Beyond Attractions: Understanding Tourist Satisfaction in Sustainable Creative Tourism

Abstract

ABSTRACT Understanding tourists' evaluations of creative tourism destinations remains important for sustainable destination development. This study examined tourists' expectations and satisfaction regarding sustainable creative tourism products in Sathing Phra District, Songkhla Province, Thailand. A survey of 400 tourists was analyzed using gap analysis and an adapted Importance–Performance Analysis (IPA) based on tourists' expectations and satisfaction. The findings revealed distinct evaluation patterns across destination components. Tourist attractions received the highest expectation scores, whereas community tours and guide services achieved the highest satisfaction scores. The credibility of community tourism organizations emerged as the most positively evaluated attribute, highlighting the potential importance of trust within creative tourism experiences. In contrast, restaurant‐related attributes exhibited the largest expectation‐satisfaction gaps. The study contributes to the creative tourism literature by highlighting the distinct yet complementary aspects of cultural resources, community‐based experiences, and organizational credibility within tourists' evaluations and by identifying development priorities for sustainable creative tourism destinations.