A Study on the Factors that Determine the Tourist Satisfaction in Sri Lanka: with Special Reference to the Tourists from United Kingdom

Abstract

This study attempts to investigate the decisive factors of tourist satisfaction and the relationship between Loyalty of tourists, accommodation type, attractions type with the overall tourist satisfaction. The research question was to identify the critical factors of tourist satisfaction. The research question based on numerous secondary data sources. The sample population was composed of tourists from United Kingdom who visited Sri Lanka. Simple random sampling method is used and a total of 122 completed questionnaires were received. The questionnaire was analyzed using the software SPSS version 16.0 and used descriptive statistics, frequencies, by variate analysis and linear regression. This study has found that amenities factors such as safety, climate, environment, information availability and shopping influence satisfaction of the tourists the most in Sri Lanka and the least impact is from the destination image. Accessibility, attraction and accommodation impact were on the places from the top 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively. Almost half of the total respondents were highly satisfied with their tour to Sri Lanka. And also, that tourists who stayed at low budget hotels were satisfied highly than the tourists in registered accommodations. Thrills, Pristine, Scenic and Wild are the most preferred attraction types by the tourists who are satisfied with the overall experience in Sri Lanka. All most all the loyal tourists were highly satisfied with their visits to Sri Lanka while some of the first visitors were dissatisfied. The findings of this study could provide guidelines for tourism managers and destination operators to further develop better strategies to satisfy travelers to Sri Lanka.