The research aims to investigate factors affecting the satisfaction of visitors to a national festival, . the Đà Lạt Flower Festival 2012, on the basis of 500 respondents visiting the festival. The SERVQUAL by Parasuraman et al. (1988) with some adjustments is used. | 144 | Hà Nam Khánh Giao Factor Affecting the Satisfaction of Visitors Factors Affecting the Satisfaction of Visitors to Đà Lạt Flower Festival 2012 HÀ NAM KHÁNH GIAO Assoc. Prof. Dr., University of Finance and Marketing Email: khanhgiaohn@ LÊ THÁI SƠN ., University of Yersin, Đà Lạt Email: sonphoto@ ABSTRACT The research aims to investigate factors affecting the satisfaction of visitors to a national festival, . the Đà Lạt Flower Festival 2012, on the basis of 500 respondents visiting the festival. The SERVQUAL by Parasuraman et al. (1988) with some adjustments is used. The SPSS software is also employed to perform the Cronbach’s alpha, EFA, and multiple regression analysis. The results indicate that the visitors’ satisfaction is sharply affected by five following factors, in order of importance, (1) tangibles, (2) empathy, (3) responsiveness, (4) reliability, and (5) assurance. The research also extends several recommendations to the festival organizers in order to enhance the service quality and the visitor’s satisfaction. Keywords: Festival, satisfaction, service quality, SERVQUAL, SERVPERF JED 2012 |145 1. AN OVERVIEW OF FESTIVALS IN VIETNAM According to the 2009 stats, there are 7,966 festivals in Vietnam within a year. Of them there are 7,039 folk festivals (), 332 historical ones (), 544 religious ones (), 10 adapted ones () and others (). Additionally, Vietnam, in past years, has invented various festivals for kite flying, boating, fireworks, coffee, tea, flowers, rice, etc. making the spiritual life of local people more diverse and original. The organization of a festival always entails various activities and services related to accommodation, fairs, exhibitions, workshops, recreation, sightseeing, etc. in every corner of the host locality. Since a festival is organized on the basis of the local and national demand, it is a marketing problem, the answer to which lies in the .
