Tourists Feedback on Their Visit to the Great Wall of China - Essay Example

A STUDY ON THE TOURISTS' FEEDBACK ON THEIR VISIT TO THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA Introduction Tourism industry of any country around the world will not have a continued success if not with the successful implementation of tourism programs, good methods of preservation of the country's tourists' attraction, efficient enticements of tourists. One of the oldest yet still one of the most famous tourist attraction of the world is the "Great Wall of China" located in Beijing China. Any tourist who will be visiting China will not miss the opportunity to see this renowned wall which symbolizes China's rich history and culture. The Great Wall of China is also considered as one of the best known ancient constructions in the world which stretches the long distance of 6,300km, covering eight provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions (http://www.chinatour.com/attraction/greatwall.htm, 2006). It is in this regard that the Great Wall of China is considered one of the best subjects for research and study, particularly in the area of tourism. In recent years, when the tourism industry has started to boom into prominence, The Great Wall of china has recorded one of the most astounding tourists records and is continuously having a grand record even until this modern day. In fact, records show that this tourist spot alone is bringing 5 to 6 million tourists a year, especially during peak seasons. With this number, it is also estimated the Great Wall of China is attracting close to 60,000 visitors a day thereby bringing in 100,000,000RMB a year just for the tickets sale (http://www.chinatour.com/attraction/greatwall.htm, 2006). Objectives of the Study This paper aims to analyze the tourists' feedback regarding the whole tour experience to the Great Wall of China. More specifically this paper addresses the following objectives: 1. Identify the reasons why tourists would want to visit the Great Wall of China 2. Classify the kind of activities or expectations that the tourists have in mind prior to going to the site 3. Identify the part of the tour which the tourists liked the most/least 4. Evaluate the tourists' overall comments after the tour to the Great wall of China Significance of the Study The result of this paper will be very useful to tourism students for they will be given ample information on the different point of views of tourists - what they like, what they do not like, how they talk and criticize, etc. Knowing such information will be a good tool to prepare the tourism students in facing the real challenges in the world of tourism. Moreover, this paper will also play a pivotal role in China's continuous tourism industry's success. The result of this study will serve as a basis if the tourism policy makers in China are doing a good job in promoting the country and the people's culture or if there is a need to change or enhance some aspects of their tourism policies. Future tourism researchers will also find this paper useful. This will guide them on how to go about with their own research undertaking. In the same manner, this paper will give future researcher ample idea regarding the tourism industry, particularly in China, thus can serve as a basis for comparison between other neighboring countries' tourism industry. Limitations of the Study This paper will focus on the tourists coming in and out of Beijing, China, particularly in its one major tourist spot - The Great Wall of China. Because this will only highlight the tourists' feedback on their tour experience, this paper will only be limited to the survey respondents that will be available at the time of data collection and gathering. Thus, the responses may only be limited to the current situation of Beijing China thereby not considering the significant possible comments and/or experiences on the past years. Hypothesis The Greta wall of china is famous for the tourists not only because of the ancient construction but also because of the hospitality shown by the Chinese. The most interesting part of the tour is the chance to walk in the within the boundaries of the walls. Tourists will provide a unanimous positive feedback regarding their experience with their visit to the Great Wall of China - they like the people, the scenery and the richness of the Chinese culture and history that is reflected with the way they have taken good care of this very old structure. Methodology Research Design This paper will use a survey method of data gathering, collection and analysis that will span for 3-4 weeks. The date for data gathering will be strategically set to the peak season or the 'golden week' of Beijing, as stated by the tour operators. This will fall on Labor Day and/or National Day of Beijing. Series of survey questionnaires will be distributed in the first week. The responses from such survey questions will then be summarized and analyzed in the preceding weeks. Tables, graphs and statistical methods will be used to come up with the proper conclusion for this research undertaking. The Survey Questionnaires A survey questionnaire will be distributed to the tourists that went inside the boundaries of the Great Wall of China. The questionnaire will contain three sections, firstly, respondents' demographic information such as age, gender, social status, educational level, average family income (per annum) and the number of visit to the Great Wall of China; secondly, the level of recognition and satisfaction, and third is will contain about comments and suggestions for possible improvements to the Great Wall of china. The first section will just be a 'fill in the blank style as the respondents have the option to write