Visitors' satisfaction with interpretive services at the Southern Sichuan Bamboo Sea, China.

Zhao, Minyan ; Harshaw, Howard W. ; Dong, Wenyuan 等

Introduction

Chinese domestic tourism began booming in the mid-1980s. Increasing incomes and pressures of urbanization prompted people to seek nature-based leisure activities (Xu & Cui, 2013). Consequently, the increasing role of domestic tourism has been recognized in many parts of China (Airey & Chong, 2010). Bamboo forest tourism attractions have developed rapidly since the early 1990s in the southern provinces of China (Dong & Zhao, 2004).

A goal of nature interpretation has been the delivery of high-quality experiences. Quality has been measured in terms of visitor satisfaction (e.g., Manning, 1999; Tonge & Moore, 2007), which is influenced by the importance of a set of attributes and the perceived performance or delivery of those attributes (Bultena & Klessig, 1969; Martilla & James, 1977; Matzler, Bailom, Hinterhuber, Renzl, & Pichler, 2004; Mullins, Schultz, & Spetich, 1987; Oh, 2001; Vaske, Beaman, Stanley, & Grenier, 1996). Although there are no standardized measures of satisfaction, most assessments of satisfaction have been rooted in expectancy theory (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975), which posits that people engage in activities with the expectation that particular needs, motivations, or other desires will be fulfilled. Chinese visitors' satisfaction with interpretive resources at five sites in the Southern Sichuan Bamboo Sea (i.e., Wangyou Valley, Jade Gallery, Sea View Tower, Tianbao Village, and Sea in Sea Lake) was examined relative to their expectations.

Study Site

Given their distinctive ecological features, and their contribution to Chinese culture (Zhao & Dong, 2006), bamboo forests have become an important part of Chinese nature-based tourism. The Southern Sichuan Bamboo Sea is located in Yibin City in Sichuan Province, China. The attraction, designated as a National Scenic Area in 1988 by the State Council of China, attracts millions of visitors every year. It is possible that visitor numbers may reach unsustainable levels, as the annual growth rate of tourism in this area is estimated to be 17.6 percent. Between January and May 2012, 460,000 tourists visited the Sichuan Bamboo Sea, and contributed $3.5 million (USD) to tourism revenues (Tourism Administration of Yinbin, 2012). The site offers self-guided and guided interpretive tours. Self-guided interpretation is provided through descriptive signs, the visitor center, the bamboo museum, and published materials related to the self-guided trail. The interpretation delivered by guides is figurative, and is based upon a traditional Chinese approach in which bamboo species and landscape scenes and features are interpreted using stories or poems.

Methodology

An on-site self-administered survey was conducted between April and May 2012. Participants rated 15 interpretive elements using five-point ordinal scales for importance (from 1, not important at all, to 5, very important) and performance (from 1, not satisfied at all, to 5, very satisfied); guided visitors were also asked about six guide-related elements. Importance-performance analysis (IPA) was employed to investigate visitors' satisfaction with interpretive elements, and to determine whether there are differences in the degree of satisfaction of these elements between guided and self-guided tourists. IPA brings importance and performance elements together in a two-dimensional matrix (Oh, 2001; Reino, Mitsche, & Frew, 2007), and has been commonly used in tourism research as a tool to evaluate visitor satisfaction (e.g., Ryan & Sterling, 2001; Randall & Rollins, 2009; Vaske, Kiriakos, Cottrell, & Khuong, 2009; Kwan, Eagles, & Gebhardt, 2010; Ziegler, Dearden, & Rollins, 2012). IPA assumes that performance and importance evaluations are independent, and that the relationship between performance and importance is symmetrical (Mullins & Schultz Spetich, 1987; Oh, 2001; Bruyere, Rodriguez, & Vaske, 2002). We supplemented the IPA with gap analysis to identify differences between importance and performance ratings for guided and self-guided visitors using a paired t-test (Ryan & Sterling, 2001; Ziegler, Dearden, & Rollins, 2012). As the identification of relative levels of performance and importance is central to IPA (Martilla & James, 1977), scale means were employed to inform the placement of matrix crosshairs (Tonge & Moore, 2007).

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Results

A total of 355 completed questionnaires were returned (89.2 percent response rate). Respondents were split evenly based on gender (51.5 percent were male), and ranged in age from 19 to 40 years old; 120 visitors were guided and 235 were self-guided; 67.2 percent were from a city within Sichuan province. Visitors' overall satisfaction with their experience was 3.4 [+ or -] 0.1 (n = 355); there was no significant difference between guided and self-guided visitors (t(344) = -0.713, p > 0.05)).

Guided visitors' mean ratings of the importance of tour guides was higher than their mean rating of tour guides' performance; gap analysis demonstrated significant differences for five of the six tour guide elements (Table 1). The largest gaps between mean importance and mean performance were found for the responsiveness to visitors' inquiries, the tour is well organized, and the relevant interpretive messages/themes elements. The IPA matrix illustrates that one of the interpretive tour guide elements, responsiveness to visitors' inquiries (G6), requires attention (Figure 1). Respondents were satisfied with the guides' presentation (G2), and the well-organized tour (G3) elements; performance exceeded the importance of two elements, guide's appearance (G4) and multiple language support (G5). No interpretive elements were identified as being of low priority.

The gap analysis did not reveal any significant differences between the mean importance and mean performance interpretive ratings for self-guided elements. The IPA matrix indicates that there were no self-guided interpretive elements that required attention. However, three elements that required attention among guided visitors included meeting a variety of visitor needs (C10), audio-visual equipment (C11), and rich and interesting content (M12).

