臺灣旅遊吸引力的決定因素:從西方遊客的觀點 - 政大學術集成

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(1)國立政治大學亞太研究英語碩士學位學程 International Master’s Program in Asia-Pacific Studies College of Social Sciences National Chengchi University. 碩士論文. 政治大立Master’s Thesis. ‧ 國. 學 ‧. 臺灣旅遊吸引力的決定因素:從西方遊客的觀點. n. al. er. io. sit. y. Nat. Determinants to the Attractiveness of Youth Tourism in Taiwan: From the Perspective of Western Tourists. Ch. i n U. v. i engch Student: Mark Douglas Schriver Jr. 馬克 Advisor: TsoYu Calvin Lin 林左裕. 中華民國 105 年 07 月 July 2016.

(2) 臺灣旅遊吸引力的決定因素:從西方遊客的觀點 Determinants to the Attractiveness of Youth Tourism in Taiwan: From the Perspective of Western Tourists 研究生：馬克. Student: Mark Douglas Schriver Jr.. 指導教授：林左裕. Advisor: TsoYu Calvin Lin. 政治大亞太研究英語碩士學位學程立國立政治大學. sit. Nat. A Thesis. y. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. 碩士論文. er. io. Submitted to International Master’s Program in Asia-Pacific Studies. n. al National Chengchi University iv. n U i e h Requirement n gofcthe In partial fulfillment. Ch. For the degree of Master in China Studies. 中華民國 105 年 7 月 July 2016.

(3) Acknowledgements I would like to thank my advisor, Professor Calvin Lin. Without his guidance and assistance, this thesis would not have come to be. I would also like to thank my committee members, Chung-Min Tsai and Yi-De Liu, for their input on my thesis during the writing process.. I would would also like to thank my family for all their assistance and support over the years during. 政治大. my time in Taiwan. Without them, none of this would have been possible.. 立. ‧ 國. 學. I would be remiss if I did not thank all the good friends I have made during my time in Taiwan. it.. ‧. and also in the IMAS program. Without them, none of this would have been nearly as fun or worth. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. i n U. v. Lastly, I would like to thank Lili Wu for all of her patience and support during this whole process. Now on to our next stage in life!. Ch. engchi.

(4) Abstract North American and European tourist inflow to Taiwan has been nearly stagnant for almost a decade, while China’s tourists have seen a clear upward trajectory. This thesis aims to determine the travel factors that are preferred by youth tourists aged 20-30 from Europe and North America by using an in depth statistical survey conducted on tourists while visiting Taiwan. By determining these factors Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau can use this information to increase satisfaction rates in. 政治大 satisfaction for North American and European tourists when travelling. Domestic travel and 立 accommodations both scored high on the list of preferences for youth tourists. Little tourism youth tourists visiting Taiwan. Findings suggest that security was the largest determinant of travel. ‧ 國. 學. research has focused on these two regions and age ranges. This thesis provides new insights.. ‧. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Key Words: Travel, Tourism, Determinants, Youth Travel, Youth, Taiwan Tourism Bureau, Satisfaction, Destination, North America, Europe. i.

(5) 摘要. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. 北美和歐洲的遊客來台量已經將近幾乎停滯了十年，而中國遊客卻出現了明顯的上升軌跡。本文的研究目的是要藉由深入的統計調查，確定來自歐洲和北美的 20-30 歲青年遊客的旅行因素。通過確定這些因素，台灣觀光局可以使用這些資訊來提高青年遊客來台旅政治大行的滿意度，研究結果表示，安全性對於北美和歐洲立的旅客有最高的滿意度，國內旅行和住宿都在青年遊客名單上得分很高，很少旅遊研究都集中在這兩個地區和年齡範圍，而本文提供了全新的見解。. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. ii.

(6) TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1. Intro …………………………………………………………………….1 Chapter 2. Literature Review……………………………………………………….6 Chapter 3. Methodology……………………………………………………...……15 Chapter 4. Results and Analysis…………………………………………………...22 Chapter 5. Policy Implications………………………………………………….…35. 政治大 Appendix A………………………………………………………………………..49 立. References…………………………………………………………………………45. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. Appendix B………………………………………………………………………..59. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. iii.

(7) List of Figures. Figure 1-1……………………………………………………………………3 Figure 1-2……………………………………………………………………4 Figure 2-1…………………………………………………………………..12 Figure 3-1…………………………………………………………………..15 Figure 3-2…………………………………………………………………..19. 政治大. Figure 4-1…………………………………………………………………..24. 立. Figure 4-2…………………………………………………………………..25. ‧ 國. 學. Figure 4-3…………………………………………………………………..27 Figure 4-4…………………………………………………………………..27. ‧. Figure 4-5…………………………………………………………………..28. y. Nat. io. sit. Figure 4-6…………………………………………………………………..29. n. al. er. Figure 4-7…………………………………………………………………..30. Ch. i n U. v. Figure 4-8…………………………………………………………………..32. engchi. Figure 4-9…………………………………………………………………..33 Figure 4-10…………………………………………………………………34. iv.

(8) Chapter 1 Introduction. “What gets measured gets improved” –Peter Drucker. 1.1 Background As the Taiwanese tourism market’s inflow increases year over year, the European and North American markets have remained mostly stagnant. Much could be done to make. 政治大. these two markets more aware of Taiwan’s tourism image and the opportunities the country has to offer. While Taiwan is not yet a top destination choice for people who travel in Asia,. 立. it is considered an emerging market to explore and a place to experience something. ‧ 國. 學. different. Once a person experiences Taiwan, they will understand why so many news websites publish articles about Taiwan’s diverse geography or culinary treats. You can see. ‧. this perspective mirrored through Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau’s advertising displayed on their website. Taiwan has a lot to offer, and word of mouth is a powerful tool that has led. sit. y. Nat. to many young tourists coming to explore the island for themselves. From its white sand, blue-green beaches in the south, hiking all over the country, mountainous terrain in the. io. al. er. central valley for experienced hikers, and surfing in the north, tourists have many options. n. iv n C markets in each major city, cultural dotted all over the island, authentic h e ndestinations gchi U. when it comes to soaking in nature and engaging in outdoor activities with unique night. Chinese and Taiwanese dishes, and much more, Taiwan has much to offer a traveler from North America or Europe to experience something truly different. Taiwan’s unique food is another factor of importance for enticing people to visit because the island offers a large variety and of authentic Chinese and Taiwanese foods. Tourists can taste Taiwan’s culture with a wide variety of culinary options. Taiwan is also a rather small island and getting around is quite stress-free. This is a benefit. Youth travelers prefer convenient access to public transportation once at their target destination to get them around the country, especially train lines. North American and European travelers highly value safety when choosing a destination for travel. Taiwan has been recorded as being one of the safest countries, and this should reassure travelers and help them enjoy their time better. When 1.

