Tourist engagement and citizenship behavior: The mediating role of relationship quality in the hotel industry

Tourist engagement has recently emerged in both academic and practitioner discussions. However, empirical inquiry on tourist engagement as a predictor of tourist citizenship behavior is scarce. The purpose of this research is to investigate the relationship between tourist engagement, relationship quality, and tourist citizenship behavior in hotels. Participation and social interaction have been considered the tourist engagement dimensions. Relationship quality as a multidimensional variable included satisfaction, trust, commitment, and intimacy, while tourist citizenship behavior is defined as a unidimensional variable. A structural equations approach was applied to the 690 data sets obtained from travelers of selected hotels. The results indicate that tourist engagement dimensions have a positive impact on the relationship quality dimensions. On the other hand, the effect of relationship quality dimensions on tourist citizenship behavior has been positive. This research can help researchers and hotel managers find ways to strengthen relationship quality between hotels and customers. Regarding hotels' limited resources for promotional activities, the results could help managers formulate plans to persuade tourists to express citizenship behavior toward hotels, which help hotels establish competitive advantages.