Ecotourism experiences reported online: Classification of satisfaction attributes Weilin Lu * , Svetlana Stepchenkova Department of Tourism, Recreation, and Sport Management, College of Health and Human Performance, University of Florida, FLG 300, PO Box 118208, Gainesville, FL 32611-8208, USA article info Article history: Received 25 April 2011 Accepted 7 August 2011 Keywords: Ecotourism Content analysis Costa Rica KruskaleWallis test ManneWhitney U test Satisfaction TripAdvisor Ò User-generated content (UGC) abstract This study proposed a quantitative method for evaluating ecotourism experiences reported online by U.S. travelers to Costa Rica. The user-generated content (UGC) used in this study was 373 reviews extracted from TripAdvisor Ò . By applying the content analysis technique, 26 attributes that influence ecotourists’ satisfaction with their ecolodge stays were identified and further aggregated into seven categories: ecolodge settings, room, nature, service, food, location, and value for money. A two-step non-parametric statistical procedure was developed to quantitatively support the classification of attributes into sat- isfiers, dissatisfiers, criticals, and neutrals, the typology first proposed by Cadotte and Turgeon [(1988). Dissatisfiers and satisfiers: suggestions from consumer complaints and compliments. Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior, 1(1), 74e79]. The proposed procedure is considered an original contribution of the article to the literature. The authors hope that the results from this study can be useful to ecolodge managers to evaluate performance in critical areas and develop strategies to maximize customer satisfaction through better utilization of limited resources. Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Ecotourism promotes nature-based tourism activities, environ- mental conservation, and generation of tourism-related benefits to local communities in ecotourism destinations. According to Megan Megan Epler-Wood (2010), the founder of the International Ecotourism Society (TIES), “Ecotourism has become a powerful market force, ranging from 5% to 10% of the global travel market place”. Ecotourism is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the tourism industry, with an annual growth rate of 5% worldwide, representing 6% of the world gross domestic product and 11% of all consumer spending (Honey & Krantz, 2007). Studies indicate that the U.S., the UK, Germany, Canada, France, and Australia are the biggest markets for ecotourism travel (Eagles & Higgins, 1998; Weaver, 2001). Up-to-date, research into ecotourism has focused on several areas, including market segmentation (Ballantine & Eagles, 1994; Meric & Hunt, 1998), travel behavior patterns (e.g., Hvenegaard, 2002; Wight, 1997), ecotourism benefit (e.g., Palacio, 1997; Wight, 1997), travel motivations (e.g., Eagles, 1992; Meric & Hunt, 1998), and ecotourism activities (e.g., Butler, 1990; Fennell & Eagles, 1990; Wight, 1993). Blamey and Hatch (1998) and, more recently, Chan and Baum (2007a, 2007b) attempted to measure ecotourists’ travel experiences by focusing on satisfaction, which is essential for the long-term success of ecotourism products (Page & Dowling, 2002). Ecolodges are an important ecotourism segment providing not only accommodations but also ecotourism experiences, as ecotourists staying at ecolodges have immediate access to natural resources surrounding the accommodation (Lai & Shafer, 2005). Although not all ecotourists stay at ecolodges, customers of this type of lodging are a sizable portion of the market and an appro- priate group to study. In tourism and hospitality, the most frequently used marketing research methods to study consumer experiences have traditionally been surveys and guest comment cards; however, these methods are plagued by poor response rates (Crotts, Mason, & Davis, 2009). In addition, limited information from a few close-ended questions does not provide rich data for more sophisticated analysis. For these reasons, the authors selected accessible, credible, and readily available online user-generated content (UGC) as a data source to study consumer experiences and satisfaction with ecolodge stays. The purpose of this research was to identify the ecolodge attributes pertinent to ecotourists’ satisfaction and to provide a statistical method to classify these attributes depending on their influence on the reported satisfaction levels. The study was built on the work of Cadotte and Turgeon (1988), who proposed a typology * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ1 352 392 4042x1411; fax: þ1 352 392 7588. E-mail addresses: weilin.lu.cn@gmail.com (W. Lu), svetlana.step@ufl.edu (S. Stepchenkova). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Tourism Management journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/tourman 0261-5177/$ e see front matter Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.tourman.2011.08.003 Tourism Management 33 (2012) 702e712