Measuring tourist satisfaction with nautical destinations: the effects of image, loyalty, and past destination choice

Abstract

This article aims to analyze factors determining tourist satisfaction with nautical destinations. To this aim, survey data were collected from 255 nautical tourists visiting Cape Verde and an ordinal logit model was used. Data analysis confirms that tourists’ satisfaction increases with the diversity and quality of the nautical and cultural offer, and the security offered by the destination, in line with previous research. As novelty, the affective feelings towards the nautical destination were also found as an important antecedent of nautical tourists’ satisfaction conformation. The study also confirms that tourists who had been in the archipelago previously do experience a higher level of satisfaction compared with nonrepeaters. Lastly, the fact of visiting other competing nautical destinations influences the level of satisfaction of the nautical tourists in Cape Verde, although not all previously visited destinations have the same impact. This suggests that strategies for nautical tourism development should be more attentive to establish long-lasting relationships and networking structures with some key competitors, and segment their marketing plans according to tourists’ past destination choice. The results are of great importance for several destinations seeking to utilize the promotion of nautical activities as a key driver for tourism competitiveness and positioning improvement.