The Urgency of Mixed Methods Studies in Tourism Research For the Development of Tourist Destinations and Attractions: A Practical Application in Tanjungpinang City, Indonesia

Abstract

Many literature reviews have found that most tourism and hospitality industry research uses quantitative methods; this implies the dominance of the positivist paradigm, which only observes the surface of a case. Tourism science is complicated because it has a multiplier effect involving social, economic, political, technological, cultural, religious, and other aspects with different complexities, so to get an in-depth study, it must be analyzed with a different approach. This study claims to obtain relevant and unbiased findings in formulating development strategies in the tourism industry; the analysis must be carried out through testing (quantitative) and observation (qualitative). This study describes how to apply mixed methods and the process of mixing data. The researchers used tourism data in Tanjungpinang City for matching practice as a case study. Using the concurrent triangulation model and the IFAS EFAS approach, which is a balanced analysis of quantitative and qualitative mixtures, then reanalyzed by sorting out internal and external problems to produce an IE matrix. The data collection method used is questionnaires, interviews, and observations. The quantitative data were analyzed using the percentage technique, and the qualitative using the Miles and Huberman technique. The results describe the tourism potential that can be developed to become a tourism icon of Tanjujgpinan City, namely art, culture, and natural attractions, but the supporting infrastructure still needs to be improved. The IE analysis produces a matrix in cell II, namely the grow and built strategy; this strategy can help tourism planners determine the right direction of development and strategy.