Developing and Validating a Measurement Scale for Perceived Value of Couchsurfing Experience in Tourism Industry: Implications for Rural Development
Couchsurfing, a non-commercial form of accommodation, has become a way of life for travellers who want to open to other cultures and exchange with the inhabitants of the countries or regions they are visiting in a more active and authentic way. Despite the growing number of studies on couchsurfing r...
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| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Economies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7099/13/3/77 |
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| author | Abu Elnasr E. Sobaih Hassane Gharbi Samar Zgolli Imed Zaiem |
| author_facet | Abu Elnasr E. Sobaih Hassane Gharbi Samar Zgolli Imed Zaiem |
| author_sort | Abu Elnasr E. Sobaih |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Couchsurfing, a non-commercial form of accommodation, has become a way of life for travellers who want to open to other cultures and exchange with the inhabitants of the countries or regions they are visiting in a more active and authentic way. Despite the growing number of studies on couchsurfing recently, there is not to date an instrument for understanding the perceived value and experience of those travellers. This research fills a gap in research on the couchsurfing phenomenon by developing and validating a scale to assess the perceived value of a couchsurfing experience. The research adopted a mixed-method approach through qualitative and quantitative phases of studies. Both phases were undertaken with couchsurfers who had recently engaged in a couchsurfing experience. The results enabled us to obtain a reliable and valid scale for measuring the perceived value of a couchsurfing experience with three dimensions and nine items measuring economic value, exploration value and socio-cultural value. The measure could be used by service providers to develop appropriate tourism experiences, which impacts tourism development, particularly in rural areas. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4a0da9a0ef6842f38a7d2970e2e01b0f |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2227-7099 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Economies |
| spelling | doaj-art-4a0da9a0ef6842f38a7d2970e2e01b0f2025-08-20T03:43:02ZengMDPI AGEconomies2227-70992025-03-011337710.3390/economies13030077Developing and Validating a Measurement Scale for Perceived Value of Couchsurfing Experience in Tourism Industry: Implications for Rural DevelopmentAbu Elnasr E. Sobaih0Hassane Gharbi1Samar Zgolli2Imed Zaiem3Management Department, College of Business Administration, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi ArabiaManagement Department, Faculté des Sciences Économiques et de Gestion de Nabeul, Université de Carthage, Tunis 1002, TunisiaIHEC Carthage, ENVIE Laboratory, University of Carthage, Tunis 1002, TunisiaMarketing Department, College of Business Administration, Dar Al Uloom University, P.O. Box 3535, Riyadh 13314-7222, Saudi ArabiaCouchsurfing, a non-commercial form of accommodation, has become a way of life for travellers who want to open to other cultures and exchange with the inhabitants of the countries or regions they are visiting in a more active and authentic way. Despite the growing number of studies on couchsurfing recently, there is not to date an instrument for understanding the perceived value and experience of those travellers. This research fills a gap in research on the couchsurfing phenomenon by developing and validating a scale to assess the perceived value of a couchsurfing experience. The research adopted a mixed-method approach through qualitative and quantitative phases of studies. Both phases were undertaken with couchsurfers who had recently engaged in a couchsurfing experience. The results enabled us to obtain a reliable and valid scale for measuring the perceived value of a couchsurfing experience with three dimensions and nine items measuring economic value, exploration value and socio-cultural value. The measure could be used by service providers to develop appropriate tourism experiences, which impacts tourism development, particularly in rural areas.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7099/13/3/77couchsurfingeconomic valueexploration valuesocio-cultural valueperceived valuerural development |
| spellingShingle | Abu Elnasr E. Sobaih Hassane Gharbi Samar Zgolli Imed Zaiem Developing and Validating a Measurement Scale for Perceived Value of Couchsurfing Experience in Tourism Industry: Implications for Rural Development Economies couchsurfing economic value exploration value socio-cultural value perceived value rural development |
| title | Developing and Validating a Measurement Scale for Perceived Value of Couchsurfing Experience in Tourism Industry: Implications for Rural Development |
| title_full | Developing and Validating a Measurement Scale for Perceived Value of Couchsurfing Experience in Tourism Industry: Implications for Rural Development |
| title_fullStr | Developing and Validating a Measurement Scale for Perceived Value of Couchsurfing Experience in Tourism Industry: Implications for Rural Development |
| title_full_unstemmed | Developing and Validating a Measurement Scale for Perceived Value of Couchsurfing Experience in Tourism Industry: Implications for Rural Development |
| title_short | Developing and Validating a Measurement Scale for Perceived Value of Couchsurfing Experience in Tourism Industry: Implications for Rural Development |
| title_sort | developing and validating a measurement scale for perceived value of couchsurfing experience in tourism industry implications for rural development |
| topic | couchsurfing economic value exploration value socio-cultural value perceived value rural development |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7099/13/3/77 |
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