Tourist perception and satisfaction on safari tourism at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park in Bangladesh

Abstract

Safari tourism is one of the nature-based tourism initiatives for visiting protected areas, national parks, and wildlife sanctuaries. It is necessary to measure the tourist perception to identify the relevant attributes of tourist satisfaction. The present study aims to measure the tourists' satisfaction at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park in Bangladesh based on tourists' perceptions. The study uses primary data from 350 conveniently chosen tourists through a structured questionnaire survey. The tourists' perception was measured on five dimensions namely attraction, staff and access, facilities, information, and environment and reliability analysis has been carried out. The study considers a multiple regression model and found that four dimensions such as ‘staff and access’, ‘attraction’, ‘facilities’, and ‘environment’ are significant for generating tourists' overall satisfaction. Moreover, the information dimension is important but found statistically insignificant. Several initiatives should be taken to increase the satisfaction of tourists in the study area such as increasing the number of skilled staffs, enhancing opportunities for safari experiences, proper management of the park, reasonable prices for service and facilities, and proper arrangements for the physically challenged visitors.