Evaluation Of Snorkelling Satisfaction Level At Pulau Payar Marine Park, Malaysia
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Date
2015-09
Authors
Salim, Nurbaidura
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Abstract
Marine Parks in Malaysia have received almost 7.4 million tourists from all over the world for the past ten years. Continuous growth in the number of tourists and mass tourism has resulted in an uncontrolled number of tourists, sometimes surpassing the carrying capacity of the site. Due to the open-access nature of marine parks and the failure of the market system in restricting their use, crowdedness tend to take place at the site, resulting in environmental degradation. Such a situation is not only damaging the coral environment, but may also reduce the quality of visitors’ experience and satisfaction level. As snorkeling is the main activity engaged in while visiting the marine parks, this research evaluates the level of snorkelling satisfaction by examining Pulau Payar Marine Park as a case study. This study also considers areas of management which should be improved at the marine park. Also, snorkelling satisfaction was also examined by analysing its relationship with socio-demographic characteristics (age, gender, past travel experience, income, country of origin and education level). Convenience sampling was employed and respondents were selected among day-trip snorkelers visiting Pulau Payar. A sample size of 400 respondents was obtained from the data of tourist arrivals to the park. Data was collected using structured self-completion questionnaires. Of 400 respondents, only 259 respondents completed the questionnaires and valid to be used for data analysis. The results employed Importance-Satisfaction Analysis (ISA) and Gap analysis for both importance and satisfaction level. Findings of the study have revealed that 68.4% of visitors were somewhat satisfied with their snorkelling activity in the study area but there is rooms for improvement to increase their satisfaction level. There are five attributes that require management and improvements from the Marine Park Department such as abundance of colourful coral species, underwater visibility, quality of toilet facilities and crowdedness. Examining the influence of socio-demographic characteristics on satisfaction, only origin and education level were found to be associated with snorkelling satisfaction in the study area. Local visitors are more concerned with safety during snorkelling activity while foreign visitors are more concerned with the variety of reef fishes at the Marine Park. Suggestions include improving public toilet facilities at the marine park, providing clean water, and limiting the number of visitors to the park are suggested to assist the Marine Park Department in sustaining Pulau Payar Marine Park. Findings of the study adds to the body of knowledge on multidisciplinary study of tourism and satisfaction level within the context of Marine Park areas. This study provides an insight to Marine Park authority, state government and service providers to understand the expectations and services needed at the Marine Park.
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