The Impact of Crowding on Tourist Satisfaction in Urban Destinations: A Case Study of Tabriz Bazaar

"As tourist satisfaction plays a significant role in the economic prosperity of tourism industry, researchers are seeking to identify the various influential factors in that regard. While the findings of some studies indicate a negative impact of overcrowding on visitors satisfaction, other studies suggest that the collective sense may affect the directionality of overcrowding effect. This study, therefore, sought to examine the effect of overcrowding on the satisfaction of visitors with the intervening role of the collective sense. Applying a descriptive-quantitative method based on library and field studies, the required data for the study were collected through surveying 384 visitors of the historical Tabriz Bazaar who visited there from March to April 2018. Moreover, structural equations and SMART PLS software were used for analyzing the collected data. The findings of the study indicated that overcrowding had a positive impact on the perception of the collective sense. Furthermore, although many visitors found overcrowding unpleasant, such factors as the joy of being together, the feeling of sympathy with other people, and the opportunity to establish widespread social communications with other tourists made the collective sense act as an intervening variable, ending in the visitors’ satisfaction. The results of this study could be used in planning the development of tourism and preparing touring packages, especially for rare tourist destinations. "