Sheffield Business School

BSc (Honours) Tourism Management

Title: A study of visitors’ perception of Ma Wan Park’s Noah Ark

Name: Cheung Ka Po

Student No 91204617

Month Year April 2010

I

Sheffield Hallam University

Sheffield Business School

Title: A study of visitors’ perception of Ma Wan Park’s Noah Ark

FULL NAME: Cheung Ka Po

STUDENT No : 91204617

Supervisor: Dr. Vincent Heung

In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Tourism Management.

Month Year April 2010

II Acknowledgment

I would like to thank all of teachers, classmates, friends and Noah Ark’s staffs who have helped and supported me to finish the dissertation. First of all, I am really grateful to Dr. Vincent Heung for all that he had done. He gives me many professional guidance to my study. I am deeply appreciative of his help. Also, I would like to thank my high diploma teacher Mrs. Lam who gives me some valuable comments to my dissertation at the starting point.

III Abstract

The dissertation presents a study on visitors’ perception of Ma Wan Park’s Noah Ark.

The objective of the dissertation is to identify the visitor’s expectation of Ma Wan

Park and raise visitor’s awareness on the environment protection issue. It will forces on the push and pull factor and the satisfaction level from the visitors. Also, it will find out the target market and expectation of the visitors to sustain the park operation.

The major use of literature is about perception, satisfaction and destination image to help the direction of this current research.

The dissertation uses the Quantitative research which is face-to-face to do the simply interview and questionnaire. The questionnaires are designed based on the literature theory. A survey collect about 150 people in the difference ago group. The questionnaires focus on visitors’ difference factors to analyze their expectation and perception. Independent sample t-tests and one-way ANOVA analysis methods indicated a number of statistically significant differences of value components across demographic. Several comments and theoretical implications are discussed, with suggestions for future direction.

IV Contents

Acknowledgment ...... I

Abstract ...... IV

Contents ...... V

List of Table ...... VIII

Chapter 1 Introduction ...... 1

1.1 Background ...... 1

1.2 Problem Statement ...... 4

1.3 Objective of the dissertation ...... 5

1.4 Significant of study ...... 5

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW...... 6

2.1 The Definition of perception ...... 6

2.2 The elements of perception ...... 8

2.2.1 Psychological motives ...... 8

2.2.2 Basic and Secondary human motives ...... 8

2.2.3 Consumption Values Theory ...... 9

2.3 Application of perception ...... 12

2.3.1 Push and Pull Theory ...... 12

2.3.2 Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs ...... 13

V 2.3.3 Hospitality Promotion ...... 13

2.4 Definition of satisfaction...... 15

2.5 Revisit intention ...... 17

2.6 The Definition of Theme Park ...... 18

2.7 Destination Attractiveness ...... 19

2.7.1 Conceptualization of Destination Attractiveness ...... 19

2.7.2 Major Noah’s Ark facilities ...... 23

2.8 Definition of Ecotourism ...... 25

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY ...... 27

3.1 Research Design...... 27

3.2 Questionnaire Design ...... 28

3.3 Pilot test ...... 30

3.4 Data Collection ...... 30

3.5 Data analysis ...... 31

CHAPTER 4 RESULTS ...... 33

4.1 Results design ...... 33

4.2 Demographic Description of Respondents ...... 34

4.3 The visiting profile ...... 37

4.4 The push and pull factor of visitors to Ma Wan Park...... 38

VI 4.5 Visitors’ Satisfaction of Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark ...... 42

4.6 Gender comparisons for all factors in Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark ...... 46

4.7 Revisit comparisons for satisfactions factors in Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark

...... 49

4.8 One-way ANOVA results of push factors towards different aged group ...... 51

4.9 One-way ANOVA results of education factors towards different education

level ...... 54

CHAPTER 5 CONLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ...... 57

5.1 Conclusion of the results ...... 57

5.2 Recommendations ...... 59

5.3 Limitation of the study ...... 61

5.4 Future Direction ...... 61

Reference ...... 63

Appendix 1 ...... 72

Appendix 2 ...... 74

Appendix 3 ...... 76

VII List of Table

Table 1 Sample Demographic Characteristics ...... 36

Table 2 Sample visiting profile ...... 38

Table 3 Reasons for visiting Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark ...... 42

Table 4 Satisfaction for visiting Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark ...... 45

Table 5 Gender comparisons for all factors in Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark ...... 48

Table 6 Revisit comparisons for satisfactions factors ...... 50

In Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark ...... 50

Table 7 One-way ANOVA results of push factors towards different aged group ...... 53

