Co-Creation and Loyalty in Travel Agencies

The aim of this study is to analyze how co-creation activities influence consumer behavior. The study is framed within the context of post-pandemic tourism recovery in emerging destinations, where traditional travel agencies face increasing challenges derived from digitalization and the growing tendency of tourists to independently plan their trips online. Specifically, it examines how these activities first improve perceived value and customer satisfaction, and how these improvements in turn strengthen customer loyalty, fostering long-term relationships between travel agencies and their customers. By addressing this chain of effects, the study responds to a relevant gap in the literature regarding the mechanisms through which value co-creation contributes to relationship sustainability in traditional tourism intermediaries. Drawing on the results of the conducted survey, based on primary data collected in Ecuador in 2023, the research examines the connection between co-creation, perceived value, customer satisfaction, and loyalty, while also identifying key motivationa l factors that influence co-creation in the tourism sector. The empirical analysis relies on a quantitative research design, using a structured questionnaire administered to 450 national and international tourists and analyzed through structural equation modeling. The findings show that co-creation plays a crucial role in increasing customer loyalty by directly impacting perceived value and satisfaction. The results further reveal that satisfaction acts as the main mediating variable in the relationship between cocreation and loyalty, while trust plays a complementary but less decisive role. Additionally, the study highlights the importance of customer involvement in service design to create personalized experiences. This effect is particularly relevant for a predominantly young and female customer profile, which characterizes the demand of travel agencies in the analyzed context. This study demonstrates that co-creation can give traditional travel agencies a competitive edge by enhancing customer loyalty, enabling personalized services, and fostering long-term relationships. From a theoretical perspective, the research contributes empirical evidence from an underexplored Latin American setting, while from a managerial standpoint it provides actionable insights for strengthening customer relationships in highly volatile, post-pandemic tourism markets. It also emphasizes the need for further research on the operational and economic impact of co-creation in the tourism industry

Customer satisfaction · Loyalty · Structural equation modeling · Sustainability · Tourism · TRIPS architecture · Customer Service Quality and Loyalty · Digital Marketing and Social Media · Service and Product Innovation