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International Journal of Management and Accounting, 2(4), 61-73, 2020
Publisher homepage: www.universepg.com, ISSN: 2707-4641 (Online) & 2707-4633 (Print)
https://doi.org/10.34104/ijma.020.061073
International Journal of Management and Accounting
Journal homepage: www.universepg.com/journal/ijma
Factors Affecting Visitors Satisfaction: An Empirical Study on the
Paharpur Buddha Vihara, Naogaon, Rajshahi
1 2 3 4
Sazu Sardar *, Md. Enayet Hossain , Md. Ikbal Hossain , and Md. Shakibul Shaheen
1&2 3
Dept. of Tourism and Hospitality Management, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi, Bangladesh; Dept. of Marketing,
University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi, Bangladesh; and 4Dept. of Brand Management, PRAN-RFL Group, Bangladesh.
*Correspondence: sazu.thm@ru.ac.bd (Sazu Sardar, Lecturer, Dept of Tourism and Hospitality Management, University
of Rajshahi, Rajshahi, Bangladesh).
ABSTRACT
With the advancement of the tourism industry, the importance of research on visitor satisfaction has been
increasing as of recent years. The prime objective of current study is to explore the factors influencing
visitor satisfaction from the perspective of archaeological sites, in Bangladesh. A thorough and well-
constructed research design is administered to analyze 200 data collected from the visitors having experience
in visiting Paharpur Buddha Vihara. From the data, we conducted an extensive analysis to find out the main
factors which influence visitor satisfaction. It is recognized that there are some essential factors; destination
attractions, safety and security, favorable environment, food attraction and cost at said destination. These
factors significantly influence visitor satisfaction. It is expected that the outcome of the study will support
the tourism practitioners in planning and development for successful business operations. The paper
concludes with some implications and future research directions.
Keywords: Visitor satisfaction, Archaeological tourism, Empirical study, and Destination sustainability.
INTRODUCTION: economy since the 1990s (Roy & Roy, 2015). In the
Tourism is the largest industry in the world in terms recent years, the contribution of tourism industry to
of revenue and employment generation. In spite of the national economy has been increased signi-
global economic uncertainty from the recent past, the ficantly. According to the country annual report of
tourism industry remains stable and is positively WTTC (2019), the total contribution of Travel &
growing in recent years (Vetitnev et al., 2013). Tourism to GDP was 4.4% of total GDP in 2018 and
According to the World Travel and Tourism Council this sector supported by 3.9% of total employment.
(WTTC) in 2018, Travel & Tourism contributed Moreover in 2018 Travel & Tourism visitor exports
total US$ 2750.7 billion to world GDP, representing generated 0.8% of total exports. In 17 April 2018
3.2% of global GDP. The sector supported 1 in 11 Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Tourist Police
jobs in the earth. The industry grew by 10.4% in Sohrab Hossain published statistical data collected
2018 and the most mentionable part is that this from around 800 tourist spots in Bangladesh that the
positive growth is continuing in the 6th consecutive number of domestic tourists stood at around 90,000
year. Again it was forecasted that travel & tourism which has increased to 3.5 crore in 2017 while the
will grow by 3.6% in 2019 and up to January 2020 number of foreign tourists has increased from 16,000
the global international tourists are grown by 3.8%. to 106,000. The data expressed the potentiality of
This is a positive scenario of growth according to the booming up the tourism and hospitality industry.
forecasting of 2019. Tourism in Bangladesh has been Bangladesh is called beauty queen for her beauty and
emerged as a small but rapidly growing sector in the attraction. She have the world longest sea beach
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Sardar et al., / International Journal of Management and Accounting, 2(4), 61-73, 2020
Cox’s Bazar, world famous mangrove forest When visiting the destination, visitors interact with
Sundarban and cultural heritages. For cultural different components of the destination, which as a
heritage or archaeological sites she is also called a whole, offers a package of diverse attributes which is
country of ancient terrain full of historical attractions not only limited to the stunning sceneries or
(Rahman, 2012). We can see from the early history historical reference and value of those who
of Bengal that the ruling dynasties such as the Pala previously resided there, but also includes facilities
rulers and Deva Kings gave out royal patronage to and services which cater to the everyday needs of the
the Buddhists. An abundant amount of well- visitor. The interacted components or factors affect
established and self-sufficient monasteries sprung up visitor satisfaction. The purpose of this paper is to
as a result of this patronage (Tuhin & Mojumder, identify factors affecting visitors’ satisfaction and to
2011). After the independence of Bangladesh in determine the level of visitors’ satisfaction in respect
1971 the government of Bongodondhu Sheikh of an archeological site Paharpur Buddha Vihara.
Mujibur Rahman undertook some field projects for
dis-covering undiscovered areas and they run a fairly Significance of the Study
ambitious scheme of excavations on selected sites. Satisfied visitors help tourism marketers to increase
At present the exploration is hardly seen but the visitor providing the message from self-interest.
project has already discovered many historical and There are also the underlying factors for building
archaeological sites (Hasan et al., 2013). sustainable tourism destination. But it is the first task
to know the factors which satisfied visitors. This
The Paharpur Buddhist Viharais a noteworthy study has significance contribution to identify the
discovery of the project. It is 14l km far from influencing factors that affect visitor satisfaction.
