Tourists form expectations of a destination based upon advertising and promotional campaigns, past experience, word-of-mouth that, in turn, may influence demand for tourism destinations. The quality of the service and the quality of the facility and its perceived value also directly affect the quality of recreation and tourism experiences and thus the level of future demand. Further, the level of satisfaction that the tourist feels is also dependent upon the ability of the destination to deliver the type of experience, that it has marketed as a function of its facilities and programs (Fesenmaier and Uysal 1991; Ryan 1995).

The objective of this paper is to review and examine the components of satisfaction in outdoor recreation and tourism settings. Measuring quality and service is premised on what Manning (1985, p. 6) refers to as “evaluative communication between visitors and managers.”