Experience and satisfaction of visitors to museums and cultural exhibitions

The objective of this study is to answer the question raised up by many cultural organisations when analyzing their visitors’ experience in terms of satisfaction. A model is developed and proposed encompassing two complementary approaches in the analysis of the satisfaction: a cognitive approach based on quality and disconfirmation, and an affective approach based on emotions. The empirical analysis that was carried out on a sample of visitors to an interpretation centre allows us to confirm that the perceived quality, as well as emotions, are direct determinants of visitors’ satisfaction. The findings also reveal that there is a significant relationship that was not proposed in the model-between quality and emotion. Finally, we test the way in which mood strengthens the emotional path, intended as a generator of visitor’s satisfaction.