Operationalization of Tourist Satisfaction
Visitor satisfaction is a central concept in tourism but definition of the term remains varied. One of the more cited definition is that satisfaction is the degree to which one believes that an experience evokes positive feelings. But in tourism research,Hunt argues that "satisfaction is not the reasonableness of the experience, it is the evaluation rendered that the experience was at least as good as it was supposed to be". Hence, the central tenet of visitor satisfaction measurement in tourism research has been the dis-confirmation theory, whereby satisfaction arises when consumer compare their perceptions with their initial expectation. If perceived performance is greater than expectations, the consumer is satisfied.