Demographic Characteristics of Surveyed Visitors

are presented in Table 3.16. Similar to the above assessments, the tourism performance of the provinces in the North Central region is generally assessed as slightly above average (3.1), including Thanh Hoa (2.7), Ha Tinh (2.6), Thua Thien - Hue (4.0), Quang Binh (4.1). The groups of indicators on visitors, spending, contributions, investment, price competition, and government support of Nghe An are scored relatively close to each other and are all better than Thanh Hoa and Ha Tinh but worse than Thua Thien - Hue and Quang Binh. These results are very consistent with the practical situation, so they are an important basis for showing that the expert's opinion is reliable.

Table 3.16. Evaluation of tourism performance results

Number of officials close	Average					Standard deviation
Number of officials close	TH	NA	HT	TTH	QB	TH	NA	HT	TTH	QB
Average		2.7	3.1	2.6	4.0	4.1	0.8	0.7	0.8	0.7	0.7
Tourists		2.7	3.2	2.6	4.2	4.4	0.8	0.7	0.8	0.6	0.6
Number of domestic visitors	150	3.0	3.6	2.8	4.2	4.5	0.8	0.6	0.7	0.6	0.6
Number of foreign visitors	150	2.7	3.1	2.4	4.4	4.7	1.0	1.0	0.8	0.7	0.5
Number of days of vacation of tourists	150	2.7	3.0	2.7	4.1	4.3	0.6	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.5
Market share compared to the whole country	150	2.5	3.0	2.2	4.3	4.3	0.9	0.7	0.9	0.5	0.6
Return customer rate	150	2.7	3.1	2.6	4.1	4.2	0.8	0.6	0.8	0.6	0.6
Tourist spending		2.7	3.0	2.6	4.1	4.1	0.8	0.7	0.8	0.7	0.8
Tourist spending	150	2.8	3.2	2.7	4.2	4.2	0.7	0.6	0.7	0.7	0.7
Spending ratio compared to the whole country	150	2.6	2.8	2.4	4.0	4.0	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.9
Contribution of tourism to local		2.7	3.1	2.5	4.2	4.2	0.8	0.7	0.8	0.7	0.7
Contribution to GDP, income	150	2.6	3.0	2.4	4.3	4.3	0.8	0.6	0.8	0.6	0.6
Job creation	150	2.6	3.1	2.5	4.2	4.1	0.7	0.6	0.8	0.7	0.7
Increase productivity of tourism industry calendar	150	2.7	3.1	2.6	4.0	4.0	0.8	0.9	0.8	0.9	0.8
Good influence on industries other economy	150	2.9	3.3	2.7	4.2	4.2	0.7	0.6	0.8	0.7	0.7
Investing in tourism		2.7	3.0	2.6	4.0	4.0	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7
Investment in tourism from capital sources budget	150	2.8	3.3	2.8	3.8	3.8	0.6	0.8	0.6	0.8	0.8
Private capital investment in tourism domestic	150	2.9	3.4	2.8	4.2	4.4	0.6	0.6	0.7	0.6	0.6
Investment in tourism from capital sources foreign	150	2.5	2.6	2.4	4.1	4.1	0.8	0.7	0.8	0.7	0.7
Tourism investment in total investment private	150	2.6	2.8	2.5	3.7	3.8	0.7	0.6	0.7	0.7	0.8
Price competitiveness index		2.7	3.1	2.7	3.8	4.1	0.7	0.5	0.7	0.6	0.8
Price competitiveness index shared	150	2.7	3.1	2.7	3.8	4.1	0.7	0.5	0.7	0.6	0.8
Government support for tourism development link		2.6	3.0	2.5	3.8	3.8	0.9	0.7	0.9	0.8	0.8

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Number of officials close	Average					Standard deviation
Number of officials close	TH	NA	HT	TTH	QB	TH	NA	HT	TTH	QB
Budget for travel and tourism management	150	2.6	3.0	2.3	3.9	3.9	0.8	0.6	0.9	0.8	0.8
Cost of tourism promotion calendar	150	2.5	3.0	2.4	4.1	4.0	1.0	0.9	0.9	0.9	0.8
Development support program tourism development	150	2.6	3.0	2.6	3.8	3.8	0.9	0.6	0.9	0.8	0.9
Tax incentives, subsidies for tourism industry	150	2.5	2.7	2.4	3.4	3.5	0.9	0.8	0.9	1.0	1.1
Education and vocational training in tourism calendar	150	2.8	3.3	2.6	4.0	4.0	0.9	0.8	0.9	0.7	0.7

(Source: Author's investigation)

