scale sporting events,
and tourists' experiences
Sport tourism refers to a type of tourism in which people travel
to a place to attend sporting events, visit famous sporting attrac-
tions, or participate in sporting and recreational activities (Higham,
2005; Shonk & Chelladurai, 2008). With the growth of leisure
culture, consumption of sports and competitiveness within the
sport industry are increased. Sport tourism, as the fastest growing
type of tourism (Rodrigues, Valdunciel, & Miguel-Da vila, 2014), has
a range of benefits for the host destinations, including job creation
as well as increment of income and economic development
(Higham, 2005). It can also be viewed as a strategy to create and
enhance the image of destinations (Gandhi-Arora & Shaw, 2002;
Higham, 2005; Moon, Ko, Connaughton, & Lee, 2013; Osti et al.,
2012).
Event sport tourism, as the highest profile product within sport
tourism, is defined as going somewhere from one's home envi-
ronment to watch a sporting event (Dixon, Backman, Backman, &
Norman, 2012). Sporting events have become an important part
of tourism development (Tzetzis et al., 2014; Wong & Tang, 2016),
an attraction of tourist destinations (Jin, Lee, & Lee, 2013; Wong &
Tang, 2016), a way to create positive image (Moon et al., 2013;
Tzetzis et al., 2014), and a strategy to reduce the seasonality of
tourist flow (Tzetzis et al., 2014; Wong & Tang, 2016), because there
are many people in the world who travel significant distances to
watch their favorite sports (Gibson, Willming, & Holdnak, 2003;
Shonk & Chelladurai, 2008).
It is suggested that the destinations should focus on small-scale
sporting events, because they play a significant role in the
improvement of life quality and pride of the host communities, and
thereby sustainable development of the destinations (Gibson et al.,
2003; Moon et al., 2013). Small-scale sporting events refer to sport
competitions such as basketball and football, which are held
regularly throughout a period of time (Chen, 2006; Gibson et al.,
2003). The advantages of small-scale sporting events are as fol-
lows: they are organized easier than mega events, usually operate
within existing infrastructures, do not need big investment of funds
(Gibson et al., 2003; Tzetzis et al., 2014), are more manageable with
regard to crowding and congestion, minimize the effects of sea-
sonality (Gibson et al., 2003), and do not tax the resources of the
host city in the same manner as hosting a mega event (Gibson et al.,
2003; Tzetzis et al., 2014).
The sport tourism literature shows that several researchers have
investigated the experiences, perceptions and behavior of specta-
tors. More specifically, researchers have focused on the relation-
ships among novelty-seeking, satisfaction and loyalty (Gandhi-
Arora & Shaw, 2002); application of Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation
Technique to identify the determinants of tourists' loyalty (Chen,
2006); the effect of event image on intention to visit (Jeong et al.,
2009); the roles of emotional responses and facilities in atten-
dance (Hall et al., 2010); the roles of repeat visits and satisfaction
with event in behavioral intention toward both event and desti-
nation (Osti et al., 2012); the relationships among event quality,
perceived value, destination image and behavioral intention (Jin
et al., 2013); the relationships between event quality, perceived
value, destination image and behavioral intention (Moon et al.,
2013); the roles of event quality and satisfaction in spectator
behavioral intentions (Tzetzis et al., 2014); the impacts of travel
motivation and purpose on event loyalty through the mediating
roles of event involvement and experience as well as the moder-
ating role of spectator type (Wong & Tang, 2016).
49
2.2. Tourist loyalty
Loyalty can be defined as “a deeply held commitment to re-buy
or re-patronize a preferred product or service consistently in the
future, despite situational influences and marketing efforts having
the potential to cause switching behavior” (Kuenzel & Yassim, 2007,
p. 44). Based on prior experiences and frequently involvements in
an activity, consumers develop attitudes toward an activity and
decide to access or avoid it (Jin et al., 2013). Loyalty process consists
of four phases: cognitive, affective, conative and action (Chen,
2006; Wong & Tang, 2016). “Cognitive loyalty focuses on the
brand's performance aspects, affective loyalty is directed toward
the brand's likeableness, conative loyalty is experienced when the
consumer focuses on wanting to rebuy the brand, and action loyalty
is commitment to the action of rebuying” (Chen, 2006, p. 202).
Historically, loyalty had first been conceptualized by behavioral
dimension concerning measures at an individual level such as
customer repurchase, frequency of consumption, length of rela-
tionship, or a mixture of them. Then, attitudinal dimension was
proposed to understand the difference between spurious loyalty and
true loyalty. Repurchase and recommend intentions have been
frequently used for attitudinal dimension (Gandhi-Arora & Shaw,
2002). Due to the fact that actual behavior is hard to measure,
many researchers have used behavioral intentions to conceptualize
loyalty (Byon, Zhang, & Baker, 2013). Behavioral intention, as a signal
of conative loyalty, refers to an individual's willingness to perform a
particular action in the future (Byon et al., 2013; Larson & Steinman,
2009). Favorable behavioral intentions are dependent on an orga-
nization's ability to stimulate its customers to: (1) remain loyal to it,
(2) spend more with it, (3) pay high price, and (4) recommend it to
others (Hutchinson, Lai, & Wang, 2009; Wu & Ai, 2016).
As Clemes, Brush, and Collins (2011) have indicated, one of the
main concerns for sporting event executives is to focus on specta-
tors, understand which factors may affect their behavior, and try to
maintain them. Spectator attendance creates a stable revenue
which helps sporting events to remain competitive and profitable.
In other words, success of sporting events severely depends on
their ability to generate repeat visits. Developing and maintaining
loyalty brings a sustainable competitive advantage to sporting
events (Okayasu et al., 2010). There are several reasons for focusing
on spectator loyalty: loyal spectators have a more positive attitude
toward the event, are more likely to re-attend the event and
recommend it to others (Biscaia, Correia, Rosado, Maroco, & Ross,
2012; Jin et al., 2013; Kuenzel & Yassim, 2007), are cost-effective
compared to first-time spectators (Kuenzel & Yassim, 2007;
Okayasu et al., 2010), are less sensitive to the price (Biscaia et al.,
2012; Larson & Steinman, 2009), are more profitable (Okayasu
