The evaluation of tourist satisfaction in Island destinations : the case of the Ionian Islands, Greece

Tourism satisfaction is one of the most important components in the analysis of tourism behavior as, it not only affects the choice of tourism destination and the consumption of products, but also affects tourist's future decision to return to the same destination. The main objective of this paper is to investigate the satisfaction of tourists visiting the Ionian Islands of Greece through quantitative methods that capture the factors influencing tourists' satisfaction and their choice to revisit those destinations, the relationship between them and the consideration of the causes that shape tourism behavior. Field research was conducted at four Ionian islands, namely Corfu, Zakynthos, Lefkada and Kefalonia. Those islands have functional interdependencies and are sensitive to influences from mainland regions. The conclusions of the research reveal the factors that affect tourism satisfaction, the relationships among those factors, the relationship between satisfaction and the revisit to a destination, the assessment of satisfaction according to the segmentation of tourists regarding their motive, the usability of information in satisfaction and the impact of the tourism experience in travel behavior. The tourism policy recommendations arising from the results of this research can lead to the diversification and the enrichment of the tourism product, but also to a further increase of the satisfaction of tourists visiting the Ionian Islands in Greece.