Table 4.13. Results of visitors' evaluations with “word of mouth information” 108
Table 4.14. Results of tourists' evaluation of "environment and tourism activities" 109
Table 4.15. Tourist evaluation results for “natural and cultural features” 110
Table 4.16. Results of visitors' evaluation of "infrastructure" 111
Table 4.17. Tourists' evaluation results of “government support” 112
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Table 4.18. Results of tourists' evaluation of "spiritual beliefs" 113
Table 4.19. Tourist satisfaction level with spiritual tourist attractions 114
Table 4.20. Assessment of tourist loyalty 115
Table 4.21. Results of the assessment of differences in tourist loyalty 116by gender
................................................................ ................................................................ .......................... 116
Table 4.22. Results of differential assessment of loyalty 117
of visitors by age 117
Table 4.23. Post-hoc test results by age groups 117
Table 4.24. Results of differential assessment of tourist loyalty 119 by occupation 119
Table 4.25. Post hoc test results by occupational groups 119
Table 4.26. Results of different evaluation of tourist loyalty according to income 121
Table 4.27. Post-hoc test results by income groups 121
Table 4.28. Results of different evaluation of tourist loyalty according to frequency of spiritual tourism 122
Table 4.29. Post hoc test results by frequency groups 123
Table 4.30. Results of differential assessment of tourist loyalty by religion.. 124
LIST OF IMAGES
Figure 2.1. Relationship model between destination image and evaluation factors and post-travel behavior 19
Figure 2.2. The relationship between perceived attractiveness, perceived quality and value for money on tourists' satisfaction and intention to return 21
Figure 2.3. Destination loyalty construct model 22
Figure 2.4. Wu's (2015) destination loyalty measurement model 23
Figure 2.5. The relationship between destination image, emotional value to satisfaction and loyalty of Vietnamese tourists 25
Figure 2.6. Simple model of buyer behavior 42
Figure 2.7. Detailed model of buyer behavior 42
Figure 2.8. Purchase decision process 43
Figure 2.9. Making decisions about choosing tourism products 44
Figure 2.10. Research model 60
Figure 3.1. Research process 66
Figure 3.2. New scale development process 71
Figure 4.1. Statistics on tourist characteristics by age and occupation 93
Figure 4.2. Statistics on tourist characteristics by gender and monthly income 93
Figure 4.3. Statistics of tourist characteristics according to frequency of spiritual and religious tourism. 94 Figure 4.4. Standardized CFA analysis of destination image scale 95
Figure 4.5. Results of CFA analysis of unidimensional scales 97
Figure 4.6. Results of critical model analysis (standardized) 99
Figure 4.7. Results of linear structural model analysis (standardized) 103
Figure 4.8. Tourist evaluation results with “familiarity” 107
Figure 4.9. Results of visitors' evaluations with “word of mouth information” 108
Figure 4.10. Results of tourists' evaluation of "environment and tourism activities". 109 Figure 4.11. Results of tourists' evaluation of "natural and cultural features" 110
Figure 4.12. Tourist evaluation results of “infrastructure” 111
Figure 4.13. Tourist evaluation results with “government support” 112
Figure 4.14. Results of tourists' evaluation of “spiritual beliefs” 113
Figure 4.15. Tourist satisfaction level with spiritual tourist attractions 114
Figure 4.16. Assessment of tourist loyalty 115
CHAPTER 1
GENERAL INTRODUCTION OF THE THESIS
1.1. Urgency of the topic
Since the implementation of the open-door policy (1986) to date, Vietnam's tourism industry has developed rapidly and holds an important position in the country's economy. The number of international tourists has increased continuously from 6 million in 2011 to nearly 13 million in 2017. Domestic tourists also increased from 30 million in 2011 to 73 million in 2017. Tourism revenue in 2017 also increased from 130 trillion VND to nearly 515 trillion VND (equivalent to 23 billion USD) and achieved a very high growth rate of 25% compared to 2016 (General Department of Tourism, 2018). In addition to directly contributing a large value to GDP (about 7%) and creating nearly 8 million jobs both directly and indirectly. Tourism is also considered one of the industries with many development advantages in Vietnam with the diversity of natural conditions, cultural and historical heritages. According to the World Economic Forum 2017 ranking, Vietnam ranked 30/136 countries in terms of cultural resource diversity, playing an important role in creating momentum for development and contributing to the competitiveness of Vietnam Tourism with other countries in the region (World Economic Forum, 2017).
