외래관광객 관광만족도와 행동의도 간 비선형 관계

The relationship between tourist satisfaction and behavioral intentions has been regarded as linear. That is, when satisfaction increases, the intention of revisiting and recommending the destination increases constantly. This study began with doubt about such a notion which is, as the level of tourist satisfaction changes, the effect of satisfaction on revisit intention or recommendation intention may vary. To answer that question, in the first stage of the study, relevant theories and empirical studies are reviewed to explain why the relationship between tourist satisfaction and behavioral intention could have a nonlinear form. In the second stage of the study, the data of foreign tourists visiting Korea are analyzed to find out whether the relationship between tourist satisfaction and their behavioral intention is actually nonlinear, and if it is, what would be the specific form. The results of analyzing the data of Chinese, Japanese, Taiwanese, and American tourists who visited Korea in 2019 are as follows. First, the relationship between foreign tourist satisfaction and behavioral intention is often nonlinear. This is especially the case when the behavioral intention is revisiting and when tourists live in China, Taiwan, and the United States. Second, when there is a nonlinear relationship between satisfaction and behavioral intention, the specific form varies according to the conditions such as the tourist's country of residence and the type of travel. For example, in the case of Chinese and Taiwanese tourists, the effect on behavioral intention becomes smaller as satisfaction increases, whereas, for Japanese and American tourists, the effect on behavioral intention increases as satisfaction increases. In addition, the nonlinear form, in which the effect on behavioral intentions becomes smaller as satisfaction increases, appears more frequently in group travel than in free independent travel and among first-time visitors than among repeat visitors.