ABSTRACT
The view regarding crowding perceptions and its effect on visitor satisfaction has caused a debate among researchers. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the impact of environmental characteristics and visitor behavior toward crowding perception and its implications for visitor satisfaction. Data was collected by distributing questionnaires to 174 respondents during February 2020. The collected data was then processed using path analysis by examining the direct and indirect effects of environmental characteristics (X1) and visitor behavior (X2) on crowding perceptions (Y) and their implications for visitor satisfaction (Z). The results show that, partially, crowding impressions are influenced by the surrounding characteristics and the other visitors’ behavior. The direct impact is indicated by environmental characteristics, while other visitors’ behavior requires the mediator variable, which is crowding perception, in influencing visitor satisfaction. Furthermore, the perception of distress also has a positive effect on visitor satisfaction. This research contributes theoretically and methodologically to the literature on the understanding of distress perspective.