Table 8 One-way ANOVA results of education factors towards differnet education level...... 56

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Chapter 1 Introduction

1.1 Background

The Ma Wan Park Nature Garden opened on July 1, 2007. This is a new tourist

attraction and education centre combines nature, learning, arts and love. Nature

Garden gives priority to the outdoor interactive education programs. In the Ma Wan

Park, there is the world’s only full-size replica of Noah’s Ark which was completed at

the end of last year. The Ark is meant to promote love and social harmony, and it has

welcomed different groups including over 10,000 disadvantaged people during its

trial run phase. Also, the Ark is meant to demonstrate traditional values and spread

positive values. It will be equipped with a wide array of amenities and feature activities that offer locals and tourists a new experience in a new attraction. Mr. Kwok

who is Kwai Tsing District Council Chairman said: “Ma Wan Park promotes love of

life, family and the Earth and other positive values. The facilities and activities will let

the public, and young people in particular, learn love and build a passion for life that

will help them overcome adversity in keeping with the Noah’s Ark spirit. The Ark

will offer a platform for the private sector and social organizations to show their

social commitment and let young people take part in activities meant to build a caring

community.” (Noah Ark 2009)

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The Noah Ark is on a 270,000-square-foot site on Ma Wan Island overlooking the

Rambler Channel and Tsing Ma Bridge. There are five levels each with a different

theme, including Ark Expo, Treasure House, Ark Life Education House and a seaside

restaurant. The top floor is Noah's Resort. The Ark is surrounded by greenery including topiary animals, a huge swing, amphitheatre, cycle paths and the Nature

Garden. The backdrop of green hills, traditional village and Ma Wan heritage will make the area a new cultural tourism attraction.

As Noah Ark is a new theme park in the tourism industry, it needs to assess how potential residents and tourists perceive Noah Ark as a theme park destination in

Hong Kong. To facilitate the creation of an image that is matchless in the competitive tourism industry in Hong Kong. There are two main international competitors which are Hong Kong Disneyland and Hong Kong Ocean Park. Therefore, Noah Ark needs to recognize what visitors think about the destination and how this influences the marketing of Ma Wan Park as tourist attraction. Calantone et al. (1989) highlighted that it is essential to understand the perceptions of tourists, as this makes it easy for attraction marketing organizations to attract appropriate and specific markets for tourism promotion. It may as well assist in altering, maintaining and improving the image of the attraction. In particular, lifting the image of a destination may boost

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tourism development in the area.

Beside, one of the objectives of Noah Ark is about educating and raising public awareness about the environment. It has some ecotourism base elements in the Park and activities. According to Blamey (1997), to be ecotourism-oriented, the attractions should primarily involve the natural environment, with associated cultural elements constituting a secondary component; also the interaction between the visitors and the environmental attraction should be based on education, learning, and economically sustainable. Such educative and interpretive programmes are used not only to help make more sustainable the uses of a protected area by attitudes and behaviour, but also to enhance the visitor experience (Wirsching et al., 2003). Awareness of the role that the tourism industry can play in conserving natural areas has contributed to the development of ecotourism (Blamey1997), and related concepts such as sustainable tourism and responsible tourism. In theory, ecotourism is natural based, environmentally educational and sustainably managed (Blamey 1997).

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1.2 Problem Statement

Ross and Wall (1999) state that there is a gap between theory and practice within the paradigm of ecotourism, and call for the fostering of the appreciation and protection of natural areas through education. So, the theme park is difficult to educate visitors about protection of the environment. It is rare for the effectiveness of educative and interpretive programmes to be quantified, and even more rare for changes in effectiveness and public perceptions or behaviour about ecotourism to be quantified across decadal time frames. Nowadays, it could not find examples of long term longitudinal studies of the effectiveness of educative and interpretive programmes in protected areas, although my research was not exhaustive. It would seem instead that almost all studies that attempt to link recreational activities with environmental degradation and the provision of visitor education, although frequently highly informative, are limited to ‘one-off’ analyses (Priskin, 2003). Not only is long term longitudinal analysis relevant for gauging the effectiveness of interpretation programmes, it could contribute meaningfully to more broad-based assessments of the management the programmes of Ma Wan Park.

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1.3 Objective of the dissertation

The main objective of this paper is to identify the visitor’s expectation of Ma Wan

Park. Also, Ma Wan Park‘s target group is family type. It helps to find out the most attractive elements in Ma Wan Park. The second objective of the study is to raise

visitor’s awareness on the environment protection issue. It is focus on the previous

states about the gap between the theory and practices. The third objective of the study

is to enhance the Noah Ark to meet visitor’s expectation.

