South Korean Tourists' Expectation, Satisfaction and Loyalty Relationship

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between expectation, satisfaction and loyalty of South Korean tourists visiting Turkey. In the research, a questionnaire was used as a data collecting tool. The questionnaires are filled by South Korean tourists coming to Turkey through package tours and individual. The survey was conducted in 2014 in Nevsehir (Cappadocia Region) and Istanbul. Tourist guides and agency staff have helped the implementation of surveys. The survey questions are composed of 4 parts, which are “demographic characteristics of tourists”, “travel behavior characteristics”, “perception of expectations on destination attributes” and “perception of destination loyalty”. 5-point Likert type scale including 28 destination attributes was used to measure the expectations of South Korean tourists coming to Turkey. Questions were directed to the tourists to measure the destination loyalty. The questions relating to destination loyalty are “Talking about Turkey to others”, “Recommendation Turkey to others” and “Tourists’ intentions to revisit Turkey”. The basic hypothesis of the research is that there is a statistically significant relationship among expectations, satisfactions and destination loyalty of South Korean tourists coming to Turkey. The results indicated that the expectation had a significant effect on overall satisfaction. In addition it was seen that between overall satisfaction of tourists and destination loyalty had a significant relationship. Based on findings, some suggestions for tour operators and travel agencies were made.

Authors:

• Tolga Gok
• Kursad Sayin

Keywords:

• Tourist expectation
• tourist satisfaction
• destination loyalty
• destination attributes.

References:

[1] Huh J., Uysal M. and McCleary K., “Cultural/Heritage Destinations:
Tourist Satisfaction and Market Segmentation”, Journal of Hospitality
and Leisure Marketing, 14 (3): 81-99, 2006.
[2] Korzay, M. and Alvarez, M. D., “Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction of
Japanese Tourists in Turkey”, Anatolia: An International Journal of
Tourism and Hospitality Research, 16:2, 176-193, 2005.
[3] Yoon Y. and Uysal M., “An Examination of the Effects of Motivation
and Satisfaction on Destination Loyalty: A Structural Model”, Tourism
Management, 26(1): 45-56, 2005.
[4] Aksu, A., Özdemir, B., İçigen, E. T., Çizel, R. B., Çizel, B. and Ehtiyar,
R, “Antalya Yöresi Turist Profili Araştirmasi” Profesyonel Otel
Yöneticileri Derneği (Online) 2008, www.poyd.org/istatistikler/PDF/
Antalya_Turist_Profili.pdf. (13.03.2014)
[5] TÜRSAB, Tourist arrivals by Nationality 2012-2014,
http://www.tursab.org.tr/tr/istatistikler, (15.03.2015)
[6] Kozak, M., and Rimmington, M., “Tourist satisfaction with Mallorca,
Spain, as an off-season holiday destination”, Journal of Travel
Research, 38(1), 260–269, 2000.
[7] Kozak, M., Bigne, J. E., and Andreu, L., “Satisfaction and destination
loyalty: A comparison between non-repeat and repeat tourists”, Journal
of Quality Assurance in Hospitality & Tourism, 5 (1), 43-59, 2004.
[8] Pizam A., Neumann Y. and Reichel A., “Dimensions of Tourist
Satisfaction with a Destination”, Annals of Tourism Research, 5(2):
314-322, 1978.
[9] Duman, T. and Öztürk, A. B., “Yerli Turistlerin Mersin Kızkalesi
Destinasyonu ve Tekrar Ziyaret Niyetleri ile İlgili Algılamaları Üzerine
Bir Araştırma”, Anatolia: Turizm Araştırmaları Dergisi, 16(1), 9-23,
2005.
[10] Buhalis, D., “Marketing the competitive destination of the future”,
Tourism management, 21(1), 97-116, 2000.
[11] Zhou, L., “Destination attributes that attract international tourists to
Cape Town”, (Doctoral dissertation, University of the Western Cape),
2005.
[12] Kotler, P., Bowen, J. T. and Makens, J. C., Marketing for hospitality
and tourism (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall,
2006.
[13] Kozak, M., and Rimmington, M., “Tourist satisfaction with Mallorca,
Spain, as an off-season holiday destination”, Journal of Travel
Research, 38(1), 260–269, 2000.
[14] Bowen, J. T., and Chen, S.-L, “The relationship between customer
loyalty and customer satisfaction”, International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality Management, 13(5), 213–217, 2008.
[15] Choi, T. Y. and Chu, R., “Determinants of Hotel Guests’ Satisfaction
and Repeat Patronage in the Hong Kong Hotel Industry”, International
Journal of Hospitality Management, 20(3): 277–297, 2001.
[16] Chi, C.G.Q. and Qu, H., “Examining the structural relationships of
destination image, tourist satisfaction and destination loyalty: An
integrated approach”, Tourism Management, 29: 624-636, 2008.
[17] Özdamar, K., Statistical Data Analysis with Package Programmes
(Multi Variable Analysis) II, Eskişehir: Kaan Publishing, 2004.
[18] Aksu, A., İçigen, E. T. and Ehtiyar, R, “A Comparison of Tourist
Expectations and Satisfaction: A Case Study from Antalya Region of
Turkey”, TURIZAM, Volume 14, Issue 2, 66-77, 2010.
[19] Lather, A. S., Singh, R. and Singh, K. A., “Comparing The Levels Of
Expectation And Satisfaction Of Indian And Foreign Adventure
Tourists Visiting India”, APSTRACT: Applied Studies in Agribusiness
and Commerce, vol. 06, 5-13, 2012.
[20] McQuilken, L., Breth, R. and Shaw, R. N., “Consumer Expectations
And Satisfaction Levels:An Evaluation of Tourism In The Otway
Region”, Australian & New Zealand Marketing Academy Conference,
Queensland, Australia, 811-815, 2000.