Spiritual tourism has a long history associated with pilgrimage rituals in religions around the world and is becoming increasingly popular alongside other forms of tourism such as community tourism, ecotourism, adventure tourism, etc. Spiritual tourism plays an important role in today's forms of tourism, meeting increasingly diverse tourism needs from many different groups of tourists. For example, according to the report of the General Department of Tourism, forms of spiritual tourism such as pilgrimages and participation in religious festivals account for more than 42% of the total number of domestic visitors with nearly 15 million visitors to spiritual sites nationwide (General Department of Tourism, 2014).
Developing spiritual tourism is currently an advantage because Vietnam is considered a country with many long-standing cultural and religious heritages and a diversity of tourism resources. As of 2017, Vietnam has 6 world tangible cultural heritages and 12 internationally recognized intangible cultural heritages such as Mother Goddess worship or Hung Kings worship (UNESCO, 2017). It is estimated that the country currently has over 25,000 places of worship of 13 religions (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2016), including many famous places for pilgrimage and spiritual tourism such as Huong Tich Pagoda complex (Hanoi), Yen Tu Pagoda (Quang Ninh), Bai Dinh Pagoda (Ninh Binh), La Vang Holy Land (Quang Tri), Thien Mu Pagoda (Thua Thien Hue), Linh Ung Pagoda
Bai But (Da Nang), Con Dao (Ba Ria Vung Tau), Ba Den Mountain (Tay Ninh), Sam Mountain (An Giang).
In addition, the diversity of ethnic groups, religions and beliefs also makes our country have many unique spiritual and cultural festivals in all localities that can attract tourists. The advantage of cultural and religious resources is the premise for the development of spiritual tourism activities and the dissemination of the national tourism image. Studies show that the development of spiritual tourism activities brings many economic benefits in terms of income and employment for local communities (Piewdang & colleagues, 2013). Such tourism activities also create favorable conditions for the dissemination of images, cultural and religious messages widely, and the sustainable development of religious relics, cultural sites and community identities (UNESCO, 2006). This is also affirmed in Vietnam's tourism development strategy when determining that spiritual tourism plays an important role in the tourism industry and socio-economic development. However, spiritual tourism activities today still have certain limitations such as lack of professionalism, not being developed appropriately and having some negative manifestations in some tourist destinations affecting the image of the tourism industry.
Spiritual tourism has also developed and is highly competitive among countries with diverse cultures, beliefs, and religions, requiring tourist destinations to create and develop their own attractiveness to attract and retain tourists. It is estimated that about 80% of the world's population is practicing a religion (Pew Research Center, 2017) and every year about 600 million tourists participate in pilgrimage, spiritual tourism, and religious activities worldwide (World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), 2011). Religious followers not only have the need to travel on pilgrimage to their religious sites but also tend to travel, explore, and learn about the characteristics of other religions and beliefs (Timothy & Olsen, 2006; UNWTO, 2011).
Vietnam is a multi-religious country with many places of worship, creating attractiveness to attract tourists to spiritual tourism destinations is very necessary. In particular, creating the attractiveness of spiritual tourism destinations plays an important role in attracting tourists who are followers of the same religion and also followers of other religions to experience and explore culture. Thus, developing spiritual tourism activities, attracting and retaining tourists to exploit cultural heritages and beliefs to serve the development of the tourism industry is very necessary for the development of tourism in Vietnam.
Developing sustainable tourism activities tends to depend heavily on the return of tourists. Tourists' intention to return reflects their desire and commitment to a tourist destination. The cost of maintaining a loyal and familiar group of tourists tends to be more attractive than that of attracting new visitors (Zhang et al., 2014). Therefore, to retain tourists to spiritual tourism destinations, it is necessary to create the necessary attraction of the destination for tourists. In addition to relying on spiritual beliefs or religious obligations of believers, spiritual tourism destinations need to aim to create satisfaction for tourists when experiencing the tourist destination, creating tourist loyalty. This can be done through building attractive attributes of the destination or attractive tourism brands for tourists.
Although, in fact, there have been many different studies evaluating the factors affecting tourist satisfaction and loyalty both in the world (Chi & Qu, 2008; Um et al., 2006; Sun et al., 2013; Wu, 2016) and in Vietnam (Phan Minh Duc & Dao Trung Kien, 2017). However, most of these studies were conducted for general tourist destinations such as beach tourism (Sun et al., 2013), resort tourism (Phan Minh Duc & Dao Trung Kien, 2017), or religious sites but not in Vietnam (Piewdang et al., 2013; Nyaupane et al., 2015). Spiritual tourism is different from other forms of tourism because it is associated with the sacredness and spiritual beliefs of tourists towards the tourist destination. Developing spiritual tourism also requires tourist destinations, local authorities, businesses and communities to create attractiveness and a unique brand for tourist destinations to attract tourists, not only based on tourists' beliefs or religious obligations.
