“When small things are impressive” Tourist Satisfaction towards Homestay in Nepal

Abstract

Tourist satisfaction has been considered as a tool for increasing destination competitiveness. This study focuses on tourist satisfaction on home stay in Nepal. This paper emphasized to identify the variables that are related to tourist satisfaction during tourist homestay. It is also focused on analyzing the relationship and impact between the overall tourist satisfaction and home stay attributes. Twenty seven (26) manifest variables were developed for the study. The manifest variables are basically focused on four aspects of home stay attributes namely cultural attraction, hospitality, amenities and safety & security at the homestay destination. Post Exploratory Factor Analysis indicates factor loading for twenty two (22) items as significant, loaded with five (5) factors of homestay attributes named as Amenities & Safety, Reception, Local Cuisine & Accommodation, Local Life style & Costumes, and Cultural Performance. Likewise, 1 (one) statement as dependent variable of overall satisfaction was developed for the purpose. The results indicate a moderate tourist satisfaction level towards homestay. It is worth to look and give emphasizes equally towards these attributes to have a sustainable higher level of tourist satisfaction. Likewise, correlation of five independent variables with the dependent variable was strong. Similarly, out of the five factors, Reception has a greater impact on tourist satisfaction towards homestay. Thereafter, Amenities and Safety, Local Cuisine & Accommodation, Local Life style &Costumes and Cultural Performance has significant impact on tourist satisfaction. The result contributes to a better knowledge on tourist satisfaction towards homestay in Nepal and helps all stakeholders to priorities on developing sustainable tourism planning including homestay tourism. This also contributes to the development of survey instrument for exploring tourist satisfaction for Homestay for the future researchers in Nepal.