The structural relationship between tourist satisfaction and sustainable heritage tourism development in Tigrai, Ethiopia

Sustainable heritage tourism cannot be materialized without guaranteeing tourist satisfaction. To this end, this study aimed at examining the structural relationship between tourist satisfaction and dimensions of sustainable heritage tourism in Tigrai, the inception of ancient Ethiopian civilization. For this study, 392 domestic and international tourists were chosen using a convenience sampling method. After the data were cautiously screened for its suitability for Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), this paper tested four hypotheses. Unlike some criticisms that consider tourists as those who do not care about sustainability, the findings of this study underpinned that the respondents were aware of tourism sustainability. In particular, the socio-cultural sustainability was the strongest predictor of tourist satisfaction followed by institutional and economic sustainability. It is essential to guarantee significant cultural exchanges between tourists and the local community while their interaction is needed to be fully positive and peaceful. Tourists look for a direct connection with the local history and living culture. The findings of this study additionally call for better management of tourism activities for institutional sustainability is affecting tourist satisfaction. Tourists' perceptions of the economic dimensions appeared to affect their satisfaction with the industry. Environmental sustainability was found an insignificant predictor. This might be partly because the majority of the respondents were cultural tourists. Finally, a relevant conclusion, theoretical and managerial implications, and future research direction are included in this study.