Understanding British and Danish sailing tourism markets: an analysis based on Kano's Evaluation Matrix

Abstract

ABSTRACT Sailing tourism is deemed to be a significant tourism activity and economic contributor. Without an adequate assessment of the impact of marina attributes on tourist satisfaction, sailing destinations may not be able to map out successful marketing strategies and effectively increase destination attractiveness. Therefore, this research examined the marina attributes that impact the satisfaction of British and Danish sailing tourists, by adopting independent-samples t-tests, Kano's Evaluation Matrix (KEM) analysis, and the calculation of customer satisfaction coefficients. This research found differences between the British and Danish sailing tourists’ perceptions of marina attributes. The British sailing tourists place greater importance to safe sailing experience, while the Danish appear to place more emphasis on the service amenities and recreational opportunities. The findings of this research are of benefit to the sailing industry and destination communities as it gives an insight into the factors that are necessary to provide higher levels of tourist satisfaction and consequent improvements to socioeconomic benefits from sailing tourism.