Experiential Loyalty in Nature Adventure Tourism: The Relationship between Satisfaction, Sustainable Engagement, and Intentions to Revisit and Recommend: A Descriptive Study in the Agreste Region of Pernambuco, Brazil

Abstract

Nature-based adventure tourism has established itself as a modality capable of providing unique and memorable experiences to consumers, especially in regions that combine natural landscapes with sustainable practices and active leisure. In the Pernambuco hinterland, the city of Gravatá stands out as an emerging destination in this segment, attracting specialized companies, tourists and investments that boost the local economy. This study aimed to analyze how satisfaction with the experience and sustainable engagement in nature-based adventure tourism impact and influence the intentions of return and recommendation of tourist-consumers, having four hypotheses, two dependent variables and two independent variables. The research has a descriptive quantitative approach, based on a questionnaire applied with a 5-point Likert scale to the respondents. The data were analyzed through descriptive statistics, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, as well as multiple linear regression. The results indicate that satisfactory experience and sustainable engagement positively impact the intention of tourists to return. The study contributes to the understanding of experiential consumption in adventure and nature tourism and offers support for tourism management strategies aimed at valuing sustainability and building experiential loyalty among visitors.