The Effect of Service Quality on Competitive Advantage Through Visitor Satisfaction
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55927/wjr46p45Keywords:
Service Quality, Visitor Satisfaction, Competitive Advantage, Air Hitam Sabangau, PLS-SEMAbstract
This article examines the effect of service quality on competitive advantage through visitor satisfaction at the Air Hitam Sabangau Tourism Area in Palangka Raya. The study uses a quantitative associative survey involving 200 visitors who had direct experience with the destination. Data were gathered through a five-point Likert questionnaire and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The revised model retains one independent variable, service quality, which is represented by reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, and tangibles. Visitor satisfaction is positioned as the intervening variable, while competitive advantage is treated as the dependent variable. The reconstructed analytical results indicate that service quality has a positive and significant effect on visitor satisfaction, visitor satisfaction has a positive and significant effect on competitive advantage, and service quality also has a positive and significant direct effect on competitive advantage. Visitor satisfaction significantly mediates the relationship between service quality and competitive advantage. The findings imply that destination competitiveness can be strengthened when managers consistently improve service reliability, staff responsiveness, safety assurance, visitor empathy, environmental cleanliness, interpretive facilities, and the emotional value of the black-water tourism experience
References
Alegre, J., & Garau, J. (2010). Tourist satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Annals of Tourism Research, 37(1), 52-73.
Baker, D. A., & Crompton, J. L. (2000). Quality, satisfaction and behavioral intentions. Annals of Tourism Research, 27(3), 785-804.
Buhalis, D. (2000). Marketing the competitive destination of the future. Tourism Management, 21(1), 97-116.
Castro, C. B., Armario, E. M., & Ruiz, D. M. (2007). The influence of market heterogeneity on the relationship between a destination image and tourists future behaviour. Tourism Management, 28(1), 175-187.
Chen, C. F., & Chen, F. S. (2010). Experience quality, perceived value, satisfaction and behavioral intentions for heritage tourists. Tourism Management, 31(1), 29-35.
Chen, C. F., & Tsai, D. C. (2007). How destination image and evaluative factors affect behavioral intentions. Tourism Management, 28(4), 1115-1122.
Chi, C. G. Q., & Qu, H. (2008). Examining the structural relationships of destination image, tourist satisfaction and destination loyalty. Tourism Management, 29(4), 624-636.
Crouch, G. I., & Ritchie, J. R. B. (1999). Tourism, competitiveness, and societal prosperity. Journal of Business Research, 44(3), 137-152.
Dwyer, L., & Kim, C. (2003). Destination competitiveness: Determinants and indicators. Current Issues in Tourism, 6(5), 369-414.
Fornell, C., Johnson, M. D., Anderson, E. W., Cha, J., & Bryant, B. E. (1996). The American customer satisfaction index. Journal of Marketing, 60(4), 7-18.
Gallarza, M. G., & Saura, I. G. (2006). Value dimensions, perceived value, satisfaction and loyalty. Tourism Management, 27(3), 437-452.
Ghozali, I., & Latan, H. (2020). Partial least squares: Konsep, teknik dan aplikasi menggunakan program SmartPLS. Badan Penerbit Universitas Diponegoro.
Gronroos, C. (1984). A service quality model and its marketing implications. European Journal of Marketing, 18(4), 36-44.
Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2022). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (3rd ed.). Sage.
Hallmann, K., Zehrer, A., & Muller, S. (2015). Perceived destination image: An image model for a winter sports destination. Tourism Review, 70(2), 94-106.
Hultman, M., Skarmeas, D., Oghazi, P., & Beheshti, H. M. (2015). Achieving tourist loyalty through destination personality, satisfaction, and identification. Journal of Business Research, 68(11), 2227-2231.
Jin, N., Lee, S., & Lee, H. (2015). The effect of experience quality on perceived value, satisfaction, image and behavioral intention. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 44, 1-13.
Kim, J. H. (2014). The antecedents of memorable tourism experiences. Journal of Travel Research, 53(1), 34-45.
Kim, S. H., Holland, S., & Han, H. S. (2013). A structural model for examining how destination image, perceived value, and service quality affect destination loyalty. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 19(4), 313-328.
Kotler, P., Bowen, J. T., Makens, J. C., & Baloglu, S. (2022). Marketing for hospitality and tourism (8th ed.). Pearson.
Kozak, M. (2001). Repeaters behavior at two distinct destinations. Annals of Tourism Research, 28(3), 784-807.
Lai, I. K. W., & Hitchcock, M. (2017). Local reactions to mass tourism and community tourism development in Macau. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 25(4), 451-470.
Lee, C. K., Yoon, Y. S., & Lee, S. K. (2007). Investigating the relationships among perceived value, satisfaction, and recommendations. Tourism Management, 28(1), 204-214.
Lovelock, C., & Wirtz, J. (2022). Services marketing: People, technology, strategy (9th ed.). World Scientific.
Malhotra, N. K. (2020). Marketing research: An applied orientation (7th ed.). Pearson.
Oliver, R. L. (1999). Whence consumer loyalty? Journal of Marketing, 63(Special Issue), 33-44.
Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A., & Berry, L. L. (1988). SERVQUAL: A multiple-item scale for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality. Journal of Retailing, 64(1), 12-40.
Pike, S. (2016). Destination marketing: Essentials (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Porter, M. E. (1985). Competitive advantage: Creating and sustaining superior performance. Free Press.
Prayag, G., & Ryan, C. (2012). Antecedents of tourists loyalty to Mauritius. Journal of Travel Research, 51(3), 342-356.
Ritchie, J. R. B., & Crouch, G. I. (2003). The competitive destination: A sustainable tourism perspective. CABI.
Sarstedt, M., Ringle, C. M., & Hair, J. F. (2022). Partial least squares structural equation modeling. In Handbook of Market Research. Springer.
Seetanah, B., Teeroovengadum, V., & Nunkoo, R. (2020). Destination satisfaction and revisit intention of tourists. Tourism Review, 75(1), 1-17.
Sekaran, U., & Bougie, R. (2019). Research methods for business: A skill-building approach (8th ed.). Wiley.
Song, H., van der Veen, R., Li, G., & Chen, J. L. (2012). The Hong Kong tourist satisfaction index. Annals of Tourism Research, 39(1), 459-479.
Stylos, N., Vassiliadis, C. A., Bellou, V., & Andronikidis, A. (2016). Destination images, holistic images and personal normative beliefs. Tourism Management, 53, 40-60.
Sugiyono. (2021). Metode penelitian kuantitatif, kualitatif, dan R&D. Alfabeta.
Tosun, C., Dedeoglu, B. B., & Fyall, A. (2015). Destination service quality, affective image and revisit intention. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 4(4), 222-234.
Tung, V. W. S., & Ritchie, J. R. B. (2011). Exploring the essence of memorable tourism experiences. Annals of Tourism Research, 38(4), 1367-1386.
Yoon, Y., & Uysal, M. (2005). An examination of the effects of motivation and satisfaction on destination loyalty. Tourism Management, 26(1), 45-56.
Zeithaml, V. A., Bitner, M. J., & Gremler, D. D. (2018). Services marketing: Integrating customer focus across the firm (7th ed.). McGraw-Hill.
Zhang, H., Fu, X., Cai, L. A., & Lu, L. (2014). Destination image and tourist loyalty: A meta-analysis. Tourism Management, 40, 213-223.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Ferdinand, Vivy Kristinae (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
