Interlinkage of Perceived Ecotourism Design Affordance, Perceived Value of Destination Experiences, Destination Reputation, and Loyalty

Abstract

The aim of this study is to analyse the relationships between the perceived ecotourism design affordances (PEDA), perceived value of destination experience (PERVAL), destination reputation, and destination loyalty among the tourists visiting Langkawi Island, Malaysia. It extends the affordance theory through the lens of Gestalt theory and ecological dynamics in understanding the interactions between tourists and products derived from their ecotourism environment. A quantitative approach was utilised, in which a structured questionnaire was used to collect 280 tourist responses through purposive sampling. Utilising partial least square-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to test the research hypotheses, it is reported that PEDA significantly impacts PERVAL, where the latter subsequently impacts both destination reputation and loyalty. This illustrates the mediating impacts of PERVAL on the relationship between PEDA and destination reputation and destination loyalty. Another result revealed that destination reputation has a significant effect on destination loyalty. The findings address the gap in the tourism literature centered on the dynamics of product design and its subsequent value in shaping positive ecotourism destination reputation and loyalty. Such insights also emphasise the necessity for tourism stakeholders to generate values from coherent ecotourism product design through the affordance perspective.