Motivational-Service Congruence (MSC): explaining how travel motivation translates into destination loyalty in spa tourism

Spa destinations rely heavily on repeat visitation and trust in service performance, making destination loyalty a critical behavioural outcome. Although motivation and service quality are known predictors of loyalty, prior research has not sufficiently explained how motivational orientations are transformed into loyalty-related behaviours through service encounters. This study proposes and empirically examines the Motivational-Service Congruence (MSC) framework, which conceptualizes travel motivation as the source of evaluative standards, perceived service quality as the degree of congruence between motivational expectations and actual experiences, and destination loyalty as a behavioural response to motivational confirmation. Using survey data from 512 visitors to Mariánské Lázně (Czech Republic) and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM), the study shows that motivation influences perceived service quality and loyalty both directly and indirectly through MSC. The findings refine theoretical understanding of tourist behaviour by offering a mechanism-based explanation of how motivational expectations shape service evaluations and loyalty, and provide practical guidance for designing service experiences aligned with tourists’ motivational goals in spa tourism contexts.