(9) tourists are visiting the country, they will also feel a sense of security when travelling throughout Taiwan.. 1.2 Purpose of Study The purpose of this research is to gain a better understanding of determinants that are important for satisfaction in youth tourists (aged 20-30). By the year 2020 there will be almost 300 million international youth trips per year, and a large portion will come from North America and Europe -- with youth travelers likely to return to and give more value. 政治大. to a destination (UNWTO, 2011). Youth tourists on average spend more money and time on their travels than their older counterparts. They are considered a growth market globally,. 立. and their spending power is likely to increase (UNTWO, 2016). Therefore it is important. ‧ 國. 學. to understand the travel preferences of North American and European tourists and their habits when travelling. The more their travel preferences are understood and met, the higher the satisfaction they will have with the travel destination. It has been determined. ‧. that consumers will have a higher revisit intention if they are satisfied with their previous. sit. y. Nat. tourist experiences (Chou, 2013).. io. er. To explore factors that can increase or influence satisfaction rates for visitors to Taiwan, this paper employed a questionnaire to detail the stated preferences of visitors. This. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. information is important in determining the likelihood of repeat visits among tourists.. engchi. Figure 1-1, Compared to Mainland China, whose tourist inflow has a constant upward trajectory, European and North American tourist inflow has been almost stagnant during the same period of time. The blue line indicates Mainland China’s tourist increase, while the red and purple lines indicate North America and Europe, which have seen negligible growth from 2008-2015.. 2.

(10) Figure 1-1 Tourism Inflow to Taiwan: 2008-2015.. Tourism Inflow: 2008-2015 12,000,000 10,000,000 8,000,000 6,000,000 4,000,000 2,000,000 0. 政治大. 2009. 2010. 2011. 2012. 2013. 2014. 2015. china. 329,204. 972,123. 1,630,735. 1,784,185. 2,551,532. 2,874,702. 3,987,152. 4,184,102. North america. 449,656. 431,183. 462,610. 482,172. 570,534. 489,048. 550,464. 573,181. Europe. 200,914. 197,070. 203,301. 212,148. 218,045. 223,062. 264,880. 274,035. 3,845,187. 4,395,004. 5,567,277. 6,087,484. 7,311,470. 8,016,280. ‧ 國. Total. 立. china. North america. 學. 2008. Europe. Total. 9,910,204 10,439,785. Linear (china). ‧. Source: Taiwan Tourism Bureau. sit. y. Nat. The following two figures display overall tourist inflow from 1956 – 2015. Figure 1 presents tourism inflow statistics starting with 2008, which is when Taiwan and China. io. n. al. er. started to have direct flights with each other (Moore, 2008). Figure 1-2 shows a spike in. i n U. tourism visitors to Taiwan after the 2008 agreement.. Ch. engchi. v. 3.

(11) Figure 1-2 Overall Tourist Inflow: 1956-2015. Overall Tourist Inflow 12,000,000 10,000,000 8,000,000 6,000,000 4,000,000. 102 年 2013. 99 年 2010. 96 年 2007. 93 年 2004. 90 年 2001. 87 年 1998. 84 年 1995. 81 年 1992. Nat. io. sit. y. 78 年 1989. 75 年 1986. 72 年 1983. 69 年 1980. 66 年 1977. 57 年 1968. 54 年 1965. 48 年 1959. 45 年 1956. ‧ 國. ‧. Source: Taiwan Tourism Bureau. 學. 51 年 1962. 立. 0. 63 年 1974. 政治大 60 年 1971. 2,000,000. al. er. To gain further insight, a tourist survey was created to investigate determinants of. n. iv n C he Americans and European tourists. The results arei discussed in a later section. ngch U. satisfaction specific to travel to identify various travel preferences in young North This data. will be available for the Taiwan Tourism Bureau or other government agencies to use and implement to increase tourism inflow from these two regions. This data can be used to inform efforts to modify policies regarding tourism. It can also be used to inform efforts to create or alter advertising strategies to help focus on specific markets. This thesis tries to differentiate itself from other journals and scholarly work by focusing on the individuals’ needs and tourist habits. This research attempts to get a deeper understanding of young tourists travel preferences.. 4.

(12) 1.3 Chapter arrangement This thesis consists of the introduction, a methodology section, a discussion section, and a conclusion. The literature review discusses information, research, and researchers used to identify the cultural characteristics of North American and European tourists and showing a theory of these two groups travel habits using other researcher’s theories. Also, details why the determinants were chosen for the survey administered to respondents. It will go into detail on what outside research was useful, how it contributed to the research, and what aspects were missing or were not answered. The section also includes two interviews performed with tourism bureau representatives, one from Taiwan and one from Germany.. 政治大 briefly explains the statistical method applied to the data. The methodology section also 立 includes details on the samples obtained and the method of data collection. This section. The methodology and data collection section includes detail on the survey design and. ‧ 國. 學. will also explain how the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) statistics work. Afterwards the section presents the results and analysis showing the reader tourist preferences and the. ‧. overall ranking of each determinant and sub determinant of satisfaction, followed by a breakdown of each of the determinants and an explanation of why they are considered. y. Nat. sit. important for North American and European tourists. Limitations of the research are then. al. er. io. presented, as well as a discussion of where future research can be applied to investigate. n. these relationships. A policy suggestion section is intended to assist the tourism bureau. Ch. i n U. v. with new ideas that can help increase tourism inflow. Additionally, this study conducted. engchi. nonacademic round table discussions on students’ perceptions of Taiwan’s tourism bureau, and results of these session are included. The conclusion reiterates the intent of the thesis and summarizes the results of the thesis. Additionally, it discusses future implications that the results have for informing efforts of the tourism bureau. Additional research that could be studied and methods for further research are also presented and discussed.. 5.

(13) Chapter 2 Literature and Theory Review 2.1 Literature Review The aim of this literature review is to provide relevant information regarding the research question of determinants of attractiveness of tourism destination by the perspective of western tourists. This paper is quantitative by design. While this thesis primarily employs first hand data collected through use of the study questionnaires. The second hand data will be important supplementary data. Data gathered are used to extrapolate on the results of the questionnaire. Most of the second hand information gathered to date has been obtained. 政治大. from international bureaus, literature journals, thesis and dissertation research, and government statistical websites. This review examines the shortcomings of the collected. 立. data, and discusses how it fits into the thesis, including questions remaining unanswered,. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. and discuss any new research that can be performed.. 2.2 Theory Review. Nat. sit. y. One reason why North Americans and Europeans were chosen for this thesis research involves findings based on Hofstede’s (2003) book “Culture’s Consequences: Comparing. io. n. al. er. Values, Behavior Institutions and Organizations Across Nations”. Hofstede used four. iv n C U value h e nofgnational archetypes c h i cultural. national culture dimensions, individualism, uncertainty avoidance, power distance, and masculinity to construct. systems. Then, using. Woodside et al. who applied Hofstede’s dimensions to the international tourism field. Based on Hofstede’s dimensions and Woodside et al.’s application of these dimensions results indicate that western countries and Asian countries have very different behaviors when it comes to travel. The studies showed that Western societies were highly individualistic, less deterred by uncertainty or risk when traveling, and less patient and more assertive when dealing with others, such as workers in the hospitality industry. To highlight the difference, Asian countries had low individualism, avoided risks, and were less assertive. It should be noted that cultures are complex and individuals not always necessarily reflect their country of origin. For travel behaviors, this indicates that North Americans and Europeans prefer not to travel in tour groups, do not mind taking risks (e.g. 6.

