Key Determinants of Visitor Satisfaction and Post- Visit Intentions at a Museum in the Kruger National Park, South Africa

Abstract

Museums preserve and present valued historical artifacts, information, and displays to an information-hungry tourism market. As such, they play a crucial role in the tourism industry, serving as pertinent leisure attractions in many destinations. It is therefore important for management to identify the key determinants that lead to tourist satisfaction and to tourists’ intention to return in future. This knowledge could assist management in making the informed strategic decisions for sustaining such attractions. Very little research has been conducted on this aspect in terms of museums in South Africa, leaving numerous unanswered questions about tourists’ experiences, the perceived quality of sites and tourists’ satisfaction with sites, which ultimately impact their intention to return. A quantitative survey was conducted at the Stevenson-Hamilton Knowledge Resource Centre and Museum (Skukuza Museum) in the Kruger National Park, where a total of 164 responses were obtained. Eight hypotheses were formulated and tested by utilizing Spearman’s correlation, investigating visitor expectations, experience, perceived quality, satisfaction, pleasure, confirmation and visitor intent. The results confirm the hypothesis that when tourists’ expectations are met, they experience a positive service experience and perceive the high quality. When tourists derive pleasure and satisfaction from the visit, they usually commit to a follow-up visit. The results of this study provide a basis for museum management, public sector visitor attractions, employees and academia to further develop these museums as successful visitor attractions.