Conclusion

Visitors' overall satisfaction with interpretive elements at the Southern Sichuan Bamboo Sea was consistent with the importance that visitors ascribed to the different interpretive elements. Of the six guide-related elements, four elements received satisfaction ratings that were less than the associated importance ratings; these elements require further attention by managers. None of the nine facility-related elements had satisfaction ratings that were lower than their associated importance ratings. These findings highlight the need to train guides to better equip them with the skills needed to interpret relevant messages and tour organization and knowledge about bamboo. IPA demonstrated that the visitor center is meeting a variety of visitor needs, the coordinated use of audio-visual equipment, and the content of multimedia elements) were areas where efforts might be concentrated to improve visitor satisfaction.

When China began to introduce interpretive services to national parks and protected areas, there were few evaluations of Chinese visitors' satisfaction of different media (Xu & Cui, 2013). Although this cross-sectional case study is limited by a small sample size, the case of the Southern Sichuan Bamboo Sea identifies the potential to enhance visitor satisfaction through better training of guides in interpretive skills and modern technologies. Although the use of surveys to investigate tourists' characteristics, motivations, and desired experiences is not common in Chinese tourism planning (and may be subject to cultural norms that dissuade people from revealing their true feelings (Cottrell, Vaske, Shen, & Ritter, 2007)), they nevertheless can serve as a bridge between the planning and implementation of tourism strategies (Lai, Li, & Feng, 2006). This case study revealed the need for further research regarding the development of naturally and culturally appropriate and effective interpretation strategies in Chinese bamboo attractions that could engage Chinese visitors, enhance their appreciation of bamboo forests, and encourage awareness and action of sustainable behavior.

Minyan Zhao

School of Ecotourism, Southwest Forestry University Yunnan, China

Howard W. Harshaw

Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation University of Alberta 2-130J Van Vliet Complex Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2H9 780-492-6821

harshaw@ualberta.ca

Wenyuan Dong

School of Ecotourism, Southwest Forestry University Yunnan, China

Wen Ye

School of Ecotourism, Southwest Forestry University Yunnan, China

Jiajun Liu

The Institute of National Academy of Economic Strategy Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Beijing, China

Tengwei Su

Bio-Diversity Conservation Department, Yunnan Forestry Technological College Yunnan, China

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Tingbin Jia, leader of the Forestry Administration of the Sichuan Bamboo Sea, for providing us access to their sites, the visitors who participated in our study, and those who have contributed their time and invaluable suggestions to this project (Jiao Ji, Bei Li, Elizabeth Namazzi). Table 1. Importance-performance analysis and gap analysis of interpretive elements (shaded = self-guided visitors). Elements Importance Performance Mean SD Mean SD Guides G1 Relevant interpretive 2.94 1.451 2.63 0.841 messages/ theme. -- -- -- -- G2 Guide's presentation (attitude, 2.96 1.452 2.68 0.850 skill). -- -- -- -- G3 Tour is well organized. 3.00 1.550 2.67 0.823 -- -- -- -- G4 Guide's appearance (grooming, 2.93 0.989 2.65 0.774 uniform). -- -- -- -- G5 Multiple language support. 2.82 1.100 2.64 0.776 -- -- -- -- G6 Responsiveness to visitors' 2.99 1.542 2.53 0.820 inquiries. -- -- -- -- Signage S7 Concise and clear text. 2.85 1.424 2.93 0.918 2.84 1.507 2.81 0.863 S8 Color, material coordination, 2.96 1.260 2.93 0.842 appropriate height. 2.91 1.127 2.87 0.829 S9 Bamboo theme styling, more 2.88 1.427 2.80 0.866 interesting. 2.87 1.281 2.79 0.829 Visitor Centre C10 Meets a variety of visitor needs. 2.93 1.333 2.73 0.721 2.97 1.409 2.86 0.683 C11 Coordinated use of audio-visual 2.93 1.221 2.73 0.777 equipment. 2.90 1.101 2.80 0.676 Multimedia M12 Rich in content, easy to 2.93 1.346 2.73 0.742 understand and interesting. 2.93 1.281 2.85 0.679 M13 The device is easy to operate. 2.98 1.280 2.84 0.698 2.95 1.310 2.91 0.596 Publications P14 Comprehensive and multiple 2.88 1.265 2.78 0.716 languages supported. 2.95 1.178 2.87 0.634 P15 Diversity of media available for 2.87 1.302 2.71 0.771 purchase (e.g., videos, books, 2.86 1.208 2.84 0.716 pamphlets). Elements Gap t Value Guides G1 Relevant interpretive 0.32 2.903 * messages/theme. -- -- G2 Guide's presentation (attitude, 0.28 2.720 * skill). -- -- G3 Tour is well organized. 0.33 3.694 * -- -- G4 Guide's appearance (grooming, 0.28 3.001 * uniform). -- -- G5 Multiple language support. 0.18 1.883 -- -- G6 Responsiveness to visitors' 0.47 3.694 ** inquiries. -- -- Signage S7 Concise and clear text. 0.08 -0.695 0.03 0.402 S8 Color, material coordination, 0.03 0.380 appropriate height. 0.04 0.580 S9 Bamboo theme styling, more 0.08 0.748 interesting. 0.08 1.061 Visitor Centre C10 Meets a variety of visitor needs. 0.21 1.867 0.11 1.302 C11 Coordinated use of audio-visual 0.21 1.922 equipment. 0.10 1.317 Multimedia M12 Rich in content, easy to 0.20 1.756 understand and interesting. 0.08 0.962 M13 The device is easy to operate. 0.13 1.252 0.04 0.480 Publications P14 Comprehensive and multiple 0.11 0.977 languages supported. 0.08 1.038 P15 Diversity of media available for 0.16 1.451 purchase (e.g., videos, books, 0.02 0.343 pamphlets). * p < 0.01 ** p < 0.001