(14) adventure tourism, cycling, climbing), and prefer customer services when travelling to be handled quickly and efficiently. This theory can be used in conjunction with the results of the questionnaire, as Woodside et al. shows the characteristics of North Americans and Europeans, while the questionnaire shows what is most important to them when travelling. Used together these two resources can help researchers more accurately understand these two groups of travel behaviors. Additionally, it can help assist the tourism bureau to more accurately target the two groups when making policy or advertising campaigns.. 2.3 Youth Travel. 政治大. Tourism is defined by the World Tourism Organization (UNTWO, 2011) as: “Tourism. 立. compromises the activities of persons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual. ‧ 國. 學. environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business, and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited.”. ‧. There has been no consensus on what ages are considered youth tourism in the specific. Nat. sit. io. al. er. meaning.. y. literature, and the term has been broadly defined. The term youth seems to have a fluid. v. n. By 2010, an estimated 20% of the 940 million international travelers were youth travelers. Ch. i n U. (Demeter, 2011). The market for youth travel is projected from US$173bn in 2012 to. engchi. US$320bn, and the amount of travelers’ will go from 196 million to 300 million at the same time (Vetrak 2012). In the past ten years youth travel has grown rapidly and has contributed to countries’ economies because of youth travelers spending habits (Demeter, 2014). Most of the data collected on youth travel consisted of detailing how it is an emerging market and suggesting how more youth travelers will increase in number and in their spending power. ITB Berlin suggests emerging destinations should produce intensive marking investment to gain more market share and youth travelers. This shows that youth travel is more than just a niche market, and should be taken seriously by governments and companies as ways to incur revenue. The major purpose for travel from youth tourists comes in the form of 7.

(15) exploring and having fun. As youth travelers adopt new technology faster than the older generation, this creates information sharing, customer review, product knowledge, and word of mouth advertising opportunities (Vetrak, 2012).. 2.4 Academic Interest: (How the determinants were determined) Tourist perceptions are important to destination marketing because they will influence a person’s choice of where they want to travel (Ahmed, 1991). As most tourists have travelled to a variety of different destinations, much of the perception is influenced by other. 政治大. destinations previously travelled, and caparison of facilities, attractions, and other service standards (Laws, 1995). Determinants for the questionnaire were chosen each for a specific. 立. reason. Food was chosen because culture and food can be synonymous (Anderson, 2005). ‧ 國. 學. and also gives insight into environmental, economic, and cultural circumstances. A country’s history can be tasted in one bite. Nature was selected because the Taiwan Tourism website and the employees who were interviewed for this paper both talked about. ‧. how attractive the scenery and nature is in Taiwan, and what an attractant it is for tourists.. y. Nat. Safety was chosen because, when travelling, people generally think of their safety when. sit. choosing a destination. The average age of participants for the survey was 26 years of age.. al. er. io. Cost and quality was added because people in this age range are perceived to have a smaller. n. iv n C survey because the interviewee from Taiwan asserted hen i U that while Taiwanese are friendly, h c g but that that road signs and language localization were not as friendly as desired and. disposable income or depend on their parents for support. Friendliness was added to the. something that needed to be improved upon. As transportation is needed to get to the destination and once arrived at the destination, it was important to select this determinant. During research and data collection, a very broad approach was applied to tourists. As stated before, most academic papers group all nations together to explain and interpret data relevant to Taiwanese tourism. Therefore, it is believed that because this thesis paper focuses on youth travelers from Europe and North America, this research is a unique contribution to the literature. Secondly, letting these two groups of tourists complete a survey that directly assesses their travel preferences is also believed to be specific research that has not been previously studied. 8.

(16) 2.5. Interviews with Tourism Officials A series of two interviews were conducted with experts in the Taiwanese Tourism Bureau industry to discuss their marketing strategies and how they entice North Americans and Europeans to travel in Taiwan. These interviews ask questions specifically related to these to tourist groups.. 2.5.1 Interview 1: European Office. 政治大. The first interview was conducted via email with a representative from the Taiwan Tourism. 立. Bureau who resides in Europe who asked not to be identified by name. They were asked. ‧ 國. 學. which strategies and marketing approaches they implement to attract potential tourists in Europe to travel to Taiwan. Below is a summary of their responses:. ‧. The two biggest events that they promote in Europe are the lantern festival and the cycling festival, which came attached with their corresponding promotional websites. The lantern. sit. y. Nat. festival was organized to create a unique event like Munich’s Oktoberfest or Hokkaido’s. io. er. Snow Festival. We want to create an event that is known and unique on the international level that can attract tourists. It also is designed to show Taiwan culture outside of city life. n. al. i n U. and tries to envision national prosperity and tranquility.. Ch. engchi. v. Taiwan also has the cycling festival which the bureau is trying to make Taiwan famous for in having an international-level paradise for leisure cycling. Taiwan’s highway system and topography make for amazing scenery along the route. The festival has many activities and a convenient itinerary, and a not-too-difficult riding experience. The festival’s goal is to try to attract tourists from around the world who love cycling. The representative from the bureau also noted that they market and advertise accordingly. The majority of their focus directed towards France, United Kingdom, and Germany, as they are the three biggest current markets. There has been a trend for active travel in Europe that coincides with cycling travel in Taiwan. The representative further stated that within the European market, Taiwan is not widely known. Therefore their job is a combination of 9.

(17) raising awareness of the island and working together with the press to make sure Taiwan has ample coverage.. 2.5.2 Interview 2: Taiwan Office A government official who works at the Taipei tourism bureau office gave insight on how the tourism office in Taipei caters to different categories of tourists. She relates that the bureau tries to promote Taiwan as a tourist destination abroad that foreigners will enjoy. The bureau is primarily interested in cultural differences regarding western and Asian. 政治大. countries. It is divided up into three sections: Japan and Korea market, Asian market, and Western market (Europe, North and South America). Within each market, different. 立. strategies are implemented. Westerners need more time and money to travel to Asia. ‧ 國. 學. compared to many other destinations, therefore the focus is on the older population that presumably has enough money and time to travel to such a location. They also try to attract people with special interests, such as surfing, bird watching, mountain climbing, etc.. ‧. In terms of viewing preferences for western tourists, the bureau has taken into account that. Nat. sit. y. westerners like to travel on their own, therefore organizations such as transportation. io. er. systems, natural parks, and others were required to be more English accessible. They have also brought in western associations, such as surfing and hiking associations to write about. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. Taiwan so it will be published on western websites to attract tourists.. engchi. The bureau also admits that travel agencies in Taiwan that deal with inbound tourists do not really play a role, as most of them usually cater to group tourists, but the bureau assist in showing these agencies the importance of western tourists. As Taiwan is not a stop over place or cheap to get to, the bureau advertises as such. They do, however, know they could do a better job at attracting tourists. While Taiwan has a very large number of Mainland Chinese tourists, the number for western tourists is considerably lower. Unfortunately the bureau does not know why this is.. 10.

