The Determinants of Ecotourism Behavioral Intentions

Abstract

With the recent promotion of ecotourism in Taiwan, one strategy for developing sustainable ecotourism is to increase the competitiveness of tourism through experiential marketing and superior service quality. This study examines the effects between experiential marketing and service quality of ecotourism and tourists’ behavioral intentions. The results show that experiential marketing, and service quality of ecotourism were positively correlated with tourists’ behavioral intentions; experiential marketing and service quality had a positive influence on tourists’ behavioral intentions; the perceptions of affective experiences or feel of tourist clusters segmented by ecotourism service quality differed significantly; and according to marital status of the demographic variables, tourists’ perceptions of experiential marketing, service quality, and behavioral intentions differed significantly. These findings indicate that biodiversity ecotourism could provide optimal experiential marketing and prompt tourists who are satisfied with the service quality to return for another ecotourism experience. Tourism management could better plan the development of ecotourism by the results of this study.

Keywords: Ecotourism, Experiential Marketing, Service Quality, Tourists’ Behavior Intentions

JEL Classification: M1, M10