The relationship between attraction, perception of service, opportunities and tourist satisfaction in backwater tourism in Alappuzha district of Kerala in India

This article aims to explore the relationships between destination attractions, tourists’ awareness of eco-tourism and facilities, level of perceived service, opportunities and problems, and tourist satisfaction in backwater tourism in Kerala, India. Using a structured survey instrument, we gathered data from 586 tourists. A conceptual model was developed and tested after checking the psychometric properties of the instrument. We tested the measurement model using the Lisrel package (structural equation modeling), and Hayes (2018) process macros were used to test the moderation hypotheses. The results confirm that (i) attraction and opportunities are positively related to tourist satisfaction, (ii) perception of service positively moderates the relationship between attraction and tourist satisfaction, (iii) perception of service (first moderator) and awareness (second moderator) interact to influence the relationship between attraction and tourist satisfaction, and (iv) problems negatively moderate the positive relationship between opportunities and tourist satisfaction. The implications for the literature on tourism and hospitality and practicing managers are discussed.