3.3.4. Evaluation results based on model extensions

The extension of the model is evaluated based on the results of investigations, surveys, and interviews with tourists traveling to the North Central region. Specifically, 200 tourists were interviewed and the results of 200 questionnaires were recorded. Basically, tourists all understood the content of the questions and tried to answer objectively and honestly based on their own knowledge and experience. If errors are detected, tourists will be processed and adjusted appropriately before entering data. Therefore, the opinions collected from tourists promise to provide accurate information about tourists, while showing the correct views and assessments of market demand for tourism development linkages in the North Central provinces. The only problem that arises is that tourists often do not fully answer all the questions in the interview form (although they answer the majority, on average over 95% of the total number of questions). In order to make the most effective use of the collected information, all responses to each question were included in the analysis. At the same time, for some questions that visitors left blank (such as the question about the number of children), the author will fill in the appropriate information based on the answers to the relevant questions.

The results of the tourist survey questionnaire were analyzed to find out the main characteristics of market demand for tourism development linkage in the North Central region, and at the same time evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of tourism development linkage in the North Central provinces from the perspective of market demand. The following are the detailed results obtained.

3.3.4.1. Information about visitors

(1) Characteristics of tourists

- About demographics

Table 3.17. Demographic characteristics of surveyed tourists

Sex

Male				Female
57.79%				42.21%
Year old	Medium	15-24	25-34	35-44	45-54	55-64	65+
	32.17	20.73%	42.49%	25.39%	8.81%	2.59%	0.00%
Marriage	Single				Married

34.01%				65.99%
Number of children in the family	Medium	0	1	2	3	4	5+
Number of children in the family	1.70	8.46%	26.92%	56.15%	4.62%	2.31%	1.54%

(Source: Author's investigation)

Table 3.17 shows some demographic characteristics of the surveyed tourists. In general, young tourists with families and children are the main customers of tourism in the North Central provinces. Specifically, the majority of tourists surveyed were male (58%), the rest were female (42%). The average age of tourists was 32 years old, so they were relatively young. Tourists aged 25-34 had the largest proportion (42.5%), followed by those aged 35-44 (25.4%) and 15-24 (20.7%). None of the surveyed tourists were older than 65 years old. This age structure shows that tourists in their youth and before middle age make up the majority. This reflects the fact that tourism in the North Central provinces is a type of tourism with relatively many strong activities, high intensity of movement, and a lot of movement, so it is less suitable for elderly tourists. In addition, most tourists coming to North Central Vietnam are married (nearly 2/3). The number of singles accounts for only over 1/3. Of the married visitors, more than half have 2 children and nearly 1/3 have 1 child. The proportion of families with no children or with many children is quite small. Therefore, it is not surprising that the average number of children of married visitors is 1.7.

- About career

Table 3.18. Proportion of tourists by occupation

Unit: %

Job

Proportion
Students	12.44
Freelance, business, small business	20.73
Farmer	1.55
Workers, general laborers, drivers	8.29
Civil servants, armed forces	9.33
Office staff	12.44
Tour guide, sales staff	7.25
Engineer	11.92
Teacher, Research	8.29
Nurse, doctor, pharmacist, caregiver	5.70
Businessmen	1.55
Retirement	0.52

(Source: Author's investigation)

The occupational structure of tourists is shown in Table 3.18. Basically, occupations with low professional qualifications, therefore small income, account for a large proportion. Specifically, in the 4 groups with a proportion of over 10%, the highest proportion is tourists who are self-employed or do small business or trade (20.7%), followed by students, pupils and office workers (both 12.4%) and engineers (11.9%). Workers, general laborers,

The proportion of drivers, civil servants and armed forces is also quite high, at 8.3% and 9.3% respectively. This occupational structure reflects quite accurately the reality that tourists to the North Central region are mainly ordinary, mass tourists with low incomes.

- About the locality

Table 3.19. Proportion of tourists by locality

Unit: %

Local

Proportion
Hanoi	38.54
Thanh Hoa	3.65
Nghe An	33.85
Ha Tinh	4.17
Northern midlands and mountains	5.73
Red River Delta (outside Hanoi)	2.08
North Coast	5.73
Central region (except Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh)	2.60
Ho Chi Minh City	1.04
Southern provinces (outside Ho Chi Minh City)	2.08
International	0.52

(Source: Author's investigation)

The structure of tourists by locality is shown in Table 3.19. In general, Hanoi and the localities of the region are the two most important sources of visitors for tourism in the North Central region. These two localities respectively contribute 38.5% and 33.9% of the total number of visitors, much higher than the remaining localities and territories, so it is quite consistent with the tourism reports of the North Central provinces. The remaining localities and territories have relatively few visitors to the North Central region. International visitors also account for an insignificant proportion, mainly to Quang Binh and Thua Thien - Hue.