et al., 2010), attract new spectators (Larson & Steinman, 2009),
tend to attribute service errors to uncontrollable factors, and are
less likely to be attracted to a competitor in spite of marketing
activities of the competitors (Larson & Steinman, 2009).
2.3. Tourist satisfaction
Satisfaction refers to a response derived from the comparison of
prior expectations and perceived performance after consumption.
If the perceived performance falls short of a customer's expecta-
tions, the customer is dissatisfied. If the perceived performance
meets the customer's expectations, he/she is satisfied. And, if the
perceived performance exceeds the customer's expectations, he/
she is delighted (Chen, 2006; Van Leeuwen, Quick, & Daniel, 2002;
Wu & Ai, 2016). Satisfaction is also defined as “judgment that a
product or service feature, or the product or service itself, provided
(or is providing) a pleasurable level of consumption-related
fulfillment” (Van Leeuwen et al., 2002, p. 100). It, therefore, is a
50 A. Akhoondnejad / Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management 34 (2018) 48e57
cognitive-affective response (Brown, Smith, & Assaker, 2016;
Clemes et al., 2011). Likewise, spectator satisfaction refers to “a
pleasurable, fulfilment response to the entertainment of a sport
competition and/or ancillary services provided during a game”
(Brown et al., 2016, p. 161).
There are two types of satisfaction in the literature: transaction-
specific and overall satisfaction. The former relates to a consumer's
judgment about a specific experience, whereas the latter refers to a
consumer's holistic judgment after a specific experience. Focusing
on overall satisfaction has widely been stressed, and thus, over-
whelming majority of the sport and sport tourism literature have
used overall satisfaction instead of transaction-specific one. The
reason for this is that overall satisfaction of spectators is regarded
as a better sign of the past and present performance of sporting
events. In addition, overall satisfaction determines the future
behavior of spectators better than transaction-specific satisfaction
(Biscaia et al., 2012).
Customer satisfaction is an essential concern for all businesses
(Greenwell, Fink, & Pastore, 2002) and is regarded as a major source
of competitive advantage (Osti et al., 2012; Shonk & Chelladurai,
2008). Due to its significant impact on the choice of an experi-
ence, satisfaction plays a vital role in the success of any type of
business (Hutchinson et al., 2009). Satisfaction is a good predictor
of post-purchase evaluations and is also one of the determinants of
product or service performance (Greenwell et al., 2002). Customer
satisfaction has many benefits for organizations. It results in
customer retention, which in turn leads to ongoing relationships
with customers, increased sales, increased revenue, reduced costs
and profitability. It also increases positive word-of-mouth which is
a free advertising for organizations and drives new business. With
regard to cost saving, changing dissatisfied customers to satisfied
ones reduces customer defection, which in turn increases the or-
ganization's revenue by reducing the cost of attracting new cus-
tomers to replace those who have defected (Greenwell et al., 2002).
Spectators' satisfaction is recognized as an important criterion
for evaluating the performance of sporting events (Yoshida &
James, 2010). It is widely recognized that satisfied spectators are
inclined to have favorable intentions toward the event (Brown
et al., 2016). Chen (2006) has reported that tourist satisfaction
was a good precursor of tourist loyalty. Gandhi-Arora and Shaw
(2002) have also deduced that there was positive relationship be-
tween tourist satisfaction and tourist intention. Osti et al. (2012)
have discovered that there was positive relationship among the
three factors of tourist satisfaction (transaction-specific) and in-
tentions to revisit and recommend event. Tzetzis et al. (2014) have
found significant relationships between tourist satisfaction and re-
attend intention as well as word-of-mouth. Thus, the following
hypothesis is proposed:
H1. Tourist satisfaction has positive effect on tourist loyalty.
2.4. Event value
According to Yoshida, James, and Cronin (2013), value can be
identified in five things: “(1) value is low price; (2) value is the set of
benefits that are provided by a service; (3) value is a trade-off be-
tween received quality and monetary costs; (4) value is what is
received for all sacrifice components (i.e. money, time and effort);
and (5) value is what is important in terms of customer charac-
teristics (e.g. demographics)” (p. 54). Broadly defined, perceived
value is the judgment of a customer of the difference between the
benefits received from a product or service (e.g. quality) and the
sacrifices made to obtain the product or service (money, time, and
effort). Likewise, event value can be defined as “the spectator's
overall appraisal of the net worth of the sports event, based on the
spectator's assessment of what is received (benefits provided by the
sports event), and what is given (costs or sacrifice in acquiring and
utilizing the sports event)” (Jin et al., 2013, p. 852). Perceived value
is mainly reflected by the consumers' perspective of quality and
price. However, Yoshida et al. (2013) have stressed that although
perception of value is primarily based on cognitive evaluation, it
must also include hedonic and symbolic aspects that are important
especially in sport settings.
Perceived value has become one of the main factors which
should be addressed when a business want to build long-term
relationship with customers. Indeed, in today's business environ-
ment which is continually evolving, all businesses have to deliver
high value to their customers to survive and compete (Byon et al.,
2013; Larson & Steinman, 2009). Value plays a vital role when
customers evaluate an experience (Clemes et al., 2011). According
to Byon et al. (2013), paying attention to perceived value is essential
to gain a more comprehensive understanding of consumer
behavior as it plays an essential role in the decision making of
consumers. It is widely accepted that when spectators perceive that
a sporting event offers high value, they tend to be satisfied with
their experiences. Likewise, if spectators' level of value of an event
is high, the spectators are likely to have favorable behavioral in-
tentions. Although the sport literature has confirmed that specta-
tors who value a sporting event are more likely to be satisfied with
their experience (Clemes et al., 2011) and loyal to the event (Byon
et al., 2013), these relationships have not been established in
horse race and sport tourism contexts. Thus, the following hy-
potheses are proposed:
