Sociodemographic and Behavioral Aspects That Influence Satisfaction and Loyalty in Sustainable Coastal Destinations: A Study in Galapagos, Ecuador

Understanding how visitor characteristics relate to post-experience evaluations can provide valuable information for the management of protected coastal destinations. This study examines the relationships between tourists’ sociodemographic and travel-related characteristics and three post-visit outcomes in the Galápagos Islands: (i) overall satisfaction, (ii) recommendation intention, and (iii) positive word of mouth (WOM). Data were collected from 407 tourists visiting Playa Mann on San Cristóbal Island in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. Multiple regression models were estimated to examine the associations between visitor characteristics and the three post-experience outcomes, complemented by robustness and ordinal sensitivity analyses. The results showed that all three models were statistically significant overall, although the influence of individual visitor characteristics varied depending on the outcome examined. Length of stay emerged as one of the most consistent factors, showing positive associations with satisfaction, recommendation intention, and positive WOM. The same general pattern was also observed in the ordinal sensitivity analyses for satisfaction, recommendation intention, and positive WOM. Age also showed a negative relationship with all three outcomes in the ordinal analyses. Overall, the findings indicate that observable visitor characteristics are selectively associated with post-visit responses and that these relationships should be understood as contextual rather than causal.