DOMESTIC TOURISTS’ SATISFACTION WITH FACILITY QUALITY IN NEW NORMAL ERA AND ITS INFLUENCE ON WORD-OF-MOUTH IN TOURIST DESTINATION

Abstract

In a new normal era, tourism should be able to adapt to the innovation in the tourism sector and attempt to obtain the tourists’ trust back. This study attempted to measure the effect of facility quality satisfaction on word-of-mouth (WOM) behavior among domestic tourists in the new normal era. In addition, this study also aimed to examine tourist satisfaction with tourist destination service. SmartPLS-SEM analysis was used to examine the influence of tourist satisfaction on WOM intention. Whereas, to investigate the key attributes of facility quality affecting tourist satisfaction, importance – performance analysis (IPA) was used. From 100 respondents, this study revealed that facility quality significantly explained tourist satisfaction by 71.7% and 92.2% of variance in WOM behavior. Tourist satisfaction was found to mediate the relationship between facility quality and word of mouth behavior. This study generates crucial elements that tourist destination managers should consider when creating marketing strategies specific to market segments.