Investigating The Factors Influencing the Attitudinal Loyalty of Mashhad Visitors Using A Multilevel Data Analysis
Document Type : Original Article
Author
Tourism Economic Department, Institute of Tourism Research at ACECR (Academic Center for Education, Culture and Research) Khorasan Razavi, Iran
Abstract
Considered an important principle in tourism marketing, tourists’ loyalty can maintain and improve the competitiveness of tourist destinations. Therefore, this study set out to investigate and identify factors affecting the attitudinal loyalty of Mashhad visitors. The statistical population of the study comprised tourists visiting Mashhad in various seasons from 2022 to 2023, out of whom 4555 tourists were selected as the sample size using convenience sampling. The required data were collected through conducting in-person interviews and administering a researcher-developed questionnaire. Considering the changes in behavioral patterns of tourists visiting Mashhad in different seasons, this study utilized a two-level Logit regression model to analyze the data and assess the visiting tourists' attitudinal loyalty. The findings of the study revealed that the loyalty of tourists concerning Mashhad was significantly influenced by variables such as the type of vehicles used for transportation, province of residence, gender, income, the number of accompanying persons, satisfaction, and the length of stay. In this regard, the satisfaction of tourism services was found as the main variable affecting attitudinal loyalty of the visitors. It can thus be argued that the attitudinal loyalty of the tourists visiting Mashhad can be increased by improving the visitors’ satisfaction with various services, identifying the visitors’ needs and evaluating their satisfaction with multiple facilities and services through periodic monitoring, and setting appropriate plans to extend the period of the visitors’ stay.
Keywords
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