H2. Event value has positive effect on tourist loyalty.
H3. Event value has positive effect on tourist satisfaction.
2.5. Tourist emotion
Emotion, as psychophysical phenomenon, refers to affective
response derived from a consumption experience. It is widely
accepted that emotion is a feeling and response to a stimulus event,
and includes subjective experiences (cognitive component), phys-
iological changes (affective component) and action tendencies
(Biscaia et al., 2012). Kuenzel and Yassim (2007) has pointed out
that emotions consist of various types. On the one hand, some
emotions such as joy have been found to have a positive effect on
consumer behavior. On the other hand, some other emotions such
as fear, anger and frustration play a negative role in consumer
behavior. According to Biscaia et al. (2012), emotions are derived
from cognitive appraisals. Hutchinson et al. (2009) indicated that
“the initial service evaluation (i.e., appraisal) leads to an emotional
reaction that, in turn, drives behavior” (p. 299). Emotions are one of
the important factors influencing spectator decision making pro-
cess and behavior such as choice, evaluation, preference and
intention (Kwak, Kim, & Hirt, 2011). They also play a significant and
central role in tourists' experiences and behavior. Within the
context of leisure, understanding the role of emotions has widely
been suggested, because emotional reactions and attendees' ex-
periences are joined together in a very close way (Biscaia et al.,
2012; Hall et al., 2010).
Positive emotions are important factors motivating individuals
to watch a sporting event (Biscaia et al., 2012; Chen, 2006; Hall
et al., 2010; Kim, Ko, & Park, 2013; Kwak et al., 2011; Martin,
O’Neill, Hubbard, & Palmer, 2008). They have a great impact on
evaluating value (Kwak et al., 2011). Emotions also play a significant
role in satisfaction (Biscaia et al., 2012; Kuenzel & Yassim, 2007). On
the one hand, they can mediate between cognitive evaluations such
as perceived quality and overall satisfaction. On the other hand,
 A. Akhoondnejad / Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management 34 (2018) 48e57
they can function as an independent variable and explain more
about satisfaction with a cognitive variable. Emotions also lead to
loyalty (Biscaia et al., 2012; Chen, 2006; Kuenzel & Yassim, 2007). It
has empirically been reported that spectators who experience
positive emotions in a sporting event tend to be satisfied with the
event and have favorable behavioral intentions (Martin et al.,
2008). Kuenzel and Yassim (2007) and Biscaia et al. (2012) have
also found that joy resulted in spectator satisfaction. These studies
highlight the need to examine these relationships in the context of
horse race as well as among tourists. Thus, the following hypoth-
eses are proposed:
H4. Tourist emotion has positive effect on tourist loyalty.
H5. Tourist emotion has positive effect on tourist satisfaction.
H6. Tourist emotion has positive effect on event value.
2.6. Event quality
According to Mallen and Adams (2008), all definitions on quality
proposed by various researchers result in four basic categories:
quality is conformance to specifications; quality is superiority or
excellence; quality is value; and quality is meeting and/or
exceeding consumer expectations. Generally, quality is described as
excellence or superiority of a product or service (Jin et al., 2013; Kim
et al., 2013; Moon et al., 2013; Theodorakis & Alexandris, 2008).
Likewise, event quality, as a relative concept which each spectator
attended in a sporting event has a subjective perception of it
(Mallen & Adams, 2008), is defined as excellence or superiority of
the experience which is offered by a sporting event to its spectators
(Jin et al., 2013). Specifically, event quality refers to “an overall
impression of game performance, amenities, additional services,
event staff and service-delivery systems” (Foroughi, Shah, Nikbin, &
Hyun, 2014, p. 41).
Since sporting events have different elements, it is vital to
provide specific instruments for assessing the quality in different
sporting events (Byon et al., 2013; Clemes et al., 2011; Tzetzis et al.,
2014). In other words, the dimensionality of quality is reliant on the
type of event (Clemes et al., 2011; Wu & Ai, 2016). In the sport and
sport tourism literature, various researchers have proposed multi-
dimensional models of event quality, suggesting different di-
mensions for different types of events. For instance, Theodorakis
and Alexandris (2008) have measured the quality in professional
soccer using the SPORTSERV, which has five dimensions as follows:
access, security, tangibles, responsiveness and reliability. A con-
ceptual model of quality in event sport tourism is suggested by
Shonk and Chelladurai (2008) which includes access, accommo-
dation, venue, and contest. Larson and Steinman (2009) have
applied the SERVQUAL model to National Football League (NFL)
game. The model includes the following dimensions: reliability,
assurance, tangibles, empathy, and responsiveness.
Clemes et al. (2011) have developed a hierarchical model for
quality in professional sport, which has three dimensions: inter-
action, physical environment, and outcome quality. Byon et al.
(2013) have measured the quality by core and peripheral di-
mensions. Kim et al. (2013) have identified four dimensions in
basketball event (game performance, in-game entertainment, staff
quality and physical surrounding). Theodorakis, Alexandris, Tsigilis,
and Karvounis (2013) have conceptualized the quality in profes-
sional football by functional (tangibles, responsiveness, reliability,
access, and security) and outcome (team performance and game
quality) dimensions. Tzetzis et al. (2014) have utilized the model of
Shonk and Chelladurai (2008) in beach volleyball. Their model re-
veals three dimensions: access, venue and contest. Foroughi et al.
51
(2014) have identified five dimensions in professional soccer:
game, augment, interaction, outcome and environment. However,
there is no scale to measure the quality in horse race context. The
present research is the first to develop a model for event quality in
horse race context.
Quality is recognized as a prerequisite for success, because it has
a significant effect on the choice of an experience (Hutchinson et al.,
2009). It suggests positive consequences for the performance of an
experience (Foroughi et al., 2014; Rodrigues et al., 2014). Delivering
superior quality is a key element toward positioning the business
(Mallen & Adams, 2008). Indeed, quality has been regarded as an
important means to strengthen the relationship with customers.
According to Byon et al. (2013), a preliminary appraisal in the