Therefore, the researcher chose the topic: "Factors affecting tourist loyalty at spiritual tourism destinations in Vietnam" . The focus of the thesis is to identify factors affecting the attractiveness of destinations and the impact of attractiveness on tourist satisfaction and loyalty to spiritual tourism destinations under the influence of spiritual beliefs. The thesis can make important contributions in theory and practice, contributing to enriching research and understanding of tourist behavior with spiritual tourism activities in developing countries like Vietnam.
1.2. Research objectives
The general research objective is to build and validate a research model.
assess the impact of different factors on destination attractiveness and satisfaction
and tourist loyalty in relation to spiritual beliefs towards the
spiritual tourism destination in Vietnam. The specific objectives are identified as follows:
Firstly, the study identifies factors reflecting destination image and factors influencing destination image, satisfaction and loyalty of tourists to spiritual destinations in Vietnam.
Second, to evaluate the mediating effects of factors reflecting destination image and other factors on tourists' satisfaction and loyalty to spiritual destinations in Vietnam.
Third, suggestions and recommendations to enhance the attractiveness of spiritual tourism destinations to attract tourists, create satisfaction and enhance tourists' loyalty to spiritual tourism destinations in Vietnam.
1.3. Research questions
The main research questions to be answered in the thesis are identified as including:
First, what factors form the image of a tourist destination to attract tourists at spiritual tourist destinations?
Second, what factors influence tourists' perceptions of destination image, satisfaction, and loyalty to spiritual tourism destinations in relation to spiritual beliefs?
Third, how are there differences in the level of influence of different factors on destination image, satisfaction and loyalty of tourists to spiritual tourism destinations in Vietnam?
Fourth, how to create a positive image of spiritual tourism destinations, improve satisfaction and increase tourist loyalty to develop sustainable spiritual tourism?
1.4. Research object and scope
Research object: The research object is identified as the factors affecting tourists' loyalty to spiritual tourism destinations.
Research scope : Research data on the current status of spiritual tourism activities in Vietnam was collected during the period from 2012 to 2017. Survey of tourists at famous spiritual tourism destinations in Vietnam was conducted in 2017.
1.5. Research method
The thesis uses a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to achieve the research objectives. Qualitative research uses interview and discussion techniques.
experts to develop and calibrate research scales in the proposed research model. Quantitative research is used to test the proposed research hypotheses from the research model construction through appropriate multivariate data analysis methods such as Cronbach Alpha, EFA, CFA, SEM, t-test, ANOVA (see details in chapter 3).
1.6. New contributions of the thesis
The research results of the thesis also bring new contributions both in academic and practical aspects. In which:
In theory and science:
Firstly, the thesis has generalized the theoretical basis of spirituality and spiritual tourism and the relationship between the main factors affecting the development of spiritual tourism through evaluating the factors that directly and indirectly affect the satisfaction and loyalty of tourists to spiritual tourism destinations in Vietnam.
Second, the thesis has established a model to evaluate factors reflecting destination image and the influence of factors on destination image, satisfaction and loyalty of tourists to spiritual tourism destinations in the context of being influenced by spiritual beliefs, an inseparable factor from spiritual tourism activities.
Third, through qualitative research methods, the author has developed a scale for the factor of spiritual belief in spiritual tourism activities. In addition, the author also adjusted the evaluation criteria for destination image, familiarity, satisfaction and loyalty of tourists to suit the research context in Vietnam. These adjusted and developed scales all achieved the necessary reliability and suitability through assessments from the empirical data of the study. Therefore, future studies can use these scales to study topics on destination image, tourist loyalty to different forms of tourism, especially spiritual tourism.
In practice:
Through the analysis of secondary and primary data collected during the research of the thesis. The author has made suggestions and recommendations to attract and develop spiritual tourism in Vietnam. Including: (1) Improving the attractiveness of spiritual tourism destinations through (i) preserving natural landscapes;
(ii) develop cultural tourism products; (iii) raise community awareness of sustainable tourism; (iv) enhance local government support for businesses, communities and tourists; (2) Improve tourist satisfaction with destinations
to tourism; (3) Developing tourism products associated with spiritual beliefs related to the beliefs and religions of spiritual tourism destinations; and (4) Promoting social interactions and building destination familiarity with tourists.
1.7. Thesis structure
In addition to the table of contents, general conclusion, references and thesis appendices
is structured into 5 chapters, specifically as follows: Chapter 1. General introduction to the thesis
Chapter 2. Research overview and theoretical basis of factors affecting tourist loyalty
Chapter 3. Research methods Chapter 4. Research results
Chapter 5. Discussion and research implications