A comparison of Chinese and American tourist satisfaction in Thailand

Abstract

Successful tourist destinations will attract more visitors from different countries. However, culture diversification may need well management to respond and satisfy customer needs. Understanding of differences among tourists and their requirements is important for the tourism industry which may lead to an increased share of the tourism market. The objective of this study is to compare the level of American and Chinese tourists' satisfaction in Thailand. 390 respondents were considered to be the sample. The researcher applied Independent Sample t-test to test all hypotheses. The results of this study by using cross-tabulation analysis, American and Chinese tourists mostly were male, aged over 45 years old. They travel in Thailand with their families. Moreover, they are private company employees who hold at least a Bachelor's degree. American tourists mostly take a long period of time to travel while Chinese tourists are more likely to take a shorter journey. The findings indicate that American and Chinese tourists are not statistically significant different in satisfaction levels in terms of destination attractions and environment, destination facilities and services, accessibility of destination, and destination image. In contrast, American and Chinese tourists have significant differences in satisfaction levels in terms of overall price. However, each of these four attributes need to be improved to attract additional tourists.