Modeling the Structural Relationships among Destination Image, Attitude, Motivation and Satisfaction on Future Behavior of Sport Tourists

The continuous growth of sport tourism has made it one of the most popular leisure and tourism industries. The present study aimed to determine the effects of the image of destination, attitude, and motivation on the future behavior of sports tourists. The present research was an applied-correlational study based on structural equation modeling. The statistical population of the survey was the audience of the Football League (Esteghlal Khuzestan & Persepolis). The respondents were selected based on convenience sampling method and questionnaires were distributed among them. Finally, a total of 381 questionnaires were used for data analysis. The required data were collected using a standard questionnaire (Lee, 2009), consisting of 5 subscales and 31 items. The face and content validity of questionnaires were assessed by 10 academics. The data were statistically analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics in SPSS-23 and Smart PLS-3. Based on the research results, 40% of individuals’ satisfaction and 42% of variations of future behavior variations can be explained through their image of the destination, attitude, and motivation. Based on the results of structural equation modeling, the impact of the image of destination, attitude, and motivation on future behavior and satisfaction was adequately fitted (SRMR=0/061). The results of the research showed that the motivation, attitude and image of the destination by sporting tourists lead to satisfaction and future behavior. The existence of a positive perception of motivation, attitude and image of destination of travel brings more satisfaction and loyalty to the future behavior of sport tourists.