1.4 Significant of study

The worthy of study in Ma Wan Park is about how to raise the green issue to visitors

and educate them to protect environment. It can become a sample for Hong Kong

government to promote green issue to the public as it is a hot topic about saving the

earth. Beside, Ma Wan Park faces two well-known competitors, which are Ocean

Park and Hong Kong Disneyland, in the same target market which is family type

market. Ma Wan Park should build up the competitive advantage to get in the market

share. The research study aims at matching the expectation of family visitor and

arising visitors’ interest of environment protection. The next section will discuss the

relevant literature followed by the methods, data analysis and findings. The paper will conclude with conceptual and suggested future directions of Ma Wan Park.

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CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 The Definition of perception

Personal interpretation of what one sees, hears, and smells, i.e. the reception of sensory stimuli and conscious or unconscious application of them to form an acceptable interpretation of their meaning (Patrick et al. 2004). Kotler and Armstrong

(1996) defined that perceptions is the process involved people selecting, organizing and interpreting information to form a meaningful picture of the world. “Perceptions did not have to be the actual truth, in some cases they were formed without the experience or knowledge and often they were a subjective observation of the world.”

(Schiffman and Kanuk, 1987). So, perceptions could be positive or negative.

Resisinger and Tuner (2003) mentioned that perception can be created without experience and knowledge of the object or person. And they also claimed that perceptions of tourists who had never experienced the product before, and whose perceptions are mostly created on a basis of the knowledge gained form promotion instead of first-hand experience, may differ form the perceptions of tourists who had experienced the product.”

Also, perception is the process by which organisms interpret and organize sensation to produce a meaningful experience of the world. Sensation usually refers to the

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immediate, relatively unprocessed result of stimulation of sensory receptors in the

eyes, ears, nose, tongue, or skin. Perception, on the other hand, better describes one's

ultimate experience of the world and typically involves further processing of sensory

input (Peter 1977).

Moreover, Harrell (1986) stated that perception as ‘the process of recognizing,

selecting, organizing, and interpreting stimuli in order to make sense of the word

around us’. Therefore, perception of goods and services depends in part on the stimuli

to which consumers are exposed and in part on the way these stimuli are given

meaning by consumers. Parasuraman et al. (1985) mentioned that Service quality

reflects the customer’s perception in terms of reliability, responsiveness, assurance,

empathy and tangibles. Also, Special events focus on tangibles which are that

appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel and communication materials.

In some performances, emotion and mood are feeling states that influence people’s

perceptions and evaluations of their experiences. (Zeithaml et al., 2006)

Expected service can be influence by some factors such as word of mouth, personal needs, image, price and past experience. Zeithaml et al. (2006) stated that post-purchase and post-experience evaluations are most important as this is captured

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by companies in measures of satisfaction, service quality and loyalty. Ma Wan Park should build up the word of mouth as it is a very new park in the tourism market.

When it has a positive word of mouth, it can create positive and memorable service experiences to visitors. In addition, meeting expectation is the minimum requirement for customer satisfaction strategy. Exceed customer expectation is the key of the success.

2.2 The elements of perception

2.2.1 Psychological motives

Just as internal and external environment factors affect the hospitality industry, internal and external psychological factors affect the guests and clients of the hospitality industry, and thus the industry as well. The external psychological motivations that draw people to destinations: health, education, culture, recreation, religion, memorials, nature, families and friends, and events.

2.2.2 Basic and Secondary human motives

Research that attempts to classify people’s internal motives and behavior is called psychographic research. Hospitality promoters use psychographic research data to

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decide which market segments to target and what kinds of amenities to offer at a location.

All psychological motives can be classified as either basic or secondary. Basic motives influence everyone and include unlearned needs such as thirst, hunger, sex, fear, and avoidance of pain. Secondary motives are learned needs and include achievement, desire for power and other specialized needs. Secondary motives usually vary from person to person.

In all areas of hospitality, people expect to be safe from harm. Highly publicized attacks on tourists in Florida in 1993 influenced whether some people chose to visit the state. The desire to avoid pain influences some people to bypass sites where outbreaks of disease have occurred or where political conflicts might erupt in violence.

