The cultural and heritage tourist, SEM analysis: the case of The Citadel of the Catholic King

Abstract

This study researches the loyalty of travelers to destinations which include material cultural heritage. It analyzes the loyalty of visitors to a destination with cultural heritage sites in order to provide results which can be used to improve the management of the destination. This research used Warp-PLS 7.0 software with a structural equations model to evaluate the 8 proposed and validated hypotheses. A questionnaire was given to a sample of 499 tourists who visited The Citadel of the Catholic King in Córdoba and the statistical study of the replies gave results about the loyalty of visitors to a destination which includes cultural heritage. This study adds an innovative component by analyzing the moderating effect of perceived heritage quality and perceived cultural quality on the relationship of perceived value and visitor satisfaction. This study shows that visitor loyalty to The Citadel of the Catholic King depends on the visitor satisfaction with the cultural heritage, it also analyses how the quality perceived by the tourist modulates to varying degrees the relationship between perceived value and tourist satisfaction. Areas which can be improved at cultural heritage sites have been identified and these include the professionalization of tour guides specialized in cultural heritage sites, improving and showing the cultural importance of the heritage, the information available about the heritage and the access to the heritage. These findings are important for city managers when preparing projects to increase the loyalty and competitiveness of the city compared to other similar destinations with cultural heritage.