Exploring Crowding in Tourist Settings: the Importance of Physical Characteristics in Visitor Satisfaction

The aim of this study is to validate the comprehensive model of crowding posited by Baum and Paulus (1987) and establish the weighting of each factor in the assessment of crowding and in satisfaction with tourist settings. 486 participants completed scales assessing crowding at and satisfaction with the last tourist setting visited. The structural equation model obtained showed that social stimulation, privacy level, behavioral constraints, and social setting characteristics are indicators of the evaluation of the impact of setting, that explains crowding. Crowding does not have a significant effect on satisfaction with the tourist experience; however, a negative rating of the physical setting characteristics was found to be closely related to tourist satisfaction.