STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODEL OF FACTORS AFFECTING CHINESE HIGH-VALUE TOURIST LOYALTY TOWARD SOUTHERN THAILAND

Abstract

This research noticed the opportunity to expand the Thai tourism market to Chinese high-value tourists and it is interesting to study the current Thai image that can affect the awareness of Chinese tourists. Although many previous scholars studied on destination loyalty in several contexts, the literature on this subject is limited. The primary is focused on service quality, destination image, perceived value, satisfaction, and loyalty; but examined in different research area and sample group. Therefore, this study proposes to increase academic research on developing Thailand’s destination image to establish Chinese high-value tourists’ loyalty, providing both theoretical and managerial knowledge.

The objectives of this study are 1) To analyze the factors influencing destination loyalty of Chinese high-value tourists. 2) To examine the causal relationships among the constructs: service quality, destination image, destination satisfaction, perceived value and destination loyalty of Chinese high-value tourists. 3) To propose model developing Southern Thailand’s image as a high-end destination to establish destination loyalty to Chinese high-value tourists.

The research design with quantitative methods was employed to achieve these objectives. The researcher used proportion sampling of tourists by divided into 3 provinces in Southern of Thailand: Phuket, Krabi and Surat Thani (Samui). According to the most favorable provinces in Southern Thailand as a representative. Researcher selects the samples based on a non-probability sampling method by purposive sampling. The researcher collecting data, Chinese high value tourists 400 respondents, through online channels by created a Chinese questionnaire through an online platform using www.wenjuan.com which is the famous survey platform in China. The questionnaires were distributed through travel agents located in Beijing, Shenzhen and Hangzhou. The questionnaire, which consists of three parts: Part 1: Personal data and travel-related information; Part 2: Opinion on the factors affecting loyalty. by using a gauge 7-level rating scale according to the Likert Scale and Part 3: Other recommendations. This research utilized CFA due to its strengths at testing the relative strength of factors in a full model. The finding of this research revealed that the proposed model had a good fit of a statistical model was determined by how well it fits a set of observations Chi – Square = 221.830 df = 195.0 CMIN/df. 1.138 < 2.0 GFI =0.958 AGFI = 0.931 NFI=0.974 IFI=0.997 CFI=0.997 RMR=0.032 and RMSEA=0.020 in the level of significant (P < 0.05).

The scope of this research is examining the perspective of Chinese high-value tourists who had been traveled to Phuket, Krabi and Surat Thani (Samui) in Thailand. A literature review of prior scholars related to Chinese high-value tourist and variable factors affecting both destination image and destination loyalty. The study was conducted from September, 2017 till March, 2022. The process of study includes literature review, research design, data collection, data analysis, and output report.

The findings of the study discovered that destination image of southern Thailand has the directly influence on the destination loyalty of Chinese high-value tourists through satisfaction variables. The perceived value factor has a direct positive influence on the loyalty of Chinese high-value tourists toward Southern Thailand. Service quality factors have an indirect positive influence on destination loyalty through satisfaction variables. Furthermore, the satisfaction factor also has a direct influence on the destination loyalty of Chinese high-value tourists toward Southern Thailand as well. From the results of the study Stakeholders such as governments, entrepreneurs and educational institutions could utilized these results as a guideline to develop the factors that affect Chinese high-value tourists’ loyalty. This will increase the competitiveness of Southern Thailand in order to be a quality destination for Chinese high-value tourists.

-