Tourists' satisfaction with services

Albishry, Hamad Hamdan

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate tourists' perceptions of value and satisfaction with the quality of the tourism services in Saudi Arabia. In recent years, one of the areas for product and service differentiation has been the development of tourism services. In service industries, it is widely assumed that competitive advantage, and hence profitability, depends on service quality and customer satisfaction. This raises the question, in tourism what constitutes customer value and satisfaction, and how can they be measured? This research addresses these issues with specific reference to Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia is a rapidly developing Arab country, with varied topography. It has well-established transport, accommodation and communications infrastructure, and a rich cultural heritage. These features are reflected in the cities of Jeddah and Abha, where the study is focused.

A theoretical framework for the study is provided by Woodruff and Gardial's (1996) customer value determination model in which product attributes produce positive and negative consequences which mayor may not conform to customer values. This value determination is the main antecedent of customer satisfaction. Quality, value and satisfaction are shown to have significant implications for the development and successof tourism, a complex phenomenon, with economic, technical and social components. Various typologies exist, which have implications for tourism planning.

A survey (n=553) and qualitative interviews (n=24) contextualized by participant observation were conducted to explore internal tourists' value perceptions and satisfaction with selected services in Jeddah and Abha. Descriptive and inferential statistics, and inductive analysis, were employed to analyse the data collected.

The findings revealed the importance to customer satisfaction of safety and security, relaxation (produced by comfort and convenience) and respect conveyed by conformity of service personnel to traditional norms of behaviour. There were significant areas of dissatisfaction in relation to all these values, especially in Abha. Suggestions are offered for developing this model as a guide for assessing the quality of services in general and particularly in Saudi Arabia. The practical implications of the findings for tourism planners are also highlighted.

Citation

Albishry, H. H. (2007). Tourists' satisfaction with services. (Thesis). University of Hull. Retrieved from https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4213668

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Feb 1, 2013
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 22, 2023
• Keywords: Business
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4213668
• Additional Information: Business School, The University of Hull
• Award Date: Jan 1, 2007