evaluation of event quality leads directly and indirectly to spectator
behavior. For example, Martin et al. (2008) have reported signifi-
cant correlation between event quality and spectator emotion.
However, there is no evidence of this relationship in the tourism
literature. Prior research has also empirically confirmed that tour-
ists who experienced quality event were more likely to value the
event (Jin et al., 2013; Moon et al., 2013), be satisfied with the event
and spread positive word-of-mouth (Tzetzis et al., 2014). However,
it is not clear whether these relationships are stable across different
settings. Since there is no evidence of these relationships in the
context of horse race, the following hypotheses are proposed:
H7. Event quality has positive effect on tourist loyalty.
H8. Event quality has positive effect on tourist satisfaction.
H9. Event quality has positive effect on event value.
H10. Event quality has positive effect on tourist emotion.
3. Theoretical framework
Fig. 1 presents the theoretical model of this research. Drawing
from the literature review and previous empirical findings, four
constructs (i.e., event quality, spectator emotion, event value, and
spectator satisfaction) are proposed as the determinants of spec-
tator loyalty, and the relationships among these determinants are
also explored for tourists who watch horse races. The present
research extends previous research on spectator loyalty. In contrast
to previous studies and to better understand the determinants of
spectator loyalty, the current research incorporates these de-
terminants and tests their impacts on spectator loyalty as well as
their interrelationships. In addition, this research measures how
spectators perceive the quality in horse race event.
4. Research site
In some countries in the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) Re-
gion such as Arabia and Iran, horse race is among the most
Fig. 1. The theoretical model.
52 A. Akhoondnejad / Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management 34 (2018) 48e57
Fig. 2. The Turkmen Sahra region.
Source: The desert of Turkmen, 2017.
important entertainment industries. The Turkmen Sahra Region, as
the most famous horse-based region in Iran, has a long cultural
history of horse races (Encyclopaedia Iranica, 2012). The region is
located in the north-east part of the country (see Fig. 2). Turkmens,
as a member of the Turkish speaking tribes that are Muslim (Sunni
Hanafi), dominate the region's population (The desert of Turkmen,
2017).
In the Turkmen Sahra Region, horse races are much more than
just an event. In fact, horse and horse races are parts of the culture
and lifestyle of Turkmen people. Horse has been an essential and
even sacred animal for Turkmens living as nomadic tribes in the
Central Asian steppes. Turkmen horse is one of the major breeds of
horse in the world, which is beautiful and known to have resistance
to difficult environmental conditions. An outstanding characteristic
of Turkmen horse is its longevity of productivity compared to the
other breeds. The Turkmen Sahra Region, especially the cities of
Gonbad-e-Kavoos, Agh Ghala and Bandar-e-Turkmen are regarded
as the cradles of horse races. Among the cities, Gonbad-e-Kavoos is
the most famous (Iran Horse Racing, 2011). The equestrian collec-
tion of Gonbad-e-Kavoos was established in 1961. It covers a land
area of 150 ha and is located at a distance of 3 km from the city
(Fig. 3). The horse races are held every Thursday and Friday after-
noon during spring and autumn (Trip advisor to Turkmen Sahra,
2016). In each event, 5000e10000 spectators attend the event
whereas the collection has a seating capacity of 1500. It is inter-
esting to note that although gambling is forbidden in Islam religion,
there is a lottery station where attendees can stake money on
horses.
5. Methodology
5.1. Data collection procedure
This research was conducted at the equestrian collection of
Gonbad-e-Kavoos. Using purposive sampling technique, the data
was collected from 13 November 2014 to 20 February 2015, from 29
October 2015 to 19 February 2016, as well as from 15 April to 27
May 2016. Target population of the research was all domestic
tourists who attended the collection to observe the races. After
finishing each race, the tourists were asked to participate in the
survey under the guidance of the researcher. A pilot test was con-
ducted to test the survey instrument. In the pilot test, 150 specta-
tors were initially surveyed. Then, final version of the survey
instrument was developed based on the results of the pilot test, and
thereby the final data was collected. There was no statistics for the
number of tourists attending the races. However, SEM needs a
sample of at least 10 times larger than the number of free param-
eters to obtain significant tests (Vieira, 2011). In the final data
collection, 330 tourists participated in the survey and 56 ones did
not, resulting in an effective response rate of 85.49%.
5.2. Research instrument
Aside from items for event quality, the instrument was devel-
oped based on existing measures that have been used in previous
research. The research instrument had two sections. The section
one included questions about the demographic characteristics of
sample. The section two included questions relating to the items to
measure the constructs. The tourists were asked to indicate their
perceptions about the items on a five-point Likert type scale
ranging from entirely disagree (¼ 1) to entirely agree (¼ 5).
A multi-attribute scale was used to measure event quality: easy
access, enough parking area, ease of entry and exit, beautifulness,
standard design, safety, enough and comfortable seats, well situ-
ated scoreboard, cleanness, enough and clean restrooms, signs,
food and drink facilities, professional staff, professional commen-
tator, good horses, skillful jockeys, large size of the crowd and well
organization. Spectator emotion was measured by following items:
happiness, excitement, and surprise, which were used from Martin
et al. (2008). Event value was measured by following items: good
feeling, quality event and fair fees, which were adopted from Jin
et al. (2013). Spectator satisfaction was measured in terms of
overall satisfaction by three items: right decision, pleasure and
overall satisfaction, which were used from previous research
(Greenwell et al., 2002; Theodorakis et al., 2013; Tzetzis et al.,
2014). Two items namely re-attend and recommend intentions
were used to measure spectator loyalty, which were adopted from
previous research (Biscaia et al., 2012; Byon et al., 2013;
Theodorakis & Alexandris, 2008; Theodorakis et al., 2013; Tzetzis
et al., 2014).
 A. Akhoondnejad / Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management 34 (2018) 48e57 53

Fig. 3. An illustration of Turkmen horse races in the equestrian collection of Gonbad-e-Kavoos.

Source: Trip advisor to Turkmen Sahra, 2016.

5.3. Identification of dimensions of event quality dimensions were derived from the 18 items, explaining 70.800% of
the variance. The five dimensions were named “elementary fac-
Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) using principal component tors”, “physical environment”, “accessibility”, “psychological fac-
method with varimax rotation was performed to identify under- tors” and “services”, respectively. Cronbach alpha for all dimensions
lying dimensions of event quality. In order to do factor analysis, was above the cut-off criterion of 0.7, indicating ideal reliability.
Bartlett test of sphericity must be significant and KMO index must
be above 0.6. Moreover, items that have an eigenvalue below 1.0
5.4. Reliability and validity of measurement scales
and load below 0.30 must be removed (Pallant, 2005). As shown in
Table 1, the results showed that the Bartlett test of sphericity was
Internal consistency of the measurement scales was assessed
significant and the KMO index was above the recommended value,
through Cronbach's alpha coefficient. It is suggested that a value equal
indicating that the data was appropriate for factor analysis. More-
to or greater than 0.7 is a satisfactory level for an ideal reliability
over, all items had a factor loading above 0.30. Five underlying
(Pallant, 2005). Validities of the measurement scales were assessed

