Cultural Centre, Destination Cultural Offer and Visitor Satisfaction

• Main Author: Benxiang Zeng
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2017-10-01
• Series: Sustainability
• Subjects: cultural centre; electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM); Indigenous culture; sustainable destination management; visitor satisfaction
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/9/11/1984

This paper aims to establish the link between tourists’ perceptions on cultural offers and their overall satisfaction, and explore the implication of this link for sustainable tourist destination management. Assessing online customers’ reviews, this study identifies a positive correlation between visitors’ perspectives and experiences at the on-site cultural centre and visitors’ destination satisfaction. It suggests that the on-site cultural centre plays a critical role in building up visitors’ perception on cultural attributes of the destination, and its impact on visitor satisfaction is a double-edged sword. Visitors’ positive perspectives on the cultural centre enhance visitors’ experiences and contribute to their destination satisfaction; however, not only does a negative perspective on their cultural and spiritual experience compromise visitors’ satisfaction, but also subsequent negative online reviews damage the destination image and discourage visitor return/visit. The findings help destination management organisations to better understand visitors’ preference for cultural centres and therefore to improve visitors’ cultural experience. This paper appeals for further study of on-site cultural centres’ role in forming destination cultural attributes, and of social media’s potential in enriching cultural experience.