(18) 2.6 Statistics Much of the literature and resources available on Taiwan tourism did not segregate regions or countries in their research. Most of the writings where discussing tourism in Taiwan as a whole, and not individual regions. With China having the dominant inflow of tourist’s year over year followed by other countries in South East Asia, due to Taiwan’s streamlining of the visa application procedure (Euromonitor, 2014), where does this leave tourists from Europe and North America? As will be shown below, North America and Europe have been almost stagnant in the number of people traveling to Taiwan. With the US and Europe having 8 out of ten. 政治大 Tourism Bureau been looking at strategies to lure in these potential high spending tourists? 立 As was stated in the introduction, China comprises the majority of tourists arriving to of the highest international tourism expenditures in 2014 (Figure 2-1), has Taiwan’s. ‧ 國. 學. Taiwan, but this could lead to an over reliance on one market. Catering too much in one direction has the potential of losing tourists from other countries, and possibly being. ‧. affected by any policy change from other countries. Starting in March 20, 2016, Beijing states that the number of tourists allowed to Taiwan will drop to under two million. y. Nat. al. er. io. arriving to Taiwan by twenty percent.. sit. (Straitstimes, 2016). This impact could possibly reduce the number of overall tourists. n. iv n C was also necessary to collect secondhand U other credible sources. Data from h e n gstatistics i from h c the Taiwan Tourism Bureau (M.O.T.C) was helpful in analyzing tourism inflow for North While the survey conducted for this research provided the primary data for this paper, it. America, Europe, China, and every country combined. Total tourist inflow from 19562015 was straight forward, but when trying to ascertain individual countries or regions inbound to Taiwan, the data had to be extracted from individual spreadsheets and manually input to attain the results needed. The data from the MOTC proved valuable in showing that North American and European tourists, while having a slight uptick in travel to Taiwan has remained. between 450,000-570,000 and 200,000 and 275,000 tourists per year,. respectively, from 2008-2015 (MOTC, 2015).. 11.

(19) Figure 2-1 International Tourism Expenditure by Country of Origin.. International tourism expenditure (2014) (USD billion) 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. Source: United Nations World Tourism Organization.. Additionally, the Euromonitor Passport journal on “Tourist Attractions in Taiwan” broke. y. Nat. down its categorical data into seven different categories (e.g., leading tourist attractions by. io. sit. visitors, tourist attractions visitors by category, future forecast tourist attractions by. al. er. sales/category, etc.). This paper grouped all tourists together and did not specify country. n. iv n C tourist groups. While it mentionsh this age group (youth e n g c h i Utravelers), it does not specify if they of origin. It also said that a large portion (Chinese and Japanese tourists) usually arrived as. arrived in groups or as solo travelers. It also does not clarify if these younger travelers are westerners or if it means of every country of origin was included in the data. While the statistics gathered from Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau, United Nations, World Travel & Tourism Council have all yielded data that is accessible and relevant by using. hard statistics to differentiate between countries, this is not the case for other data collected. The Passport Euromonitor papers were less than specific when coming to its collected data. Whether it was who is coming to Taiwan, the destinations most visited around the island, or where the most money was spent by tourists, the paper put every tourists, regardless of country, into one group. It also did not state whether they consisted mostly of group tours. 12.

(20) or individuals traveling. While some data such as the growing South East Asian influx to Taiwan was relevant, the statistics did not really help gain any new insight into tourist arrivals into Taiwan. Passport information lumped everyone together as if every tourist is the same, and this was an assumption and limitation that many of these papers had in common. Statistics gathered for this thesis were helpful, but were lacking in a few important aspects. As stated previously, there is little statistical data that breaks down countries regarding inflow to Taiwan. The exception was the Bureau’s statistical database. Also, little data was found on tourist’s perceptions of Taiwan, satisfaction rates, or return intent for many. 政治大. countries. Many government organizations such as UNWTO have studies that determine what youth tourists prefer, but they do not include any data relating this to Taiwan.. 學. ‧ 國. 立. 2.7 Articles Promoting Tourism. ‧. Many new websites such as CNN, The New York Times, or Esquire frequently publish articles on their websites that highlight certain aspects that make Taiwan unique,. Nat. sit. y. interesting, or shows a reason to visit the country. Topics include the popularity of. io. er. bookstores, the best spot for New Year’s Eve, a go-to city for movie production, places to visit, and places and things to eat while on your travels in Taiwan. These articles offer. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. quick, digestible bites of information for the reader to easily digest. These articles also. engchi. show Taiwan in a positive light, as the articles are pointing out reasons to travel there. News Republic’s article “Why Taiwan Offers the Best Road Trip Experience in Asia” points out some amazing places you can go all around the island. It describes the new and exciting places in Taipei while also talking about more historic sites in Tainan. The author talks of the authenticity of Taiwan and how people will see this place with eyes they have never used. In another article, by Tom Bowles, for Esquire magazine, he gushes about how amazing Taiwan’s food is and how Taiwan became the hottest food destination on earth. Katie Hunt’s article on CNN plays up the recent amount of famous directors and movies being produced in Taiwan, such as Lucy, Life of Pi, and the upcoming Martin Scorsese film, Silence. The New York Times article “Saturday Night in Taipei, and the Cool Kids. 13.

(21) are at the Bookstore” highlights the Taiwan owned Eslite bookstore and its cultural phenomenon in Taiwan where the youth are using is at a place to relax, read books and magazines at their leisure, and maybe even find a date; “the cool people are at the Eslite Bookstore…open 24 hours a day.” As mentioned in one of the interviews, these reporters might have been paid for by a bureau of Taiwan’s government to come over here and write positive reviews, but the articles do not indicate this. These articles have no academic purpose or foundation to solidify the point being made in their articles, but do have a commercial purpose as well as soft power purpose. The intention is to garner media attention for the country to attract people to come visit.. 政治大. Academically empty, yet they still serve a purpose. Without citing the research data or statistics where the data originated from, it is unlikely to be used for academic purposes.. 立. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 14.

(22) Chapter 3 Methodology 3.1 Methodology Figure 3-1 is used as a reference in this paper to help understand North American and European youth traveler’s return rate intention based off satisfaction. The primary goal is to analyze tourists’ travel preferences so the tourism bureau can use the results to produce target market- specific advertising to appeal to specific markets. It can also be used to inform decisions to modify and change policy that could benefit from these results. Cultural style from Woodside’s research using Hofstede’s dimensional model across. 政治大. nations is used in tandem with the travel habits that derived from this papers’ research. Tourism image is the tourist’s perception of Taiwan when they were travelling on the. 立. island. These three categories help to determine travel satisfaction. The higher the travel. ‧ 國. 學. satisfaction, the higher the potential for return. Satisfaction level comes from understanding what tourists prefer, and this can then be used to target market advertise. ‧. n. al. er. io. sit. y. Nat. Figure. 3-1 Return Rate as a Function of Elements Leading to Travel Satisfaction. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 15.

(23) 3.2 Questionnaire Design This paper employed a questionnaire that consists of three sections for the purpose of measuring the components of travel satisfaction for North Americans and Europeans travels in Taiwan and likelihood of revisiting in the future. The survey consists of three parts and in total consists of 71 questions. The survey was administered to tourists and students inquiring about their general travel preference, including that it did not pertain to Taiwan – that information was reserved for the final page of the questionnaire. The first section consists of 33 questions based on a 9-point pairwise comparison analysis comparing two different factors against each other. This method of analysis is from the. 政治大 choice over the other. The first section includes six different topics about tourism, and topic 立 contained three to five options to choose from. The topics included: Nature, transportation,. Applied Hierarchy Process or AHP. The participants were asked give preference to one. ‧ 國. 學. friendliness, food, safety, and cost and quality. The participant then had to compare each category within each topic against each other on the pairwise comparison to organize and. ‧. analyze their decisions. This method is used to optimize decision making when trying to obtain results from complicated, irreversible decisions (Alexander). Respondents were. y. Nat. sit. unaware that the answers they were giving were being associated to Taiwan, as they were. al. er. io. told it was general travel habits. This was done to obtain less biased results. The (1), or. n. neutral choice within the survey can be used for either a respondent who was either on the. Ch. i n U. v. fence with a decision and did not know how to answer, or they were too conflicted between. engchi. the two choices because they think both are equally important. The scale for each possible answer ranged from 1 to 9. (1) Neutral (3) slightly favors (5) strongly favors (7) very strongly favors (9) extremely favors. The participants were given this section with little knowledge, except that it is about tourism, but no specific goal in mind. They were also monitored by a researcher in case any questions would arise. Survey results showed a small few used extremes when choosing their answer, as if it was an either/or choice, but primarily most participants answered the questions with a more across-the-board, less rigid standard.. 16.

