The analysis of the relationship between the perception of service quality and travel constraints and the perception of customer satisfaction and destination loyalty in the ecotourism region: An application on foreign tourists visiting Uzungöl

In this study, conceptual information related to service quality and travel constraints perceptions along with destination satisfaction and loyalty perceptions of the foreign ecotourists visiting Uzungöl destination was given and the relationship between them was tried to be determined. Within this framework, a survey was applied to 494 foreign eco-tourists who visited Uzungöl destination within the scope of ecotourism. According to the results of the research, it was found that the highest perceptions of the ecotourists were reliability and empathy dimension, the lowest perceptions of the eco-tourists were ecophysical features dimension among the sub-dimensions of service quality; highest perceptions of the ecotourists were internal constraints dimension and the lowest perceptions of the eco-tourists were social constraints dimension among the sub-dimensions of travel constraints, satisfaction and loyalty perceptions of the eco-tourists were high. When the relationship between the personal characteristics of the foreign eco-tourists coming to the region and the scales was examined, it could be seen that intention of the tourists who were between the ages of 40-50 to visit the region again was higher than the tourists who were between the ages of 18-28. Similarly, intention of the eco-tourists who came to the region with their friends to visit the region again, namely destination loyalty was higher compared to the tourists who visited the region with their families. When the relation between scales was examined, it was seen that destination satisfaction perception was influenced positively when the perception related to general service quality and its sub-dimensions increased in a positive way. Likewise, an increase was seen in the loyalty perceptions of the eco-tourists when the reliability perception which is a sub-dimension of general service quality showed an increase in a positive way. In addition, when the relationship between general travel cosntraints and their sub-dimensions perception and destination loyalty perception was examined, a negative and meaningful relation was found only between social constraints perception which is a subdimension of travel constraints and destination loyalty perception while no relationship was found between destination loyalty and travel constraints along with their sub-dimensions. It was concluded that if destination satisfaction perception of the ecotourists increase, destination loyalty perception will also increase. Key Words: Ecotourism, Service Quality, Travel Constraints, Customer Satisfaction, Destination Loyalty, Uzungöl