VISITOR EXPECTATIONS AND PERCEPTIONS OF SUSTAINABILITY IN A MASS TOURISM DESTINATION Cristina Bernini, PhD – University of Bologna Emilio Urbinati, PhD

VISITOR EXPECTATIONS AND PERCEPTIONS OF SUSTAINABILITY IN A MASS TOURISM DESTINATION

Cristina Bernini, PhD – University of Bologna Emilio Urbinati, PhD – Province of Rimini Laura Vici, PhD - University of Bologna

ToSEE - Tourism in South East Europe 3rd International Scientific Conference Sustainable Tourism, Economic Development and Quality of LifeUniversity of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management Opatija

Motivation

Study of visitor expectations and perception of sustainability in a mass tourism destination

Extent to which tourists either recognize the presence or evaluate the importance and quality of tourism sustainable policies at the destination

The government and industry players are getting aware that sustainable tourism is necessary and maybe the only possible tourism model in medium-to-long term (Hassan, 2000)


SEE InTourAct Project

The paper is based on a research realized within the SEE – InTourAct Project.

The aim of the project was to improve the sustainability of tourist destinations in Adriatic region.

The Province of Rimini realized a sustainability customer satisfaction survey in order to know the perception of tourists regarding sustainability and to support the policies.

New programs, new possibilities: Italia – Croatia and ADRION.


Literarature review

The receipt of excellent services reinforces the loyalty of current customers and increases the potential for attracting new ones.

There are few studies investigating the relationship between destination competitiveness and sustainable tourism development through tourists’ perceptions (for a review see Chen et al., 2011; Lin and Lin, 2011).

No study highlights the level of importance of sustainability strategies in mass destinations.


Sustainability issues

Preservation of rural cultures and tradition

Promotion of lesser-known areas around the country

Preservation of local fauna and flora

Protection of geographic denominations of food types

Little attention has been devoted to investigate the extent to which tourists either recognize the presence or evaluate the intensity of tourism sustainable policies


Objectives

To improve the knowledge of tourism sustainability in mature destinations

To investigate tourists’ perceptions of sustainability experienced during their holiday and the consequent level of satisfaction

To focus on a mature and mass destination, as Rimini (Italy)


Methodology and data The case study regards the District of Rimini which is one of the most famous mass

tourism seaside resorts in Europe and mainly hosts seaside tourists.

Representative sample of tourists (domestic and foreigners) who have chosen in 2014 the District of Rimini (Italy) as a destination for their holidays 705 face-to-face interviews that respect the natural proportion among Italian and foreign tourists, and among tourists who visited the District of Rimini in high or low seasons.

Questionnaire composed of three main sections: i) tourist’s motivation and behavior; ii) assessment of tourism services; iii) personal information.

Mapping construction


Sample characteristics Freq. %

18-24 87 12.3425-44 312 44.2645-64 239 33.9

65 and above 67 9.5Male 334 47.38

Female 371 52.62No qualification or primary school 4 0.57

Middle school 111 15.74High school 442 62.7

Degree 148 20.99Employed 233 33.05

Worker 85 12.06Retired 81 11.49

Freelancer 78 11.06Student 71 10.07

Self employed 56 7.94Housewife 40 5.67Manager 25 3.55

Entrepreneur 18 2.55Other 18 2.55


Results: who visited Rimini

Only 26.67% of the sample “consumes” only one holiday per year. Above 70% of the sample distributes part of their days-off among different periods of holidays. People visiting the Riviera Romagnola often self-organize their holiday (87.52%) and choose a full-board service (65.96%). Moreover, tourists’ loyalty characterizes the District of Rimini: nearly 60% of respondents have already spent their holidays in Rimini in the past (the average number of vacation periods spent in the District is 5.28).

Average no. Holidays per year

Freq. Percentage Travel group Freq. percentage

Max 1 188 26.67 Alone 42 5.96From 1 to 2 425 60.28 With family 288 40.85From 2 to 4 81 11.49 Couple 178 25.25

Above 4 11 1.56 With friends 176 24.96Total 705 Other

(colleagues, tour gruop, etc.)

21 2.98

Package tour Freq. percentage

Self-organized 617 87.52 Board type Freq. PercentageTour organized 88 12.48 Full board 465 65.96

Total 705 Half board 113 16.03 B&B 114 16.17

Loyalty Freq. percentage Just overnight 13 1.84First time in

Rimini287 40.71

Already been in Rimini

(average no. holidays 5.28)

418 59.29


Results: Tourists’ evaluations

Almost all the characteristics investigated obtain very high judgments (more than 7.5). The overall satisfaction of the tourists recorded an average score of 8.4 (the range of scores was 1-10). This result clearly shows how the area of the District of Rimini is able to respond very well to the expectations of the tourists.

(score from 1 – min to 10 – max) Importance Satisfaction Δ =%Better-%Worse

Italians Foreigners Italians Foreigners Italians Foreigners

Overall Satisfcation

Holiday 9,0 9,1 8,4 8,2 5% 6%

Hospitality (courtesy, helpfulness, solicitude, professionalism, etc.) 9,0 8,9 8,7 8,5 18% 24%

City's services and infrastructure 8,8 9,0 8,2 8,1 0% -5%

Sustainability (environmental impact, renewable resources, conservation of heritage, etc.) 8,5 8,6 8,0 7,9 -1% -7%


Results: the DestinationMap

Beach

Room

Restaurants

Beach entertainment Hotel restaurant

Entertaiment

Beach cleanessSafety

Room services

Pedrestian areas

Beach overcrowdingAir quality

Sea safety

Green area

Silence Info

Care for environementOvercrowding

Info sustanaibility

Urban transportTraffic

Shopping

Beach accessibility for disabilies

Beach sustainability

Hotel sport services

Recreational sustanaibility

Additional hotel services

Accessibility for disabilies

Parking

Environemennal sustanaibility

Hotel sustanaibility

Sea

Importance

Satisfaction


Results: sustainability initiatives

Total Italians Foreigns

Waste Separation 52% 52% 52%

Cycling 38% 40% 32%

Public Transport 17% 19% 10%

Energy Saving 10% 11% 6%

Quality Of Sea Water 8% 9% 5%

Renewable Energy (i.e. solar hot water and pv panels) 8% 7% 9%

Services For Travellers With Disabilities 5% 6% 2%

Typical Local/Traditional Products 5% 5% 3%

Water Saving 4% 4% 4%

Noise Reduction 2% 2% 0%


ConclusionsThe customer satisfaction analysis resulted in a very high average score on the overall product satisfaction (of 8.4 over 10). This result clearly shows how the District of Rimini is able to fit the needs of the tourists. From this premise, it is even more interesting to highlight what emerged from the customer satisfaction analysis about sustainability. Tourists consider sustainability a less relevant factor of the holiday and a less satisfactory aspect than others

The sustainability is still a feature that comes after the main and classical ones such as the sea, beach, sun, relax, entertainment.

Even if there is a small expectation about sustainability, this is only partially met, especially in the perspective of foreigner tourists. On the other hand, it has to be considered that Rimini has very high degrees of satisfaction in every indicator. As a consequence, even if sustainability indicator comes after classical ones, still it has high degree too.

Thank you for your attention!

Cristina Bernini, PhD – University of Bologna [email protected] Urbinati, PhD – Province of Rimini [email protected] Vici, PhD – University of Bologna [email protected]

Documents

VISITOR EXPECTATIONS AND PERCEPTIONS OF SUSTAINABILITY IN A MASS TOURISM DESTINATION Cristina Bernini, PhD – University of Bologna Emilio Urbinati, PhD