Sustainable Practices in Outdoor Activities: Motivation, Satisfaction, and Loyalty in Northern Portugal

Outdoor activities align with sustainability and environmental conservation values and have recently increased. Several studies on outdoor activities have attempted to understand the motivation, satisfaction, and loyalty of these activities. In this respect, this study aims to evaluate the link between motivation, satisfaction, and loyalty among participants of outdoor activities in the Northern Region of Portugal. To achieve this aim, a questionnaire was administered to 216 participants of outdoor activities in northern Portugal. Descriptive analysis was used to identify the sociodemographic profiles of the sample. The next step was to apply Exploratory Factor Analysis to determine two dimensions of the motivations. The final step was to define two hypotheses tested using Stepwise Multiple Regression; H1: Motivation positively influences satisfaction with outdoor activities; and H2: Motivation positively influences loyalty to outdoor activities. The third hypothesis (H3: Satisfaction positively influences loyalty to outdoor activities) was tested using Linear Multiple Regression. Two motivation factors (services/hospitality and nature services) were established in a linear correlation between these factors, satisfaction, and loyalty. The motivation scores were then used in a regression analysis with satisfaction and loyalty, revealing that the motivation factors had a significant relationship with satisfaction and loyalty, thus supporting H1 and H2. As satisfaction influences loyalty in tourist destinations, a linear regression analysis was conducted to investigate the relationship between satisfaction and loyalty. The results confirmed H3, demonstrating that satisfaction is crucial in influencing tourists' intentions to return to the region, recommend it, and speak positively about the activities offered there.