Tourist Expectation and Satisfaction towards Physical Infrastructure and Heritage Elements in Melaka UNESCO World Heritage Site

Abstract

The expectation and satisfaction level of tourists are required in order to identify the weaknesses that exist in an area. From there, improvements could be conducted to fulfil the needs of tourists regarding heritage elements and physical infrastructure that exists in a Heritage City. Heritage elements are significant as a main attraction force for tourists to visit historic areas. The need for infrastructure is important to improve tourist accessibility when they are visiting a destination. This research is conducted with the hope of studying the expectation and satisfaction of tourists when it comes to heritage elements and physical infrastructure at Melaka UNESCO World Heritage Site. This research applies the quantitative analysis through questionnaire survey forms to a total of 161 domestic and international tourists, together with visual analysis and inventories conducted for the core zone of Melaka City. The results from the visual analysis using the principal component analysis with varimax rotation has identified 24 relevant items that could be divided into three main factors such as heritage elements, infrastructure and supporting elements. From the analysis, the most dominant findings for heritage elements is the museum; in aspects of physical infrastructures, is the most accommodating centres, while facilities factor is in terms of trishaw services. This most dominant finding shows the level of satisfaction accepted by the tourists. On the whole, the satisfaction level is higher than the expected outcomes regarding heritage elements, infrastructure and supporting facilities.

DOI: 10.5901/ajis.2013.v2n8p733