2.2.3 Consumption Values Theory

Shanka and Phau (2008) believed that its unique perspective on consumption values can provide valuable insights to understand destination choice better figure out how consumers make decisions in the market-place and eventually contribute in building

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successful destination images. Initially, Sheth et al. (1991a, b) mentioned that brand

choice is influenced by factors other than functional attributes, such as social, conditional, emotional and epistemic values. These five consumption values may

influence a consumption experience. The five values were conceptualized form a

multiplicity of disciplines, including social psychology, clinical psychology, sociology,

economics and experimental psychology (Sheth et al., 1991a, b). There are three

values which are suitable for Ma Wan Park.

Functional value

“The perceived utility acquired by an alternative as the result of its agility to perform

its functional, utilitarian or physical purposes. Alternatives acquire functional value

through the possession of salient functional, utilitarian or physical attributes” (Sheth

et al., 1991b). “the value is based on the assumption that a consumer driven by

functional value will choose an alternative that performs the best on salient physical

and utilitarian attributes or the alternative that possesses the most of those attributes”

(Tapachai & Waryszak, 2000). For instance, a proposition that can be put forward is: a

visitor will choose Ma Wan Park based on the functional values that it generates, e.g.

food, quality of the infrastructure, Ma Wan Park’s scenery.

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Social Value

The perceived utility acquired by an alternative as a result of its association with one

or more specific social groups. Alternatives acquire social value through association

with positively or negatively stereotyped demographic, socioeconomic and cultural

ethnic groups (Sheth et al., 1991b). It is associated with willingness to please and

social acceptance. Based on this concept, a visitor driven by social value will choose

the alternatives associated with those groups to which he or she belongs, identifies

with or aspires to. For instance, Christian thinks that the Ma Wan Park where has

some bible elements in the Noah Ark is related in their belief, so a Christian visitor

will choose Ma Wan Park rather than Ocean Park and Hong Kong Disneyland because

he/she fells a social connection with them.

Emotional value

The perceived utility acquired by an alternative as a result of its ability to arouse

feelings or affective states. Alternatives acquire emotional value when associated with

specific feelings or when they facilitate or perpetuate feelings or when they facilitate

or perpetuate feeling. An affective based value plays a significant role in many market

choice situations (Sheth et al., 1991b). A visitor driven by this value will choose alternatives that are able to arouse the desired feeling response. For instance, Ma Wan

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Park, being an island with a carefree atmosphere, can awake feelings of freedom and

relaxation in a consumer. Therefore, the visitor will choose Ma Wan Park based on the

emotional values attached to the city.

2.3 Application of perception

2.3.1 Push and Pull Theory

In psychographic research, the push and pull theory explains the combination of push

and pull forces in human motivation. According to the push and pull theory (Kye

1989), internal factors lead or “push” people to travel and visit, while external factors ”pull” them to certain destinations. Positive destination images enhance the pull effect. But negative destination images may trigger the basic human motives of avoidance of pain or fear. These motives may cause some people to bypass that destination, choosing another that they perceive as safer. Other people may prefer their homes to places away regardless of image or time or money available for eating out or travel. They may fear flying or suffer motion sickness. Or they may not comfortable dealing with change or new experiences.

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2.3.2 Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs

The push/pull theory of traveler motivation is closely related to the concept of the

hierarchy of needs as described by Abraham Maslow (1943). Maslow claims that there are five levels of human needs: (1) physiological needs for shelter, clothes, and food; 92) safety needs for protections from physical threats and harm; (3) social needs for belonging and association with others; (4) esteem needs for fulfillment of ego and status; and (5) self-actualization needs for realizing maximum potential secondary motives.

The study can use Maslow’s theory to evaluate tourist motivation. People, who travel to Noah Ark for excited and learn love, life and environment in the Ark, fulfill the social need to enhance knowledge in different area.

2.3.3 Hospitality Promotion

The tourist psychographic profile is an important tool for marketers. Knowing what kind of person would be attracted to a particular place helps marketers develop and place advertising to attract the right personality types.

Marketers combine information from psychographic and demographic studies to find

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out what services will attract specific market segments. The following is a figure 1

relates traveler motivations to possible destination choices.

Self- PUSH Traveler Motivations Actualization

Esteem

Social

Safety

Physiological

Traveler

Spa, Rest and Relaxation

Mini-Vacation to Nearby Site

Ancestral Lands

Exotic Locales

Destination Trip around Attractiveness PULL the World

Figure 1 Push and Pull Theory

Reference: Chon & Sparrowe (1995). Welcome to Hospitality an Introduction, Ch. 9

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2.4 Definition of satisfaction

Measuring customer satisfaction provides an indication of how successful the

organization is at providing products or services to the market settlement. Szwarc

(2005) stated that increasing competition is forcing businesses to pay much more

attention to satisfying customers. Moutinho (1988) mentioned that satisfaction is holistic, emotional response to a situation or event that matches or exceeds expectation and also the desired response to quality of service. Baker and Crompton also agreed that satisfaction refers to an emotional state of mind after exposure to the opportunity.

