FACTORS INFLUENCING TOURIST DESTINATION LOYALTY TOWARD THOI SON ISLET: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY IN DONG THAP PROVINCE, VIETNAM

Abstract

In the context of intense competition among ecotourism and community-based destinations in the Mekong Delta, this study focuses on Thoi Son Islet (Dong Thap Province, Vietnam) to examine the factors influencing satisfaction and destination loyalty and investigate the mediating role of satisfaction. Data were collected from 391 tourists through a structured questionnaire using a five-point Likert scale and analyzed using the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) method. The research model comprised eight latent constructs: destination image, service quality, perceived cost, communication and promotion, sustainable tourism awareness, social and experiential factors, satisfaction, and destination loyalty. The analysis results revealed that all factors positively affect satisfaction, with service quality and promotion–communication exerting medium effects, whereas destination image, perceived cost, sustainability awareness, and social experience demonstrated smaller effects. Notably, satisfaction had a very strong impact on destination loyalty (β = 0.711; f² = 1.024), served as a partial mediator, amplifying the overall effects of the antecedent factors. This study contributes additional empirical evidence on tourist behavior in the context of local ecotourism, while also providing important managerial implications, including prioritizing service quality improvements, strengthening promotional activities, and reinforcing destination image to enhance satisfaction and sustainably attract tourists. Furthermore, the outcome variable is reconceptualized as destination loyalty to ensure conceptual clarity and alignment between theory and measurement.