The Causal Relationship Factors Affecting the Loyalty of High-value Chinese Tourists towards the Southern Part of Thailand

Abstract

This research examined the vitality of Chinese High-Value Tourist Loyalty, a significant revenue source in southern Thailand. The objective of this study is to analyze the causal relationship between service quality, destination image, satisfaction and perceived value influencing destination loyalty of Chinese high-value tourists. This research used purposive sampling technique to distribute questionnaires (400 sets) to tourists who visited the provinces of Phuket, Krabi, and Surat Thani (Koh Samui). The finding of this research revealed that the proposed model had a good fit of a statistical model was determined by how well it fits a set of observations Chi – Square = 221.830 df = 195.0 Sig. = 0.091 > 0.05 CMIN/df. 1.138 < 2.0 GFI = 0.958 AGFI = 0.931 NFI = 0.974 IFI = 0.997 CFI = 0.997 RMR = 0.032 and RMSEA = 0.020 in the level of significant (P < 0.05). The study’s primary result found that southern Thailand’s destination image indirect affected significantly and positively on Chinese high value tourists’ loyalty in Southern Thailand. The perceived value positively affected on the loyalty of tourist destinations in the south. Service quality had an indirect positive affected on loyalty through satisfaction variables. Finally, the satisfaction had positive directly affected on the loyalty in the Southern Thailand as well. This study’s result showed that stakeholders such as government, business, and educational sectors could utilized it as a guideline to develop the factors that affected high-value tourist loyalty. This will increase the competitiveness of Southern Thailand to be a quality destination for Chinese high-value tourists.