directly about their own demographic information. The second section will consist of two kinds of questions: open-ended questions and close-ended questions. All the items will be assessed by using Linker Scales, from unsatisfied (1) to satisfied (5), i.e. strongly unsatisfied (1), unsatisfied (2), not bothered (3), satisfied (4), strongly satisfied (5); The close ended questions will consist of 6 questions: What can you say about the queuing when buying a ticket to tour the Great wall of China 1. How do you find the services inside the ticketing booth 2. What can you say about the cleanliness of the area 3. What can you say about the tourist guides 4. What can you say about the facilities (such as the toilets, the availability of trash bins, the presence of water and snack bars) inside the structure 5. How do you find the area's response to the tourists' safety concerns while visiting the whole area Open ended questions will consist of the following questions: 1. What are your expectations (things that you want to see and experience) when you decided to tour the Great Wall of China 2. Are those expectations met Why 3. What did you liked the most in your touring experience in this structure 4. What did you like the least 5. What can you comment regarding your overall tour experience Lastly, the third section will also a fill in the blank style with which the respondents will be asked to provide/offer suggestions on what kind of improvements (if there is any) that the Great wall of china must have to provide better visiting experience for the tourists. The Respondents A total of fifteen respondents will be randomly selected each day on a 7-day data gathering time. Each will be asked for a permission to join the survey and spare 1-2 minutes of their time answering the survey questions. Answers to all the questions will be recorded and analyzed. Data Analysis Procedure Data that will be taken from the summarized results will be plotted into tables and graphs. Statistical analysis with be done, particularly the means and percentages, in order to analyze the answers from the close ended questions. Summarization will be done to analyze the answers from the open ended questions. Before making the actual analysis, the stability and reliability of the assessment scale will be tested, if necessary, some redundant and inappropriate indexes will be removed. SPSS reliability analysis will be used and through the judgment from Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Review of Related Literature Tourism in Perspective There are various factors affecting tourism of any country. These factors include (http://www.bized.ac.uk/educators/16-19/tourism/industry/presentation/factors1.ppt#257,2, 2006): 1. Changes in destination which refer to the choices of places to visit for holiday or leisure; fashionable and unfashionable destinations; or popularity of the tourist spot 2. Types of customers or tourists which varies from leisure type customer, business-type tourists, independent travelers, package type holiday makers and age-specific groups 3. The time or length of stay in the area (short term or long-term) 4. Availability of things to do 5. Safety of the place 6. Money involve for the whole tour package (the entrance fee, availability of food and drinking water, transportation fee etc). These are the very things that must be addressed when taking care of any tourist spot. These are the things that the visitors take into consideration when deciding for a place to see. Being able to consider this will make the visitors feel satisfied with the whole tour experience. The Great wall of china - As a Tourist Spot The Great Wall of China has a vast story to tell. It is one of the oldest constructions having been built around 3000 years ago. In the recent history, this wall was used to protect Chinese warriors from being attacked by the enemies. Now, this wall is used as a tourist attraction in China, particularly in the part of Beijing. Because of its being old, some of the parts of the wall have been successfully preserved and even reconstructed. However, there are also some parts which are already torn now serving only as the playground for some villages and a source of stones to rebuild houses and roads (Waldron, 1990). However, based on history, reconstruction and development of the Great Wall started many years back. In fact, even before the first century, B.C.E., the third century C.E., the Han and Sui Dynasties, there already have been men being sent to work for the expansion of the breadth of the Great Wall. This reconstruction continued until the twelfth century to the Qin period. The part of the Wall which is now used as the tourist spot was built by the Ming Dynasty in the middle ages, between the years 1368 to 1644 (Grill, 2006). Today, China's The Great Wall is now considered as one of UNESCO's World Heritage Site which commenced in 1987 and is currently being subjected to a series of restoration effort by the Chinese government (Grill, 2006). Conclusion The research provides an exciting opportunity for the Great Wall to better understand its consumers. With this knowledge, they can make strategic and cost-effective decisions that will help them realize the goals. On the road to success, the researchers and the tour operators will have to tackle quite a few challenges, such as, expanding knowledge and understanding of consumers; increasing awareness among consumers in target markets; increasing competitiveness; generating increased visitation and strengthening visitor retention; extending visit length and addressing seasonality, etc. Works Cited and List of References: Arnold, H.J.P. 1995. "The Great Wall: is it or isn't it" Astronomy Now. 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