Urban destination loyalty drivers and cross-national moderator effects: The case of Barcelona

The objective of this paper is to analyze the loyalty of tourists to urban tourism destinations, studying the differences existing on the basis of nationality of origin. The review of the academic literature identified perceived value and satisfaction as antecedents of loyalty. A theoretical model was constructed which was tested empirically with a total of 927 surveys of Italian and American tourists in the city of Barcelona. In the study of the data, structural equation models (SEM) were used, by means of a multi-group analysis. The empirical results show that the causal relationships among perceived value, satisfaction and loyalty and the moderating effect of nationality are partially confirmed. This study contributes to better knowledge of the processes that lead tourists to be loyal to an urban tourism destination.

► The effect of nationality on loyalty to urban destinations is analyzed.
► The most influence variables of perceived value are the emotional value and quality.
► It is confirmed that perceived value and satisfaction are antecedents of loyalty.
► To be loyal to the urban destination, tourists must first feel affective loyalty.
► Differences in the causal relationships exist according to nationality.