- Title
- Inbound tourist experience in south africa
- Creator
- Twumasi, Gabriel Kwadwo
- Subject
- Tourism -- Economic aspects -- South Africa
- Date Issued
- 2021-12
- Date
- 2021-12
- Type
- Doctoral theses
- Type
- text
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/54641
- Identifier
- vital:46877
- Description
- The tourism industry contributes significantly to the economic growth of South Africa. Although international tourism is noted for a great contribution to customer experience beyond their borders, few studies exist in respect of tourist experience in South Africa. An individual experience to a tourism destination impact on his/her satisfaction and behavioural intentions. Tourist experience has been identified as a possible strategy for building and improving the relationship between tourism businesses and their clients in order to improve customer retention and recommending and revisiting of destination. Thus, the primary objective of this study was to identify, investigate and empirically test the factors influencing customer (inbound tourists) experience in South Africa. The study also seeks to determine how these experiences influence customer satisfaction, recommendation of the destination and the likelihood of a return visit. Tourist experience is of performance value to tourism businesses as these businesses need to identify the factors they should focus on to increase the value of products and services they are delivering to their customers. A quantitative methodology was chosen for this study and data was collected through a self-administered questionnaire. The study population included all inbound tourist who had visited South Africa between the years 2018 and 2020. The research design consisted of causal and descriptive research. The study followed a quantitative research method to obtain the set objectives of the study. A measuring instrument in the form of a structured questionnaire was designed from secondary sources to source for the needed data. A web-based online questionnaire and convenience sampling technique was chosen to identify inbound tourist to South Africa. Of the 320 inbound tourists to South Africa reached and completed the questionnaire, 319 were included in the analysis. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were employed in the data analysis. The main empirical results of the study found that statistically significant relationships exist between the independent variables: Quality accommodation, Tidiness of attractions, Ancillary services, Safety of destination, Convenience retention, Quality of attractions, Transport and the dependent variables, Customer satisfaction and Recommending and revisiting of destination. The outcome of the results of the structural equation modelling revealed an acceptable model fit of the study. The results suggest that customer satisfaction, recommending and revisiting of destination are of strategic importance in promoting tourism destinations for inbound tourists. It is imperative to provide memorable experiences to tourist. Tourism destinations must always provide an excellent service in order to enhance efficient competitive services to their customers. Furthermore, it is recommended that tourism business provide products and services that will cater for the needs of inbound tourists based on the specific factors influencing customer satisfaction and the recommendation and revisiting of destinations. This study makes a significant contribution to the body of knowledge and practitioners as it has established the factors influencing inbound tourists’ experience and, how these factors influence customer satisfaction, recommending and revisiting of international tourists to South Africa. Furthermore, the study presents recommendations and practical strategies that could help tourism businesses improve inbound tourists’ experiences in South Africa.
- Description
- Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences, 2021
- Format
- computer
- Format
- online resource
- Format
- Format
- 1 online resource (xxviii, 464 pages)
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences
- Language
- English
- Rights
- rights holder
- Rights
- All Rights Reserved
- Rights
- Open Access
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NMU Business School
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | Twumasi, G.pdf | 3 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |