Can Sustainability Influence Loyalty to Island Destinations? The case of Gallura, Sardinia

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyse whether sustainability influences the loyalty to island-based tourism destinations. A sample of tourists who have visited Santa Teresa di Gallura (Sardinia, Italy) was surveyed to evaluate if the destination is meeting their demand for sustainable practices, and whether sustainability affects their intention to revisit the destination in the medium term. For the purposes of the study, an importance-performance analysis and a principal component analysis were performed, followed by an ordered logit model. Findings show that environmental preservation is one of the key features to be addressed. Results also show that sustainability affects tourists’ loyalty to the destination. Contributions to the actual body of knowledge and managerial implications are discussed and suggestions for further research are given.