INVESTIGATING CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE AS A CATALYST FOR ENHANCED TOURIST SATISFACTION AND LOYALTY IN ECOTOURISM: A POST-REVOLUTION TUNISIAN APPROACH

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The research explores how tourists’ cultural intelligence (CI) may influence destination satisfaction and loyalty in the framework of ecotourism, which has not been substantially discussed in literature. Ecotourism is a phenomenon with distinctive peculiarities, in which cultural and environmental aspects are closely interconnected and more profound knowledge of the mechanisms of intercultural interaction is needed. To examine these relationships, a quantitative research design was performed through a structured questionnaire, with pre-tested instrument, that was distributed to 612 tourists who had already been to an ecotourism destination in Tunisia. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used using AMOS to test the hypothesized relationships between cultural intelligence, ecotourism satisfaction and loyalty to ecotourism destination. The results revealed CI as a key determinant of tourists’ satisfaction and loyalty to ecotourism destination. Additionally, satisfaction partially mediate the influence of tourists' CI on loyalty. Moreover, this study provides meaningful theoretical contributions since it is among the first that applies the concept of CI to the ecotourism, and it illuminates the existing processes by which this ability influences the tourist behavior in the post-revolution Tunisian setting. Hence, this paper provide as well some empirical contributions to both scholars and practitioners in the field of tourism. This study encourages ecotourism businesses to develop strategies and actions that take tourists' CI into account. Thanks to their CI, tourists modify their behavior to interact better while at destinations; it is therefore recommended that professionals facilitate communication through understandable verbal and non-verbal language when delivering their services.

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