Rajshahi division and is situated in small village This research will also helpful on tourism decision
Paharpur of north-west district Naogaon, Bangla- making process considering the influential factors
desh. In 1985 UNESCO declared this place as world for visitor satisfaction. The result of the study may
heritage site. This 7th century archaeological site substantially contribute to managerial understanding
covers approximately an area of 27 acres of land. of visitor satisfaction. At the theory level, this study
The entire establishment occupying a quadrangular is able to produce greater understanding of the
court of 900 ft. externally on each side and has high variables/factors that appear to be most responsible
enclosure-walls about 16 ft. in thickness and 12 ft. to in structuring visitor satisfaction of a destination. In
15 ft. in height. There are 177 rooms comprising of reality the result of this study will provide managers
45 cells in the north and 44 in the east west and with greater insight concerning the potential benefits
south sections with a well-planned gateway complex associated with visitor satisfaction. Outcomes of the
on the north. Due to the influence of other temples of study might have used as an index by the concern
south and south east Asia, we can see a temple tourism marketers as well as stakeholders for
embracing the pyramidal cruciform structure (Tuhin improvement of their service quality and formulating
& Mojumder, 2011). Since ancient times, the entire marketing strategies for future directions. In
region of Bengal (including the Paharpur Buddhist addition, the outcome of the study will contribute a
Vihara) is one of the vital links between India and lot in the development of archeological tourism of
Southeast Asia because of its geographical location Bangladesh by identifying important attributes that
(UNESCO, 2018). The destination has mentionable satisfy the visitors who visit archaeological
contribution to local and national economy. destinations. The current study will also help tourism
Government earns revenue from the destination as planners in developing strategies and friendly
entrance fee. The local citizens earn revenue from 53 tourism policy. Furthermore, the authors are
different small businesses like restaurant, showpiece expecting the study will contribute in tourists’
items, cottage rent, established around the desti- satisfaction research.
nation. Usually everyday 1000 visitors visit this
place. In winter season about 3000 visitors visit Research Gaps and Objectives
every day. Students from different educational Past studies about archaeological tourism and visitor
institution come to visit this archaeological site as satisfaction have focused on identifying the
part of study tour. Beside this, many visitors come characteristics, development, and management of
with their family members in different occasions. archaeological tourism, as well as on investigating
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Sardar et al., / International Journal of Management and Accounting, 2(4), 61-73, 2020
demographic and travel behaviour characteristics of are not aware about the needs of the visitors.
tourists who visit archaeological destinations. Retaining darkness about visitor needs, it is not
Williams & Uysal (2010); Pearce & Balcar (1996) possible to ensure visitor satisfaction. However in
analysed destination characteristics influence visitor recent years, some research works have been done
satisfaction, development, management, and patterns by some researchers regarding visitor satisfaction
of demand through an element-by-element compa- which ensure tourism development of a country.
rison of eight heritage sites on the West Coast of Satisfaction is the most discussed issue over the 30
New Zealand. Silberberg (1995) provided a common years in terms of definition (Truong & Foster, 2006).
pattern of visitor satisfaction of archaeological Kotler (2012) define satisfaction as a link between
tourists by analysing age, gender, income, and perception and expectation. If perception fully match
educational level. In recent years several studies with expectation (perception=expectation), the
conducted on visitor satisfaction. Valle et al. (2006) mental state of this situation is called satisfaction and
conducted a study for exploring the relationship vice versa situation is called dissatisfaction. Again
between travel satisfaction and destination loyalty when the perception will exceeds the expectation
intention. The study assessed several attributes as the (perception>expectation) then delighted mental state
pull factors towards satisfaction. Ahmed et al. is created. Some researchers defined satisfaction
(2010) conducted an empirical study which looked at simply as the result of customers’ assessment of
different preferences of the tourist and examine the perceived quality (Chi & Qu, 2008). However, in
tour intention in the selection of different tourist some papers, quality and satisfaction are modelled as
destination. But few studies have been conducted separate constructs (Hui et al., 2007), because the
only for measuring tourist satisfaction towards a underlying processing mechanisms for evaluating
specific destination in Bangladesh (Khuong & quality and satisfaction are distinct (Zabrak et al.,
Quyen, 2016). In addition to the mentionable factors 2010).
mentioned in literature review section, there have
some others significant factors and variables which In the tourism literature two major approaches are
affect tourist satisfaction (Table 1(a) & 2(b) in employed to measure visitor satisfaction (Ozedemir
appendix). Thus to fill up the gaps this study has et al., 2012). These are disconfirmation theory and
carried out and drawn following three objectives- performance-only approach (Fallon & Schofield,
1. To identify the factors and variables that affect 2004). Disconfirmation theory is based on the post-
purchase concept, which is a comparison between
tourist/visitors satisfaction of Paharpur Buddha pre-travel expectations with actual travel experience.
Vihara. Visitor satisfaction is defined as “a collection of
2. To measure visitors’ satisfaction based on visitors’ attitudes about specific domains in the
explored factors. vacationing experience (Pizam et al., 1978).