(24) The second section of the questionnaire is composed of 15 questions and follows the same 9-point scale as that of the first section. In this section, the respondent is now pairwise comparing the overall determinants; each topic as a whole is being compared instead of the categories within each topic. This section’s results indicate the more general trends to the factors that show what the respondents prefer when travelling. It was observed that when the respondents were completing the survey, they had a much easier time deciding between items included in the overall section then when having to complete the sub categories from the individual sections. This indicates that people are confident in their general travel habits therefore showing the overall data is more likely to be reliable, and thus safe.. 政治大. The third section of the survey assesses general information and details of the tourist and their time and travels in Taiwan. This is the only section that directly pertains to Taiwan. 立. and the person taking the survey’s perception of the country. This part was attached to the. ‧ 國. 學. end of the survey and was not told to the participant when given the questionnaire. Being attached at the end and not informing the participant was done to avoid any correlation to Taiwan when responding to the previous sections. This section is a one-page containing 23. ‧. questions divided into three parts: open ended questions, 1-10 rating scale questions, and. y. Nat. binary yes/no questions. These questions are included to get a better sense of travelers. io. sit. perception of Taiwan and supplement section one and section two’s results and to allow. al. er. comparisons from the AHP data to the panel data’s additional sub factors, that can better. n. iv n C intent. The final question of the h survey in section U is “Would you want to return to e n g c h i three. be used to better understand satisfaction rates of those visiting Taiwan and overall return Taiwan?” By analyzing all the data in sections one and two, and also using the data from. section three, we can examine respondent travel habits and perceptions of Taiwan. If the respondent indicate they are willing to return to Taiwan, we can use and can use the combined results to better understand their preferences and satisfaction needs. We can also use the results if the respondent said no to a return visit to Taiwan.. 17.

(25) 3.3 Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) This paper uses the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method to assess results from the survey. The AHP statistics method is weighted and not based on probability. AHP was originally developed by Thomas Saaty in the 1970’s as a way of dealing with weapons tradeoffs, such as their high costs and a multitude of other factors that conflicted or were not easily specified, and answers that involve difficult choices (Alexander, 2012). It helps decision makers choose the best solution from many different options when dealing with qualitative, quantitative, and even conflicting facts that all need to be taken into consideration. AHP creates a hierarchy of decisions using pair-wise comparison between. 治政 criteria have with each other and creates a relative value 大(Alexander, 2012). AHP provides 立 because human behavior is inconsistent, therefore it tries a mechanism for inconsistencies. each of the items paired, and they are weighted to measure the importance the items and. ‧ 國. 學. to compensate. The AHP process is widely accepted for decision making methods. While others have introduced various alternatives, Saaty’s original model is still the most widely. ‧. accepted, as it is considered the most reliable and has even been used for making multibillion dollar decisions.. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 18.

(26) Figure 3-2. Score of Relative Importance Intensity of Importance. Definition. Explanation. 1. Equal Importance. 3. Weak importance of one over another. 5. Essential or strong importance. 7. Demonstrated importance. Two activities contribute equally to the objective Experience and judgement slightly favor one activity over another Experience and judgement strongly favor one activity over another An activity is strongly favored and its dominance demonstrated in practice The evidence favoring one activity over another is of the highest possible order of affirmation When compromise is needed. 政治大. 立 Absolute importance. 9. y. sit. io. n. al. er. Nat. Reciprocals of above nonzero. Intermediate values between the two adjacent judgements If activity I has one of the above nonzero numbers assigned to it when compared with activity J. then J has the reciprocal value when compared with I. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. 2,4,6,8. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Figure 3-2 shows on either side of the scale the relative importance that each item would have when answering the survey (See appendix 1).. 3.4 Sample As Taiwan sees a little under one million tourists from North America and Europe each year, the capital city of Taipei was chosen as the sample area because it is the most heavily saturated with tourist inflow. Near Sun Yat Sun Memorial Hall and Taipei Main Station were chosen because they are highly visible tourist attractions and destination locations for 19.

(27) the country. As a result, it was easier to find the desired target population. As Taiwan’s tourism bureau statistics show (figure. 1-1), inflow from these two regions has been fairly consistent regarding the number of tourist’s year over year, As such picking two high profile locations for locating potential participants would have a better chance of recruiting willing tourists to complete a survey.. In addition to recruiting tourists in the two previously mentioned locations, students living in Taiwan who have travelled here previously were also asked to participate in the survey. They were also given no mention that the survey was intended to have any connection to. 政治大 until they filled out the final page did they realize it had any connection to Taiwan. 立. Taiwan. They were also told that it was about general tourism habits. Again, it was not. ‧ 國. 學. 3.5 Data Collection. ‧. The sample for this study was composed of European and North American participants. y. Nat. who were either visiting or have visited Taiwan at some point. For anyone who took the. sit. survey and was not from either of these two regions, their date was data was not included. al. er. io. in the final analyses. The data collection occurred between the months of November and. v. n. December, 2015. Most of the data was collected over this two-month period. The. Ch. i n U. respondents were approached and asked if they could complete a survey about tourism.. engchi. The topic of Taiwan tourism was not mentioned. They were then asked if they would be willing to participate in the survey. The willing participants then completed the questionnaire while a researcher stood close by in the event any questions arose. The most willing participants were European and North Americans between 20 and 30 years old. It was observed that older tourists were much less willing to sacrifice their time to fill out what was considered by many taking it to be a time consuming process. Most of the respondents were individuals, but on occasion groups of friends travelling together completed the survey, although not all group members were willing to fill out the survey. With that in mind, the researcher decided to only select one person from the group to fill out the survey, as this would also yield more varied results than if the entire group were 20.

(28) willing to participate. Participants were selected at random times of the day and wherever was possible, as the researcher carried around multiple copies of the survey at all times. Some surveys were discarded because they were not sufficiently completed. Some surveys were also discarded because the researcher incorrectly perceived the person’s nationality, assuming they came from Europe or North America. The researcher did not want to directly ask if someone came from the two regions, as some people might have taken offensive to the selectiveness of the survey or the question may have biased responses to the survey. The Survey was completed by 25 participants. 15 (60%) of the participants are male, and 10 (40%) participants are female. The age range chosen was between 20-30 years old with. 政治大. an average age of 25.76 years of age. 12 (48%) of the participants came from North America, while 13(52%) came from Europe. (See Appendix 1.). 立. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 21.

