«Investigation the Contribution of Hiking Activity Involvement and Place Attachment on Predicting Loyalty: Α Case study of Mount Olympus»

The aim of the present study was to explore the profile of hikers on Mount Olympus, in terms of a) demographic characteristics, b) the level of activity involvement, c) the level of place attachment, and further to test if loyalty can be predicted by activity involvement and place attachment. The questionnaire of Kyle, Graefe, Manning & Bacon (2004) was used to measure involvement and attachment. The participants were three hundred and seven (N = 307) Greek hikers. The cluster analysis classified participants into two groups (high and low involvement and attachment). Individuals with high levels of activity involvement and high levels place attachment had statistically significant higher scores in the Olympus loyalty construct. The theoretical and applied implications of these results are discussed.