Antecedents of yacht tourism participants' satisfaction and word-of-mouth intention

Purpose - As a contribution to current knowledge of luxury yachting, this study applies a theoretical discussion to explain how gratification, social motives, financial risk and status quo interact to predict satisfaction and word-of-mouth intentions among luxury yachting travelers. Additionally, gender moderating effects on antecedent factors of satisfaction were examined. Design/methodology/approach - A questionnaire was distributed in the United Arab Emirates, and 228 valid questionnaires were received which were analyzed with AMOS structural equation modeling. Findings - The results of this study were analyzed using structural equation modeling. According to the results, factors such as gratification, social motives, and the status quo are significantly associated with satisfaction. The degree of satisfaction is directly related to the likelihood of spreading word of mouth. Result differences between males and females can be explained by moderating effects. Originality/value - This is one of the first studies that examine the antecedents of luxury yachting to satisfaction and word of mouth impact.