Exploring the Attractiveness of Chile as a Vacation Destination for International Tourists

Abstract

A growing number of emerging countries in South America are attempting to become important tourism destinations, yet limited research considers perceptions of destination attractiveness considering the perspective of actual visitors. Specifically, scant research examines tourists' perceptions of attractiveness, satisfaction, and loyalty of an emerging vacation destination in South America. To fill this gap, the author develops a conceptual model and tests hypotheses linking destination attractiveness attributes, tourist satisfaction, and attitudinal loyalty. Data were collected by applying an online questionnaire to 365 tourists from short-haul and long-haul countries visiting Chile for vacations. Hypotheses are tested with structural equation modeling (SEM) technique. The results identify salient attributes for tourists and verify that tourist satisfaction is a strong positive driver of tourist attitudinal loyalty to a vacation destination.