Table 1
Exploratory factor analysis for event quality.

Factor/Item Factor loading Eigenvalue Variance explained Cronbach a

CQ1: Elementary factors 3.314 19.491% 0.911

Professional commentator 0.930
Good horses 0.899
Large size of the crowd 0.871
Skillful jockeys 0.819
CQ2: Physical environment 3.290 19.356% 0.802
Food & Drink facilities 0.816
Scoreboard 0.797
Cleanness 0.743
Enough and clean restrooms 0.637
Enough and comfortable seats 0.625
Standard design 0.531
CQ3: Accessibility 2.003 11.782% 0.710
Enough parking area 0.811
Ease of entry and exit 0.806
Easy access 0.741
CQ4: Psychological factors 1.833 10.783% 0.723
Beautifulness 0.878
Safety 0.789
CQ5: Services 1.596 9.388% 0.749
Professional staff 0.855
Well organization 0.791

KMO measure of sampling adequacy ¼ 0.732.

Bartlett's test of sphericity ¼ 1305.979 (df ¼ 136, p ¼ 0.000).
Total variance explained ¼ 70.800%.
Note: signs item from service dimension was removed, because it resulted in low reliability.
54 A. Akhoondnejad / Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management 34 (2018) 48e57

Table 2
Reliability and validity of measurement scales.

Construct Item Mean (SD) Skewness (Kurtosis) Standardized factor loading T-value Cronbach a

Event quality Elementary factors 4.36 (0.431) 0.540 (1.341) 0.80 16.01 0.793
Physical environment 2.67 (0.389) 0.163 (0.614) 0.56 10.09
Accessibility 3.86 (0.358) 1.528 (1.583) 0.58 10.73
Psychological factors 3.78 (0.413) 0.471 (0.376) 0.66 12.57
Service 3.95 (0.348) 1.002 (2.031) 0.64 11.92
Tourist emotion Happiness 4.54 (0.505) 0.218 (1.781) 0.76 15.60 0.857
Excitement 4.44 (0.532) 0.109 (1.214) 0.88 19.27
Surprise 4.24 (0.557) 0.020 (0.336) 0.82 17.38
Event value Good feeling 4.37 (0.508) 0.261 (1.275) 0.88 18.34 0.796
Quality event 4.15 (0.496) 0.291 (0.586) 0.75 14.94
Fair fees 4.18 (0.447) 0.770 (0.581) 0.59 11.00
Tourist satisfaction Right decision 4.09 (0.595) 0.028 (0.204) 0.83 17.66 0.869
Pleasure 4.23 (0.667) 0.301 (0.789) 0.83 17.59
Overall satisfaction 3.76 (0.637) 0.318 (0.292) 0.84 18.08
Tourist loyalty Re-attend intention 3.83 (0.693) 0.069 (0.588) 0.77 15.16 0.741
Recommend intention 4.34 (0.605) 0.330 (0.655) 0.77 15.03

Relative multivariate kurtosis ¼ 1.030.

Fit indices: c2 ¼ 273.73 (P ¼ 0.00000), df ¼ 94, c2/df ¼ 2.91, RMSEA ¼ 0.076, NNFI ¼ 0.97, CFI ¼ 0.98, GFI ¼ 0.91, AGFI ¼ 0.86.

through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Convergent validity is
supported if the t-values are greater than j1.96j at the alpha ¼ 0.05
level and is reinforced if the standardized factor lodgings are more
than 0.50. Furthermore, it is suggested that the fit indices of the model
should be as follows: c2/df between 1 and 3, RMSEA <0.08, NNFI
>0.90, CFI >0.90, GFI >0.90, AGFI >0.90. Discriminant validity is
supported if chi-square differences between standard model and
nondiscriminant model for all pairs are significant (Vieira, 2011).
Reliability and validities of event quality were first assessed.
Ease of entry and exit and standard design items were removed.
After removing the items, reliability and validities were confirmed.
Then, according to the partial aggregation approach, averages of the
items under each dimension were calculated to minimize the
model complexity and simplify the analyses. As seen in Table 2,
alpha coefficient of the scales was greater than the suggested value.
All t-values exceeded the critical value and were statistically sig-
nificant. The standardized factor loadings were also greater than
the recommended value. Furthermore, goodness-of-fit indices of
the model were found to be acceptable that indicated the model
fitted the data well. A series of CFA models was conducted for each
pair of the constructs. The results indicated that the chi-square
differences were significant. Thus, reliability and validities of the
measurement scales were confirmed.
regard to age category, 32.7% of the tourists were aged 15e30 years,
followed by 31e40 (26.7%), 41 to 50 (21.8%), 51 to 60 (12.1%), more
than 60 (6.7%). In terms of marital status, 75.8% were married and
24.2% were single. 44.8% of the sample had university degree, 38.2%
high school, 15.2% middle school, and 1.8% primary school. With
respect to monthly income, 29.1% reported 5000000e9999999
Rials, followed by 10000000e19999999 (23.3%),
20000000e29999999 (20.3%), more than 30000000 (14.2%), less
than 5000000 (13.0%). With regard to race, majority of the sample
were Persian (59.1%), 17.9% were Turkmen, 15.5% were Azeri, and
7.6% were Kurd. Motivation of 51.5% of the sample was pleasure,
35.2% love for horse, and 13.3% gamble. 65.5% of the tourists were
first-timers and 34.5% were repeaters.
6.2. Descriptive statistics
Mean and standard deviation of the constructs as well as cor-
relations between the constructs were calculated and are presented
in Table 3. The mean values were above the mid-point of 3. The
tourists reported high levels of emotion (TE ¼ 4.40), value
(EV ¼ 4.23), loyalty (TL ¼ 4.08), satisfaction (TS ¼ 4.02), and quality
(EQ ¼ 3.72). There were positive correlations between the con-
structs, ranging from 0.404 to 0.645 at the alpha ¼ 0.01 level.

