Correspondence: Alexandra Coghlan, Tourism Program, James Cook University, Cairns Qld 4870, Australia

¹is a postdoctoral research fellow in the school of business at James Cook University. She is currently researching reef tourism through the Marine and Tropical Sciences Research Facility, examining the sustainability of reef tourixperiences over time, in the context of increasing anthropogenic pressure on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Other areas of work include ongoing research into the volunteer tourism experience, wildlife tourism and locals' perceptions and use of tourism in the Cairns region.

²is the Foundation Professor of Tourism at James Cook University. He undertook his doctoral studies at the University of Oxford and has always been interested in tourist behaviour and analysis. He has held a Fullbright Scholarship to Harvard University and has published widely in tourism journals and books. He is a foundation member of the International Academy for the Study of Tourism, an Honorary Professor at Xi'an International Studies University in China and teaches in graduate level courses in Italy. He maintains active publishing interests in tourists' motivation, experiences, satisfaction and impact.

Received 25 June 2009; Revised 25 June 2009; Published online 7 September 2009.

Abstract

This study seeks to heighten an appreciation of the multiple aspects of satisfaction by considering on-site travel experiences. Novel approaches to satisfaction are considered particularly appropriate in less structured and dynamic tourism settings where expectations are poorly defined and the expectancy disconfirmation paradigm is thus less applicable. Accordingly, this study examines the links between travel motivations, activities, emotions and satisfaction levels in tourists, using examples from a select number of tourists on dynamic volunteer tourism expeditions. Data were collected using diaries and analysed at individual and group levels, providing general experiential patterns and illustrating a linked approach to exploring tourists' experiences, emotions and satisfaction. The results highlight that emotional variability occurs across time with distinct phases of positivity, annoyance and receptivity. This variability appeared to be linked to daily activities and personal characteristics. Furthermore, satisfaction levels did not always follow the patterns of emotional variability, which were in turn weakly related to expectations and motivations that were recorded at the start of the trip. Learning how to identify this variability may improve the monitoring and the management of the tourism experience and maximise tourists' well being.