(29) Chapter 4 Results and analysis 4.1 Results and Analysis Data were analyzed using the AHP methodology. 25 participants met the criteria for inclusion in the study. Results indicated that of the determinants of the survey, safety was the most important. As figure 4-1 shows, safety (.243) was the most important factor for a person when travelling by a noticeable margin. Within the safety dimension, security (.524) was the defining factor of what people want in terms of safety, compared to food safety (.226), which was the second most important factor. As will be explained in a later section, this bodes well for Taiwan, as it is perceived to be one of the safest countries in the world.. 政治大 safe it felt while travelling 立around Taiwan and how at ease they could be.. People visiting Taiwan feel overwhelmingly safe here. Many participants indicated how. ‧ 國. 學. Food (.196) had two strong results with authenticity (.443) and variety (.345) scoring significantly, indicating people have a strong desire to eat unique and authentic foods when. ‧. they travel. Vegetarian (.059) was at the bottom of the list. For the determinant of cost and quality (.182), the determining factor seems to be attractions (.429) for people when they. sit. y. Nat. visit. This indicates travelers would like to visit popular attractions, yet not pay too much when visiting. Taiwan has many low cost and free attractions that are in line with this. io. al. er. determinant. Accommodations (.281) and transportation (.231) were not as important to. n. iv n C U researcher that “they did not care” hparticipants were almost a non-factor as many e n g c htoldi the. the visitor, but are probably be taken into consideration when travelling. Souvenirs (.059). about purchasing gifts for anyone. This could be age related where younger tourists have little interest, but older tourists might favor this factor more heavily. During the administration of the surveys, many people noted that how Taiwan could feel so chilly, yet so wet at the same time during the winter. Even some people from colder climates such as Russia also confirmed this perception. So when it came to nature (.176), it was no surprise when the results showed overwhelmingly that weather (.477) was the most important factor. As Taiwan has a range of cold/wet winters and hot/humid summers, this indicator is important as people have widely different temperature comfort zones. On a more human note, under the friendliness (.121) section, people (.530) were the major determinant, compared to language (.271) and people’s ability to speak the travel destinations mother 22.

(30) tongue. Difficulty reading road signs (.198) when travelling outside major tourist spots was a factor for some. While transportation (.083) was the last determinant on the list, it should still be considered an integral part of travelling. Taxis (.240) and airport access (.239) were of equal importance, but they were not considered nearly as important when travelling as trains (.449) were. This might indicate that when people are visiting a new place, this mode of transportation while travelling is an important variable for satisfaction. While many Taiwanese use motor cycles/scooters (.073) on a daily basis, it seems 20-30 year old North Americans and Europeans had very little desire to rent or use them.. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 23.

(31) Figure 4-1. Descriptive Analysis of Survey Results. safety. 0.243. food. 0.196. ‧ 國. nature. io. 0.176. 6. friendliness. transportation. food. 0.226. pollution. 0.153. traffic. 0.097. authenticity. 0.443. variety. 0.345. healthy. 0.157. al. 0.429 0.281. transportation. 0.231. souvenirs. 0.059. weather. 0.477. 0.167 0.134. beaches mountains. people. iv 0.121 language n Ch U signs e n g c h iroad 0.083. 0.056. accommodations. hiking. n. 5. 0.524. 政治 vegetarian 大 attractions 0.182. Nat. 4. cost/quality. security. 學. 3. Prob.. ‧. 立. Sub-item. y. 2. Prob.. sit. 1. Item. er. Rank. 0.222. 0.53 0.271 0.198. trains. 0.449. taxis. 0.24. airport. 0.239. motorcycles. 0.073. 4.2. Taiwan specific results and analysis As stated above, the last page of the surveyor asked the respondent to answer questions pertaining specifically to Taiwan. As you can see in figure 4-1. of all the questions asked, 24.

(32) the feeling of safety (9.28) was highest ranked. This bodes well for Taiwan, as people feel safe while travelling in Taiwan, respondents said safety was a primary concern for them as a tourist. The Institute for Economics and Peace portrays Taiwan as one of the safest countries in the world, using a range of metrics, such as crime levels, prison population, safety in society, domestic and international conflict, and more. North Americans and Europeans are less concerned with how they get to the destination country, but more concerned with how easy or convenient travel is once they have reached their destination. As for how much people liked the food and night markets, both received high marks as many of the respondents mentioned how different and satisfying the food in Taipei was. Food was highly ranked and many respondents acknowledged they enjoyed the food, but. 政治大 dissuade them from ranking food highly. Others also made mention of how unique and 立. some did admit certain culinary dishes were not to their liking. This did not seem to. novel the night markets were when visiting them. The lowest rank was given to how clean. ‧ 國. 學. Taiwan felt. While it still ranked in at 7.6, this survey was only done in Taipei, thus it is not known if the respondent had travelled to other cities, or they were only visiting Taipei,. ‧. therefore giving a skewed response with only the one location in mind.. 8 7. sit. al. 7.6. 6. v. 9.28. n. 9. er. io. 10. y. Nat. Figure 4-2. Taiwan Specific Survey Questions. Ch. 7.92. 8. engchi. i n U. 8.56. 8.4. Is travel easy in Taiwan?. Is Taiwan's transportation convenient?. 5 4 3 2 1 0 How clean does Taiwan seem?. How much do you Do you enjoy the Do you feel safe in like the food? night markets? Taiwan?. 25.

(33) 4.3 Safety Security was regarded as the single most important factor in the whole survey regarding travel. This bodes well for Taiwan, as participants perceived a feeling of safety while in Taiwan, as indicated by the survey and included in the previous chart (9.29/10). While there is no hard data available for ranking Taiwan’s safety when traveling to the country, websites such as CNN and lifestyle9.org have compiled data from the 2015 Global Peace Index (GPI) using 23 different metrics, and have determined that Taiwan is one of the safest countries in the world. Indicators for determining Taiwan’s safety included: Taiwan has a low crime rating, safe public transportation, low political violence rating, terrorism, and. 政治大 To further confirm tourists’ perceptions of safety in Taiwan, Numbeo has compiled data 立 on 123 people who have visited Taiwan and asked them their perception of crime rates in. civil unrest was low, among other factors.. ‧ 國. 學. the country. The survey is based on a 100-point scale. While the statistics in the graph below are not specific to North American and European tourists specifically, it does help. ‧. reaffirm the overall consensus of how safe Taiwan is perceived (see figure 4-2). Visitors have indicated that when in Taiwan they feel a very high level of safety when walking. y. Nat. sit. around (day or night), and think there is a low probability of being mugged or robbed. They. er. io. also feel the overall level of crime is very low and are mostly unconcerned with being attacked. In almost every category, the respondents chose Taiwan’s safety perception as. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. incredibly low. Interestingly, there was a moderate uptick in what they thought was crime. engchi. increasing over the past three years. Further research should be done to understand why this trend is so different than the rest of the safety categories included on the chart survey.. 26.

(34) Figure 4-3. Numbeo Database (Visitor Safety Perception). 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學 y. Nat. Of the 118 countries covered by Numbeos database, Taiwan was ranked fourth safest (See. n. al. Ch. Figure 4-4. Numbeo: Crime and Safety Index. engchi. er. io. same time received a very high safety index (80.48).. sit. figure 4-4.). It garnered a very low crime index from the respondents (19.52), and at the. i n U. v. 27.