In summary, the results of the survey on tourist characteristics show that domestic tourists, especially from Hanoi and Nghe An, are the main source of tourism in the North Central region. Most tourists are young and travel with their families and children. In addition, tourists in the North Central region are mainly ordinary, mass tourists working in industries with low incomes.

(2) Information about the visitor's visit

- About the purpose of travel

Tourist responses to their visits also provide valuable information that can be used to develop appropriate tourism development policies.

In terms of purpose, sightseeing, relaxation and festivals are the main purposes of tourists in the North Central provinces, shown in Table 3.20. All three purposes are related to the key products and services that North Central tourism is providing in the market, accounting for 94% of the total number of tourists. Apart from these three purposes, other purposes when traveling to North Central are generally insignificant.

Table 3.20. Purpose of visitors' visit

Unit: %

Visit

mandarin

Rest

nourish

Festival

Visit

Job

Conference

other

58.33

26.11

9.44

2.78

2.22

0.56

(Source: Author's investigation)

- About the number of trips

Table 3.21. Number of trips to the North Central region

Unit: %

1 time

2 times

3 times

4 times

5 times

6-10 times

over 10

time

18.33

18.89

23.89

10.00

12.78

13.33

2.78

(Source: Author's investigation)

Regarding the number of times visiting the North Central region, on average each visitor has visited tourist attractions in the North Central region more than 4 times. Only 18.3% of visitors have visited the North Central region once. The proportion of visitors who have visited the North Central region 3 times is the largest, reaching nearly 24%. Table 3.21 shows the results on the number of times visitors have visited the North Central region. A more detailed survey shows that visitors from the North Central provinces travel to their home province an average of 3.88 times, compared to 3.3 times for visitors from other localities. This result shows that the key sources of visitors to the North Central region are visitors from the provinces in the region who have returned quite often, so they can be considered traditional, loyal customers of the North Central region tourism industry. The reason for this fact, in addition to the development efforts of the North Central region tourism industry, is probably due to convenient transportation and reasonable prices. For ordinary and budget tourists, these are especially meaningful factors. Therefore, it is not surprising that more than 97% of tourists intend to return to North Central Vietnam and recommend it to friends and relatives.

- About the form of organizing the trip

Table 3.22. Forms of trip organization

Unit: %

Self-organization

Service	Agency/organization	other
69.73	12.43	11.89	5.95

(Source: Author's investigation)

To make the visit, most tourists organize themselves (nearly 70%). The number of tourists who have to hire an organization service and go with an agency or organization of each type accounts for only about 12%. Table 3.23 shows details about the proportion of each form of organizing the visit of tourists. Most tourists choose to organize themselves, perhaps partly to save costs, but mainly because tourists are too familiar with tourism in the provinces of the North Central region (shown through many visits, and a large proportion of tourists are local people) and travel in groups with many relatives in the family, so they want to increase their initiative. The proportion of tourists traveling with agencies or organizations accounts for only 12%.

shows a big change in tourists' initiative compared to before, especially compared to the subsidy period .

- About the form of information collection

Table 3.23. Forms of collecting information about tourism in the provinces of the North Central region

Unit: %

By myself

Sheet

fall/newspaper

Travel agency

Acquaintance

Exhibition

exhibition/fair

Internet

Media

Uncle

51.01

10.07

2.68

20.81

0.67

5.37

8.05

1.34

(Source: Author's investigation)

Table 3.23 on the form of information gathering by tourists also partly confirms the above results. Accordingly, up to 51% of tourists have their own knowledge about tourism in the North Central region and nearly 21% of tourists seek information from acquaintances. This fact shows that the promotion of tourism in the North Central region through printed leaflets, books, newspapers, exhibitions, fairs, and media probably has more influence on demand in non-traditional markets.

Given the above characteristics of visitor sources, it is not surprising that road is the main means of transport for tourists (76.5%), followed by rail (15.5%). Table 3.24 shows the detailed results of the means of transport used by tourists visiting the North Central provinces.

- About means of transport

Table 3.24. Means of transport

Unit: %

Road

Railway	Waterway	Air	other
76.47	15.51	1.07	6.42	0.53

(Source: Author's investigation)

The study shows that most tourists come from the same localities in the region or relatively close to the North Central region, and work in low-skilled industries. Their spending when traveling to tourist destinations in the North Central region is relatively low, as shown in Table 3.25. Tourists spending between 1-5 and 5-10 million VND are quite large, accounting for 33% and 32.5%, respectively. The proportion of tourists spending between 15-20 and over 20 million VND is still low, at 7.3% and 4.7%, respectively. This survey result is quite consistent with tourism reports of the North Central provinces as analyzed in the previous chapter.

