Document Type : Original Article
Subjects
1. Introduction
Tourist satisfaction is crucial for the tourism industry, as it attracts more tourists and generates more foreign income for the country. On the other hand, tourists' satisfaction has various effects on their future decisions. This variable fosters loyalty in tourists, leading them to choose destinations they have previously experienced and enjoyed. The area studied in the current research is Yazd city. This city is considered one of the most important tourist destinations in the country, thanks to its central location, excellent communication, diverse vegetation, proximity to national tourist attractions, and the benefits of its tourist attractions. For this reason, it is necessary to examine the services of attracting tourists and equipping the existing facilities and infrastructures in Yazd, as well as the satisfaction of domestic and foreign tourists; according to the report of Cultural Heritage and Tourism in 2022, there are one million seven hundred thousand people. Thus, the trustees of this city should have the satisfaction of domestic and foreign tourists on their agenda, ensuring the city reaches the intended level of development and expansion. Therefore, this research emphasizes Yazd, which can be used for its economic, social, and cultural development and prosperity by examining the components of the general characteristics of the region, the willingness to visit again, Tourism management deals with accommodation and hospitality services that affect the satisfaction of domestic and foreign tourists.
2. Materials and methods
The current research is applied in terms of its purpose and in terms of its nature and method. This is a descriptive-analytical study, with information collection methods including documentary (library) and field (questionnaire) sources. Since the size of the population of this research is about 767,000 people (Yazd City Statistics and Information Extraction, Processing Committee), Cochran's formula is used to determine the sample size. Based on the preliminary sampling of 25 people, the standard deviation of 0.372 has been obtained. Therefore, at the detection level of 0.05 and the error of 0.05%, the sample size of the research was calculated as 365, and 384 questionnaires were distributed to ensure the response of tourists. To check the status of tourist satisfaction indicators in Yazd city, a questionnaire in the form of a five-point Likert scale was prepared and distributed among tourists and completed. For its validity, the opinions of university professors were used, and the necessary corrections were made. After collecting the questionnaire, Cronbach's alpha method was used to measure its reliability. The amount of Cronbach's alpha in the table below shows that their reliability is acceptable and suitable for evaluation.
3. Results and Discussion
According to the obtained results (significance level and upper and lower limits), all indicators (accommodation services, complementary factors, tourism management, public services, hospitality services, and the general characteristics of the region) have become significant. The upper and lower limits of all variables are positive and indicate the proportionality of the average with the test value. Based on the results of the T-test, this claim is confirmed according to the value of the T statistic. The high level of citizen satisfaction in the accommodation services component can be attributed to decision-makers and planners prioritizing hotel management and layout, as well as the necessary infrastructure for citizens to access accommodation services, over other components. On the other hand, the tourism management component got the lowest score (3.1287) among other components with specific items.
4. Conclusion
The satisfaction of tourists has a great impact on the direction of its economic benefits. Therefore, increasing satisfaction with how to choose the route to reach attractive points, avoiding confusion in navigation, accessing services and facilities, and meeting the expectations of tourists can increase the desire to return to the destination. This research investigates the factors affecting tourist satisfaction in Yazd city. Based on the objective, the research question was investigated. Based on the research results, the skewness and kurtosis tests were employed to assess the normality of the distribution of the indicators. The major values of the indicators, ranging from +1 to -1, confirm the normality of the data distribution. Then, in order to analyze the status of tourists' satisfaction indicators, a sample t-test test was used. According to the obtained results (significance level and upper and lower limits), all indicators (accommodation services, complementary factors, tourism management, public services, hospitality services, and the general characteristics of the region) have become significant, and among the satisfaction indicators, Tourists' demand for the first factor (accommodation services) has the highest average of 3.7154. On the other hand, the tourism management component has the lowest score (3.1287) among other components. Furthermore, the results of the structural equations of SMART PLS, due to the investigation of the effectiveness of the research indicators in the formation of tourists' satisfaction, showed that the variable of the general characteristics of the region with a total impact factor of 1.523 had the greatest impact on the satisfaction of tourists, and then in the order of the components catering services (1.256), tourism management (0.895), general services (0.687), accommodation services (0.622) and complementary factors (0.160) are effective on tourists' satisfaction.
5. Acknowledgement & Funding
· Authors are thankful to all interview participants for supporting this research.
· The manuscript did not receive a grant from any organization.
6. Conflict of Interest
· The authors declare no conflict of interest.