(35) Figure 4-5 The relative Importance of Safety Factors. Safety Security. 0.524. Food. 0.226. Pollution. 0.153. Traffic. 0.097 0. 0.1 Traffic 0.097. Series1. 0.2. 0.3. 政治大 Pollution 0.153. 立. 0.4. 0.5. Food 0.226. Security 0.524. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. Source: Survey Results. 0.6. 4.3 Transportation. y. Nat. sit. While transportation ranked last on the survey in terms of importance, it is notable that. al. er. io. within this section, a majority of respondents said that trains were the most important factor. n. when it comes to transportation. Having an infrastructure of travel destinations that are. Ch. i n U. v. accessible to railroad routes could potentially increase the number of tourists to target. engchi. destinations. Taiwan could use the Trans-Siberian railroad or the Canadian National railway system as reference. These train lines traverse large sections of their respective countries and these are both unique and special tourist attractions that draw people to travel to their respective countries. While Taiwan is considerably smaller than these two nations, it does have a rail system that encompasses the island and shows off the many different landscapes and topography Taiwan has to offer. Based on results of this study, travelers don’t particularly care how they get to their destination, as taxis and airport access were considerably less important. This suggests that the Tao Yuan airport’s Distance to Taipei is not a deterrent. Taiwan has two different and attractive train options. First is the High. 28.

(36) Speed Rail (HSR) that runs along the western border from Taipei in the north, down to Kaoshiung City in the south. Second is the regular train line that runs across the whole island. This train services all the major cities and also goes through a few local routes, such as Pingxi and Neiwan (See Figure 11.). The train route also includes a few scenic routes that travels through forests, mountains, rolling hills, and the outskirts of cities for incredible views. The figure below shows an example of where the local routes are located. Local routes are usually located at a transfer station. Fig. 4-6. Scenic Train Routes Of Taiwan. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. i n C Source: Taiwan Railways Administration hengchi U. v. This is a positive for the train industry in terms of youth travelers. The UNWTO indicates that youth travelers engage in travel more as a form of learning and getting to better understand other cultures and lands, while the older generation consider train travel a form of relaxing vacation and do not explore as much. It can be argued that youth travelers would prefer to take a slower train as they can absorb all the scenery that Taiwan has to offer while going to their next destination. A caveat of the current railroad system is the train cars themselves and the ticket stations. Many of the survey takers noted that they did not realize that their ticket could either be for a standing option or seat option. Some of the tourists said this somewhat hampered their train trips when they boarded the train. They 29.

(37) stated being most disappointed when they have to have a standing car only. Besides ticket confusions, some noted it was hard to actually book a ticket, especially in the east of Taiwan. They said they were unaware that they needed to book tickets in advance to procure one for their preferred departure times.. Figure 4-7. The Relative Importance of Transportation Factors. Transportation. 政治大. Trains Taxis. 0.24. 立. Airports. 0.073. 0 Motorcycles 0.073. 0.2 Airports 0.239. 0.3. 0.4. Taxis 0.24. io. n. er. Source: Survey Results. al. 4.3 Cost and quality. Ch. Trains 0.449. y. Nat. Series1. 0.5. sit. Series1. 0.1. ‧. ‧ 國. 0.239. 學. Motorcycles. 0.449. engchi. i n U. v. This section is unique because of the age parameters included within this paper, as the target age range of respondents 20-30 years of age. Respondents in the survey heavily favored attractions where they could get the most “bang for your buck”. Interestingly, Travelers in this age range actually spend more money than older generations. The WTTC puts leisure spending at 83.9% for tourists, and 76% of respondents also were here purely for leisure. Youth travelers on average spend USD$2,600 on primary trips, compared to the $950 dollar average. This is due to younger travelers taking longer trips, and therefore they end up spending more in total. Another benefit that youth travelers enjoy is that 36%. 30.

(38) were in part provided funds to travel by their family, further increasing their spending power. Current generation youth travelers consider travel as part of their identity, selfdevelopment, a way of meeting new people, and a form of learning. They consider travel to be a lifetime value, and later in life they will often return to places they have visited previously (UNTWO, 2011). While the aforementioned statistics show younger tourists spend more money in the longterm, they still are conscious of trying to get the best value for their money. Additionally, while there is no hard data available on this topic, hostels (accommodations) in Taiwan are in a grey area when it comes to legality. An entire paper could be written. 政治大 accommodations preference from the survey takers. To set up a hostel, owners have to 立 adhere to street, building, and fire code regulations, while also finding a location that is. about this topic, but for this thesis only a small synopsis will be given to support the. ‧ 國. 學. accommodating to said regulations and a location that is also conveniently accessible for tourists. Even after a hostel is abiding by all the rules and regulations, it can still take up to. ‧. a few months to a year to receive a hotel license. Many hostels are set up illegally and do not follow such rules. This can lead to fines or closures of the hostels.. y. Nat. sit. It could be argued since 20-30 year olds view travel as a way of meeting new people from. al. er. io. different cultures and backgrounds, as well as using the hostel to create new experiences,. iv n C Backpackers are usually in the. If Taiwan wants toU h e n g c h i increase its hostel culture, then new rules need to be made to streamline the process for hostels to be built legally and safely, n. addressing these factors can attribute to an improved satisfaction rate while in Taiwan.. and allow for legal short-term stays. Also, hostels should have to obtain a hostel license and not a hotel license, as these two businesses have different operating styles.. 31.

(39) Figure 4-8. The Relative importance of Cost and Quality. Cost/Quality Attractions. 0.429. Accomodation. 0.281. Transportation. 0.231. Souvenirs. 0.059 0. 0.1. Souvenirs 0.059. Series1. 立. 0.2. Transportation 0.231. Accomodation 0.281. 0.5. Attractions 0.429. 學 ‧. ‧ 國. 0.4. 政治大. Factors Source: Survey Results. sit. y. Nat. 4.4. Nature. 0.3. al. er. io. Nature was the most dominant preference for travelers (Figure 4-9.), as some respondents. n. iv n C tourists when choosing a destination for the tourist h eand i U destination’s success (Matzarakis h n c g and Pin, 2009). This is important because with the exception of Taiwan’s few major cities, where quite vocal about how cold a winter in Taipei can be. Weather is important for. the whole of the island is primarily rural. Tourists are more concerned with weather conditions in rural areas than in urban ones. In a paper written by Tzu-Ping lin and Andreas Mazarakis, they use statistics and surveys to determine thermal perceptions of people from temperate zones. Figure 15 suggests that North Americans would be comfortable within a temperature range of 8.1 degrees Celsius up to 35 degrees Celsius.. 32.

(40) Figure 4-9. Frequencies in Temperate Climate People. 政治大. 學. ‧ 國. 立. Source: (Matzarakis, 2009).. ‧. Figure 13 above shows a one year period with ten-day intervals describing the times of the. y. Nat. year where the perceived comfort levels are optimal in Kaoshiung city. Regarding Taipei,. sit. spring and autumn seasons were the most comfortable. This data can be used by the tourism. al. er. io. bureau for rural areas to better gauge what times of the year North American and European. v. n. tourists would feel most comfortable visiting famous destinations, buildings, or landmarks.. Ch. i n U. This data can also be used for tourists themselves to determine their own travel schedule. engchi. based on weather conditions, as younger travelers usually don’t adhere to any traditional travel times (UNWTO, 2011).. 33.

(41) Figure 4-10. The Relative Importance of Nature Factors. Nature weather. 0.477. beaches. 0.222. mountains. 0.167. hiking. 政治大 0.134. 0. 0.1. 立. hiking 0.134. Series1. 0.2. 0.3. mountains 0.167. 0.4. 0.5. beaches 0.222. 0.6. weather 0.477. ‧ 國. 學. Source: Survey Results. ‧. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 34.