3. To provide some recommendations to Therefore, visitor satisfaction is the overall
destination operators for their business policy experience visitors have with the given destination.
making. The performance-only approach considered the
Literature Review visitor satisfaction construct as the visitors’
evaluation of destination attributes (Truong &
Tourism attracts a wide range of academicians, Foster, 2006; Kozak & Rimmington, 2000; and
researchers and practitioners attention for its Kozak, 2003). The visitors’ satisfaction with
potential contribution to the economic development individual component or attribute of the destination
of any country. Tourism consumer (visitor) opinion leads to their satisfaction with the overall desti-
about the influencing factors/attributes of the tourism nation. For this study we considered performance
for satisfaction, destination selection, planning, only approach to identify influencing factors of
decision making process have not been thoroughly visitor satisfaction. Many different factors may affect
explored and have become a challenging research the visitor satisfaction: destination attractions,
issue. Having different tourism potentials and quality of services, safety, previous experience and
advantages, it is quite unfortunate that the country expectations, tourist activities, destination image,
has not yet managed to build a profitable tourism cost, favorable environment and others (Mcdowall,
industry. Till now tourism marketers or government 2010; Petrick, 2004; Kozak, 2001; Prayag, 2009; Al-
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Sardar et al., / International Journal of Management and Accounting, 2(4), 61-73, 2020
Ababneh, 2013; Valle et al., 2006; Ahmed et al., study discovered that recreation and entertainment
2010; Suanmali, 2014) Vetitnev et al. (2013) run a are the strong influential factors whereas some other
study for examining the factors affecting tourist factors like perceived service quality, culture, history
satisfaction level. The findings of the study indicated and art, safety and security, local cuisine, negative
that domestic tourists were not completely satisfied attributes, perceived price, natural environment, and
with the visit to the destinations. The lowest levels of destination image also had positive effects on
satisfaction were observed over attributes such as international tourist return intention as the tourist are
health services, city transport and shops. It was also satisfied with the service attribute of the factors.
found that some factors, such as purpose of travel, They also mentioned that only one factor-
source of payment for travel choice of accom- infrastructure negatively effect on tourist return
modation, holiday organization mode and tourists’ intention. Shahrivar (2012) conducted an extensive
spending affected tourist satisfaction. This study literature review based study for investigating the
developed a model which examines the relationships factors that influence tourist satisfaction. The study
between customer satisfaction, affecting factors and identified eight attribute factors named natural
destination loyalty of tourists. Research findings factors, cultural features, recreation and shopping
showed that there were strong relationships between facilities, accessibility, infrastructure, reception,
those indicators. It was also found that tourists who services, cost and price which affect tourist
were satisfied with destinations’ attributes are satisfaction. The study also identified thirty sub
willing to revisit a resort destination. attributes. The result of the study showed that the
tourist are satisfied with the multiple attributes and
The study of Al-Ababneh (2013) examined the dissatisfied with eight attribute whereas in seven rest
impact of service quality on tourist satisfaction. This attributes the tourist are in indifferent position.
study found that service quality directly impact on
tourist satisfaction and service quality plays key role Rajes (2013) administered a study for developing a
in tourism by increasing level of satisfaction. In this destination loyalty theoretical model by using tourist
study service quality comprised of three factors- perception, destination image and tourist
destination facilities, destination accessibility and satisfaction. In the findings of the study the
destination attraction which positively and negat- contributor develop four construct. Tourist satis-
ively affect tourist satisfaction. In the findings the faction construct is one of them which influenced by
contributor identified that destination facilities factors entertainments, destination attractions and
(restaurant, souvenir and tour guide) and destination atmosphere, accommodation, food, transportation
accessibility (maps, parking, toilet) are significant services and shopping. This study also reveals that
predicator of tourist satisfaction and there have a tourist perception, destination image and tourist
positive relationship among destination facilities, satisfaction directly influence destination loyalty.
destination accessibility and satisfaction whereas Suanmali (2014) administered a study for identifying
destination attractions (museum) are moderately the major factors affecting tourist satisfaction. The
positively related to tourist satisfaction. Thiumsak major finding reveals that cost of staying act as the
and Ruangkanjanases (2016) implemented a study major influencing factors. The other significant
for identifying the key factors which influence factors are environment, hospitality, infrastructure,
international visitors to revisit. The study discovered attraction and accessibility.
that visitors’ perceived satisfaction is the main
influencing factor to revisit and satisfaction factors METHODOLOGY:
are accommodation, shopping, and attitude of local The purpose of this study is to identify the factors
people. The study also found that the above which affect visitors’ satisfaction in Paharpur
mentioned factors are positively related with revisit Buddha Vihara. In order to make the research more
intention. accurate and to reach its objectives, the quantitative
research approach was applied in this study. The
The aim of the study of Khuong & Quyen (2016) study data was collected by using convenient
was to measure the key factors affecting inter- sampling method of 200 respondents. The data
national tourists perceived service quality and their obtained from the visitors who visited the Vihara at
return intention towards a specific destination. The least for a single time. Total 28 variables are
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