Examining the Mediating Role of Experience Quality in a Model of Tourist Experiences

Abstract Although research has shown that performance quality leads to experience quality, the mediating role of experience quality in the effect of performance quality on overall satisfaction and revisit intentions has not been fully investigated. In this paper, satisfaction is conceived within the context of a tourism experience that is cumulative or sequential in nature. Four major stages of this experience are identified: performance quality, experience quality, overall satisfaction, and revisit intentions. Using data from a tourist survey in Northeast Ohio, the mediating role of experience quality is examined. Results indicate that tourist experience is cumulative in the sense that performance quality leads to experience quality, which in turn contributes to satisfaction and revisit intentions. In addition, experience quality fully mediates the relationship between performance quality and overall satisfaction. Thus, promoters should particularly emphasize the experience quality dimensions, which benefits tourists are likely to obtain when visiting the attraction.