Tourists’ Satisfaction with Spa Services: A Case Study of the Eastern Region of Thailand

Abstract

This research is quantitative research using a survey with a questionnaire distributed among tourists who used wellness spa services in the four provinces in the Eastern region of Thailand. As health tourism is now growing, Tourism Authority of Thailand has made an attempt to create Thailand as an international hub of health tourism. The wellness spa industry is an integral part of health tourism, and it is developing to be a holistic wellness spa business, including health, beauty, and ant-aging. Tourists interested in wellness spa services are opulent and willing to spend money for health, beauty, and rejuvenation.  Expected quality, perceived quality, and outcomes of using services are latent to be examined in this research. Expected quality was designated as dependent latent, perceived quality was designated as intervening latent, and outcomes of using services was designated as dependent latent. Items on 5 marketing mixes and on 5 service quality determinants were uses as reflective indicators of the latent. The findings of the research revealed that their expected quality of wellness spa services was high, and their perceived quality was even higher.  The expected quality and the perceived quality of the five determinants of services were all high. The findings confirmed a hypothesis that with perceived quality exceeding expected quality, their behaviors after having used the services would be positive, meaning they perceived values, they were satisfied, and they would repeat using the services. When the relationship of variables was examined with Structural Equation Model, it showed that all items were relevant reflective indicators of the latent. The impact of expected quality on the perceived quality was low, but the impact of perceived quality on the outcomes of using services was substantial. It can be concluded that the wellness spa industry in the Eastern region of Thailand has high growth potential  The region can be an international hub of health tourism with good management, good operation, and good services, along with attractive tourism resources in the region.