6. Results 6.3. Hypotheses testing

6.1. Demographic characteristics of sample
In this research, spectators who visited the destination specif-
ically to attend the event, traveling from a residence that is 80 km
or more from the collection and having at least one overnight stay
in the destination were identified as tourists (Tzetzis et al., 2014).
The majority of sample consisted of male tourists (61.5%). With
Structural equation modeling (SEM) using LISREL 8.8 with
maximum likelihood method was utilized to test the hypotheses. T-
values associated with path coefficients between the constructs
were assessed. The path between two constructs is significant if the
respective t-value is greater than j1.96j at the alpha ¼ 0.05 level
(Vieira, 2011). The results of the hypotheses testing are presented in
Table 4 and Fig. 4.

Table 3
Descriptive statistics and correlation analysis.

Construct Mean (SD) EQ TE EV TS TL

Event quality (EQ) 3.72 (0.288) 1

Tourist emotion (TE) 4.40 (0.468) 0.581** 1
Event value (EV) 4.23 (0.408) 0.404** 0.549** 1
Tourist satisfaction (SS) 4.02 (0.564) 0.495** 0.600** 0.543** 1
Tourist loyalty (SL) 4.08 (0.579) 0.530** 0.604** 0.547** 0.645** 1

** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

 A. Akhoondnejad / Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management 34 (2018) 48e57 55

Table 4
Hypotheses testing.

Path Estimate T-value R2 Result

Event quality/ Tourist emotion 0.75 11.32 0.56 Supported

Event quality / Event value 0.098 1.03 0.50 Non-supported
Tourist emotion / Event value 0.62 6.38 Supported
Event quality / Tourist satisfaction 0.16 1.89 0.57 Non-supported
Tourist emotion / Tourist satisfaction 0.35 3.39 Supported
Event value / Tourist satisfaction 0.33 4.21 Supported
Event quality / Tourist loyalty 0.19 2.21 0.75 Supported
Tourist emotion / Tourist loyalty 0.15 1.46 Non-supported
Event value / Tourist loyalty 0.21 2.59 Supported
Tourist satisfaction / Tourist loyalty 0.42 5.09 Supported

Fit indices: c2 ¼ 273.73 (P ¼ 0.00000), df ¼ 94, c2/df ¼ 2.91, RMSEA ¼ 0.076, NNFI ¼ 0.97, CFI ¼ 0.98, GFI ¼ 0.91, AGFI ¼ 0.86.

Fig. 4. The structural model.