(42) Chapter 5 Conclusion and Implications 5.1 Conclusion Whether a tourist wants quality cuisine or adventurous night market food, they can find it here in Taiwan. If a tourist wants to see a vast variety of geographical locations without having to travel far distances, Taiwan has it on offer. If a tourist wants to explore thousands of years of an ancient culture through museums or natural attractions, that is also on display in Taiwan. Travel in Taiwan can be accomplished by travelling via the train routes that put Taiwan’s beauty on display. A safe and friendly island, Taiwan has much to offer in the way to attract and satisfy a tourists’ needs on many levels. Unfortunately for North. 政治大. Americans and Europeans in their tourism inflow to Taiwan has been stagnant for tourists. 立. from these countries over the past decade.. ‧ 國. 學. In an attempt to reinvigorate the stagnant inflow of North American and European tourists, an Applied Hierarchy Process statistical analysis was created by using a three-part pairwise. ‧. comparison survey to more specifically understand the determinants of the travel preferences of these two groups of tourists to prefer. The tourists’ preferences where then. Nat. sit. y. applied to real world policy suggestions to help inform marketing strategy efforts. Additionally, identifying European and North American travel styles by applying. io. n. al. er. Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, in tandem with Woodside’s international tourism field. i n U. v. studies, helps to further understand the traveling habits of North American and European. Ch. engchi. tourists. To determine on the efforts of the Taiwan Tourism Bureau, two interviews were conducted to determine marketing strategies and policies implemented to entice these two groups to travel to Taiwan. The results of this thesis indicate that safety (security) is the prominent determinant of travel satisfaction for European and North American tourists when travelling. This should be taken into consideration by the Taiwan Tourism Bureau when marketing to these two groups. Also, these two target groups have a strong preference for convenient domestic travel, especially trains, when they are trying to get to their target destination. Weather should also be taken into account because tourists from these regions are not used to a different such as Taiwan’s and will most likely not acclimate easily to the weather, so the 35.

(43) travelers should be aware of the climate in Taiwan. The Tourism Bureau could also take into consideration that youth travelers actually spend more money than older travelers, as they often spend more time in one area trying to learn the culture, language, and people. This research focuses on two specific groups of tourists within a certain age range. The research design of this thesis builds upon previous empirical data research to create new information and data for the tourism industry to use to better understand the travel habits and preferences of the customer, while at the same time helping to make marketing strategies more concise and policies better reflect the desires of the tourists. This research attempts to benefit both parties simultaneously.. 立. 5.2 Discussion. 政治大. ‧ 國. 學. Additional research was conducted focusing North Americans and Europeans aged 20-30. The first round of research was performed by creating a Facebook page and asking the. ‧. question: “Before coming to Taiwan, how much of a presence can you remember Taiwan having as a travel destination in your country or noticing a push to get people to Travel. Nat. sit. y. here?” The second round of research involved a focus group and was conducted in a. al. er. io. meeting room with a group of students to ask them what they thought of Taiwan’s tourism. n. presence in their home country and how they were introduced to the island. The. Ch. i n U. v. overwhelming majority of responses replied next to none or none, in terms of perceived. engchi. presence. One student noted an advertisement on a bus in Los Angeles, California, and another student recalled observing one in New York City. While many people said they were unaware of Taiwan’s travel bureau and its marketing endeavors, they did explain how they came to know about Taiwan. Many of the students said they were introduced to Taiwan because they knew somebody who had worked, studied, or travelled here. They extrapolated on this by mentioning most were studying Mandarin Chinese or working as an English teacher in Taiwan. It seemed that word of mouth from friends and family had a far bigger impact with regards to visiting the country than the Tourism Bureau in each students’ home country.. 36.

(44) A few of the participants in the discussion brought up Taiwan’s tourist presence within the country itself. Some of the critiques were that there were very few pamphlets and brochures to pick up when arriving at the airport. Those responding felt the presence of the tourism bureau’s marketing was lacking at the airport terminal. Additionally, one student even brought up the lack of marketing presence around Taiwan, such as at the Taipei 101 and subway stations. Taipei 101 is Taiwan’s most noticeable landmark, and one person remarked that the only tourism section in the entire station was hidden away in a secluded corner that is not easy for the public to access. A general consensus was that when westerners travel in Taiwan it was perceived the bureau did not really pursue marketing and promotions for people who were already on the island. While youth tourists might be. 政治大. more adventurous in their travels, they did note that it would be nice to see some advertising. 立. of attractions while in country.. ‧ 國. 學. 5.3 Gay Tourism. ‧. Gay tourism was not originally intended as a topic upon starting this paper, but upon. y. Nat. research for this paper, it became evident that there was an abundance of literature on the. sit. topic, and therefore needed to be addressed. Further research can be done on this topic and. n. al. er. io. an independent paper could focus on how to relate the data to Taiwan tourism.. Ch. i n U. v. If Taiwan were to permit marriage between same-sex couples, this would make Taiwan. engchi. indisputably the most homosexuality-affirming place in the whole of Asia, and also to make Taiwan (and Taipei in particular) a gay friendly island is arguably an existential geopolitical need to “gain global legitimacy” (Cheo, 2014). This could make Taiwan become an international destination that would attract more travelers. Many destinations have become more open to accommodating gay tourists, and they have also identified that having a gay tourism section is a very profitable sector of tourism. Gay and lesbian tourists account for about 6-7% of global tourism. Financially they tend to have a higher disposable income than their non-gay counterparts, as they make up around 10% of the global travel market (Euromonitor, 2010). For example, in 2011, the average American planned on spending USD$1,058 on leisure or business travel, conversely gay 37.

(45) tourists planned on spending $1,300 on their travel expenditures (World Tourism Organization). As shown in figure 3 previously, western countries account for 8 out of 10 biggest travel spenders by nation. As future growth in tourism is expected to come from the Asia-Pacific region (Passport), it should also be of importance to try to attract more inflow from the west, as they still have the highest purchasing power when it comes to destination travel. Many papers point out that countries more accepting of gay lifestyles and gay tourists have a much higher rate of gay tourists, but Asians countries are still relatively underdeveloped when it comes to gay travel, such as Hong Kong and Singapore for example (Cheo, 2014).. 政治大 group travels, cruises, or立 resorts, or whether individual travel should also be a focus. This Some limitations on the research for now is whether gay tourism should be focused on. ‧ 國. 學. is because gay travelers need to feel comfortable at the travel destination; this ranges from the host destination being friendly/tolerant of gay culture to the tour groups understanding the needs and expectations of the gay traveler (Euromonitor, 2011).. ‧. Figure 4 is used as a reference in this paper to understand North American and European. sit. y. Nat. youth traveler’s return rate intention based off satisfaction. The primary goal is to analyze tourists travel preferences so the tourism bureau can use the statistics to produce target. io. al. er. market specific advertising to appeal to specific markets. It can also be used to modify. n. iv n C h e nmodel research using Hofstede’s dimensional h i Unations is used in tandem with the g c across. and change policy they think could benefit from this data. Cultural style from Woodside’s travel habits that derived from this paper’s research. Tourism image is the tourist’s. perception of Taiwan when they were travelling on the island. These three categories help to determine travel satisfaction. The higher the travel satisfaction, the higher the potential for return. Satisfaction level comes from understanding what tourists prefer, then used to target market advertise This graph is not shown to propose a hypothesis, but to provide a more lucid understanding of the methodology being used in determining consumer satisfaction.. 38.