The nexus between visitor satisfaction and expenditure behaviour in national parks: The case of Dragon Palace National Park, Guizhou, China

Several studies have explored the relationship between visitor expenditure, experience, satisfaction, intention to recommend, and revisit intention in national parks, but there is a gap in exploring the direct relationship between satisfaction and expenditure of national park visitors. This research identifies relationships between expenditure and behaviour patterns in Dragon Palace National Park, a 5A visitor attraction in Guizhou province, China. A structured survey questionnaire was utilised to collect 412 responses from national park visitors, employing convenience sampling techniques from August to December 2022. A partial least squares-structure equation model 4.0 was used to analyse the data. Findings support the positive relationship between experience, satisfaction, intention to recommend, and revisit intention in the national park. Also, results confirm that rational and emotional dimensions effectively measure the experience level. Further, this research confirms that experience is not a predictor of expenditure and that satisfaction has a negative relationship with expenditure by providing a measurement model to examine the experience in the national park. It frames a new theoretical lens on the relationship between expenditure and satisfaction and contributes significance to national park operations, providing a reference for future research.

Management implications

The negative relationship between satisfaction and expenditure is interesting. The continuance of fostering national park visitor satisfaction for tourists cannot make sense to improve expenditure. The Dragon Palace National Park should pay more attention to overnight visitors' satisfaction and expenditure since they spend more but are less satisfied. It is vital to enhance the consuming willingness of visitors, improving the expenditure of satisfied visitors. Customising the experience, improving the cost performance of various goods and services, and enriching the experience content may work. The dimensions of the experience have been tested as effective, and the measurement model can be applied in other national parks.