The results indicate that tourist satisfaction affects tourist loy-
alty (g1 ¼ 0.42, t-value ¼ 5.09, p < 0.05), supporting H1. Event value
is found to have positive and significant effect on tourist loyalty
(g2 ¼ 0.21, t-value ¼ 2.59, p < 0.05) and satisfaction (g3 ¼ 0.33, t-
value ¼ 4.21, p < 0.05) and supporting H2 and H3. Effect of tourist
emotion on tourist satisfaction (g5 ¼ 0.35, t-value ¼ 3.39, p < 0.05)
and event value (g6 ¼ 0.62, t-value ¼ 6.38, p < 0.05) is positive and
significant, supporting H5 and H6. The path between event quality
and tourist loyalty (g7 ¼ 0.19, t-value ¼ 2.21, p < 0.05) as well as
emotion (g10 ¼ 0.75, t-value ¼ 11.32, p < 0.05) is positive and
significant, supporting H7 and H10.
7. Discussion and conclusion
The success of sporting events is severely dependent on their
spectators, and therefore sporting events have to build loyalty in
their spectators. In doing so, knowledge of the determinants of
spectator loyalty facilitates the events to achieve success. Thus, the
main objective of this research was to analyze the determinants of
tourist loyalty in a horse race event. More specifically, the effects of
event quality, tourist emotion, event value and tourist satisfaction
on tourist loyalty, as well as their interrelationships were explored.
Due to the fact that this research focused on a small-scale sporting
event, the sample consisted of domestic tourists who attended the
horse races in Gonbad-e-Kavoos, the most famous flat races in Iran.
This research has important theoretical implications as follows:
First, the research focused on horse race event, which had seldom
been addressed in the event tourism and sport literature. Second,
this research explored underlying dimensions of event quality in
horse race event. Although instruments to measure quality in sport
settings for various events exist, no research had attempted to
measure event quality in horse race context. Third, this research
56 A. Akhoondnejad / Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management 34 (2018) 48e57
focused on a small-scale sporting event, which had received little
attention. Relatively few event tourism and sport researches had
attempted to investigate tourists' perceptions and experiences in
the specific context of small-scale sporting events. Fourth, this
research focused on the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) Region,
which had received little attention from tourism and sport re-
searchers. Fifth, this research incorporated various determinants of
tourist loyalty into a model. Incorporating various determinants of
tourist loyalty into a model helps to better understand which de-
terminants lead to tourist loyalty. Sixth, the research explored the
interrelationships among the determinants.
Five dimensions for quality in horse racing event are identified,
i.e., elementary factors, physical environment, accessibility, psy-
chological factors, and services. The findings offer different
numbers and types of dimensions for the quality which support the
notion that the dimensionality of quality relies on the type of
sporting event. The findings show that event quality has significant
effect on tourist emotion and loyalty, indicating that higher event
quality led to higher level of tourist emotion and loyalty. Tourist
emotion is found to have significant effect on event value and
tourist satisfaction. It seems that when tourists experienced posi-
tive emotions during the event, they were more likely to perceive
the event valuable and be satisfied. Event value influences tourist
satisfaction, indicating that tourists who positively perceived event
value tended to be satisfied with their experience. Consistent with
the finding of Tzetzis et al. (2014), tourist satisfaction is found to be
a significant determinant of tourist loyalty. It means that tourists
who were satisfied with the event were more likely to revisit it and
spread positive word-of-mouth.
Horse race executives can use the findings as a guide to recog-
nize the determinants of tourist loyalty and focus on them. From
the findings, the determinants of tourist loyalty are event quality,
event value and tourist satisfaction. Among the determinants,
tourist satisfaction has the greatest effect on tourist loyalty,
emphasizing the importance of satisfaction in tourist evaluation.
Horse race executives have to understand what factors motivate
tourists to observe horse races and satisfy their needs and desires.
Since a significant part of loyal tourists are horse lovers and gam-
blers, the executives can increase the number and variety of horses
and gambles. Furthermore, they should deliver unpredictable ex-
periences to the tourists to increase the level of tourists' emotional
responses and satisfaction. Horse race executives need to under-
stand the expectations that tourists have from their experiences,
and how they influence all aspects of their experiences. The tour-
ists' expectations can be met by several ways such as establishing
quality standards in the event, participating charismatic horses in
the races, providing quality accommodations near the collection,
and improving the facilities. In addition, the quality and value of
event should be enhanced.
Significant effect of tourist emotion on tourist satisfaction in-
dicates that horse race executives have to learn about how to elicit
the tourists' emotional responses to attract large numbers of
tourists to the events. Indeed, stimulating positive feelings should
be an important strategy to increase satisfaction of tourists. For
example, in order to evoke positive feelings in tourists, the exec-
utives should enhance the races by diversifying them and
encouraging the owners to use different horse breeds through
increasing the prizes. Event value is another determinant of tourist
satisfaction which generated a significant amount of tourist
satisfaction. Horse race executives can increase event value by
several ways. For instance, they can keep the prices as low as
possible to enhance event value especially for repeaters who are
more price sensitive than first-timers. Another way to improve
event value is to enhance event quality and provide pleasant
experiences.
In addition, tourists' emotional responses should be elicited to
improve event value. Therefore, horse race executives have to
deliver experiences to tourists which stimulate their positive
emotional feelings toward the event. To do so, they can apply some
strategies so that tourists perceive high quality and pleasant ex-
periences. As the findings indicated that event quality has the
great impact on tourist emotion, the executives should consider
different aspects of their event to improve the quality of event. The
items identified in this research to measure event quality should
be used by the executives to enhance quality of their events. This
research provided a service quality model that allows horse race
executives to know specific attributes of their service that play
significant roles in tourists' evaluations of quality. Identifying the
most important attributes helps the executives to focus on them to
influence tourists' perceptions. For example, due to the fact that
horse race executives have no control over the horses and jockeys,
it would be wise for them to focus their attention on the infra-
structure, physical environment of the collection, training the staff,
and the safety.
This research has certain limitations which should be noted.
Since the research focused on a small-scale sporting event and the
sample was formed from domestic tourists, generalizability of the
results is limited. The third limitation is that the research focused
on horse race event. Therefore, future researchers should focus on
other sporting events. The sampling method is another limitation
of this research, because purposive sampling may not represent the
entire population. Fifth, there are other factors influencing tourist
loyalty which were not included in this research. Future re-
searchers, thus, should address other determinants of tourist
loyalty.
Appendix A. Constructs and measurement items used in the
questionnaire.
Construct Item
Event quality This venue was easy to access
This venue had enough parking area
This venue was easy to enter and exist
The venue was beautiful
The design of venue was standard
This venue was safe
This venue had enough and comfortable seats
This venue had well situated scoreboard
The venue was clean
This venue had enough and clean restrooms
This venue was well signed
This venue had good food and drink facilities
This event had professional staff
This event had professional commentator
The horses in this event were good
Skill performance of the jockeys was excellent
There was large size of the crowd attending the event
This event was well organized
Tourist emotion This event made me happy
This event was exciting
This event was surprising
Event value The time I spent at this event made me feel good
This event had outstanding quality
The fees for this event was fair
Tourist satisfaction I made right decision to attend this event
I am pleased about attending this event
Overall, I am satisfied with attending this event
Tourist loyalty I would like to come back this event in the future
I would recommend this event to others
 A. Akhoondnejad / Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management 34 (2018) 48e57 57

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