The Segmentation and Satisfaction of Visitors to the World Heritage: Comparative Analysis of two Cultural Heritage Sites in Vietnam

Abstract

In line with the exponential growth of global tourism, Vietnam has been an emerging tourist attraction in recent years. Renowned as a nation with a several thousand-year history and an abundance of cultural/heritage values, heritage tourism in Vietnam is one of the most fast-growing and prevalent aspects of modern times. Unfortunately, few studies taking heed of this increasingly important sector have been reported so far. This study endeavors to fill academic gaps by scrutinizing and comparing heritage visitors at two World Heritage Sites of Vietnam called the Thang Long Imperial Citadel and the Citadel for Ho dynasty. The fundamental objectives are to classify visitors based on their depth of heritage experience and their cultural motives for visiting; and to measure visitor’s satisfaction in relation to the selected heritage attributes. Visitors to the Thang Long Imperial Citadel and the Ho Citadel were identified as participants of this research. Primary data was collected through the use of selfadministered questionnaires, in total a sample of 195 respondents. Statistical analysis was then applied to shed light on these results. The findings reveal that there were disparities in the classification of heritage tourists, leading to the diversity of heritage experiences. Through examining specific hypotheses, this study investigated relationships among the satisfaction of tourists, the heritage selected attributes, intentions to revisit, demographic characteristics and heritage tourist groups. The research findings have implications for services for tourists at each heritage sites. Acknowledgement of this study’s limitations and a call for future studies are noted in the concluding chapter.