- About spending level

Table 3.25. Spending level

Unit: %

Under 1 million

1-5 million	5-10 million	10-15 million	15-20 million	Over 20 million
7.33	32.98	32.46	15.18	7.33	4.71

(Source: Author's investigation)

Among the expenses, most tourists think that eating and drinking is expensive.

(61% of tourists), followed by entertainment (17% of tourists) and accommodation (9%). Table 3.26 shows the results of tourists' opinions on the biggest expense they have to pay when traveling to tourist destinations in the North Central region. Here, it is quite surprising that 17% of tourists spend the most on entertainment, higher than the 9% of tourists who spend the most on accommodation.

Table 3.26. Most Expensive Expenses

Unit: %

Room

rest

Eat and drink

Travel

Entertainment

entertainment

Shopping

Visit

mandarin

Other

9.09

60.61

4.24

16.97

4.24

2.42

(Source: Author's investigation)

The above results clearly provide valuable information for finding solutions to increase tourist spending, thereby increasing tourism income at tourist destinations in the North Central region.

3.3.4.2. Guest reviews

Similar to the case of experts, the influence of tourists’ personal characteristics on their responses will also be analyzed. Therefore, the following hypothesis tests will be conducted.

H 0 : µ i |dd k = µ i |dd l H 1 : µ i |dd k ≠ µ i |dd l

In which µ i is the average value of criterion i of tourism in the North Central provinces (i=1...47, corresponding to 47 questions in the questionnaire); dd is a personal characteristic of the interviewed tourists (dd=demographic characteristics, education level, occupation, main place of residence/work) and k, l are different levels and groups belonging to the same characteristic (for example, male or female in gender characteristics).

As a result, in most cases, there is insufficient evidence to reject the null hypothesis H 0 at the α=5% significance level. This means that for each evaluation criterion , tourists have relatively little difference in their evaluation opinions even though they may differ in many personal characteristics. In addition, the standard deviation of tourists' evaluations is also relatively small in most cases. 6

In other words, similar to the case of experts, we can conclude that the opinions of tourists are quite concentrated and less influenced by their personal characteristics. Thus, the results of the investigation and survey of tourists can be trusted and used to evaluate the linkage of tourism development in the provinces of the North Central region.

(1) About products/tourist attractions

Table 3.27. Evaluation of tourist products/attractions

Component criteria

Number of observations

Average

Deviation

standard

Climate / Weather

175

4.14

0.81

6 Results of testing the assumptions and calculations will be provided upon request.

Beach

200	4.10	0.81
Natural attractions	196	4.04	0.75
Historical and cultural relics	194	3.99	0.81
Cultural, artistic and sports performances	187	3.57	0.84
Cuisine	198	4.28	0.64
Festivals, fairs, events	188	3.57	0.89
Shopping	189	3.26	0.82
Fun, entertainment (general)	192	3.51	0.84
Water play	192	3.67	0.99
Play with nature	189	3.68	0.88
Adventure play	183	2.78	0.99
Play sports	190	3.38	0.93
Night entertainment	190	3.46	0.96
Linking and coordinating products/locations tourist spot	186	3.51	0.79
Average		3.66	0.85

(Source: Author's investigation)

Table 3.27 shows that in general, the product/tourist attraction factor only reaches the level of Average and Fair (3.66). Existing tourism resources such as climate/weather, beaches, scenic spots, historical and cultural relics are rated much higher (mostly above Fair) than additional tourism resources such as cultural and sports performances, festivals, events, shopping, entertainment, etc. (ranging from below Average to between Fair and Fair). This result is quite consistent with the actual situation where tourists come to the North Central provinces mainly for swimming and relaxation. The added values created from entertainment and festivals are not really attractive and appealing to tourists. The connection and coordination of products and tourist destinations are also not highly appreciated. Among the types of entertainment, adventure entertainment is rated quite low, only reaching an average of 2.78, which is below Average. In reality, it is clear that the North Central provinces have not yet invested in building high-quality sports and adventure entertainment centers that attract tourists.

However, the good news is that the culinary criterion is rated the highest by tourists, reaching an average of 4.28. This is probably also an important reason why up to 60% of tourists spend the most on food and drink. Tourists' opinions on cuisine also have the highest concentration, shown by the smallest standard deviation (0.64). Meanwhile, tourists have the largest dispersion of assessments on entertainment criteria (the standard deviation of these criteria is about 33% of the average). This shows that tourists have diverse and different views when commenting on entertainment products.

The above results reflect that market demand for tourism development linkages in the North Central provinces is most affected by available natural tourism resources and cuisine. In other words, swimming, sightseeing and eating are still the benefits.

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