Harris (2000) defined that customer satisfaction as “the customer’s overall feeling of contentment with a customer interaction.” Customer satisfaction recognized as the difference between customer expectations and customer perceptions. When customers are disappointed with purchases which mean the company did not perform satisfactorily and end up the customers were not worth the price (Zeithaml et al.,

2006). It can be concluded that customer satisfaction and service quality are always linked together as the happiness of the visitors are built up with their visit experience which generate by offering excellent service. Also, customer satisfaction is not only achieved by quality service, also physical evidence affects the result. Zeithaml et al.

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(2006) said that “For those services that really surprise the consumer in a positive way, satisfaction may mean delight.”

Also, Spreng et al. (1996) defined overall satisfaction as an affective state that was the emotional reaction to a product or service. They continued to propose overall satisfaction had two components which were attribute satisfaction and information satisfaction. Attribute satisfaction referred to the subjective satisfaction judgment of the customers resulting from the observations of attribute performance and information satisfaction as a subjective satisfaction judgment of the information used in choosing a product or service. However, measuring customer satisfaction is not always easy tasks. Since some visitors did not base on their expectations and thus their evaluations on generic dimensions. Spreng et al. (1996) mentioned that as the bargaining power of customers is increasing, which makes theme parks visitors to more demand for quality products and service. Therefore, post-visiting evaluation could be easily identified the satisfaction of visitors and achieved the different level of visitor’s expectation.

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2.5 Revisit intention

Tomas (2002) stated that intention to revisit depends upon the extent that visitor expectations are being satisfied. The theme park marketer needs identify the perceived value and the overall satisfaction of different market segments including their visit intention. Branun & Milman (1994) stated that to stimulate repeat visit, a non-pricing strategies such as building new attractions or rides can help encouraging the visit attendance. The satisfied customers will simply re-visit as return guests. Dougles &

Connor (2003) pointed out that customer satisfaction depends on service quality and the perceived value. The satisfaction level is a competitive advantage and influences the customer’s repeat purchase behavior significantly. Barnes (2006) mentioned that keeping customer satisfied will get them back again in order to create higher level of retention.

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2.6 The Definition of Theme Park

The definition of theme was defined by some books and journals. Theme park is known as an amusement park or a kind of visitor attractions which could increase the region’s tourism competitiveness. Wanhill (2002) stated that theme park as “the man-made entertainment complexes, that is the attractions designed almost exclusively for amusement and enjoyment.” Also, Swarbrooke (2002) agreed that theme parks are the human-made buildings, structures and sites. The aim of theme parks which are purpose built to increase visitor numbers, accommodate their needs and maximize the economic impact of tourism.

According to Moutinho (1988) mentioned that theme and leisure park could be a site, uniting in a single enclosure, a series of attractions and activities and completed with a number of important side services. Moreover, Wong and Cheung (1991) noted that themes are divided into three aspects which are main theme, sub-theme and transitional themes. Transitional themes are created for special events which only last for a certain period of time to boost attendance. They also pointed that theme parks target to create the atmosphere of another world and it is essentially the theme that becomes the main part of a theme park experience In addition, theme parks are surrounded by commodities and service, which are combined to add value by

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experiences that generate memorable mood benefits for the visitors.

Milman (1991) stated that theme parks are generally designed to cater to the family as

a visiting unit, and they viewed as a form of leisure activity because they provide an

opportunity for entertainment during an individual’s discretionary free time. McClung

(1991) agreed that theme as a family-oriented entertainment complex built around a

theme, which was larger in size and had more rides and attractions than amusement

parks.

2.7 Destination Attractiveness

2.7.1 Conceptualization of Destination Attractiveness

For decades, tourism researchers have tried many ways to explore the dimensions of

destination attractiveness, one popular way of which is to examine the attributes

associated with the destination. Mayo and Jarvis (1981) defined the notion of

destination attractiveness as “the perceived ability of the destination to deliver individual benefits”. This ability is enhanced by the attributes of a destination. These attributes “consist of all those elements of a attractive point that draw travelers to away from their home” and can be viewed as the “pull factors” that lead an individual

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to select one destination over another once the decision to travel has been made (Dann,

1977). They comprise the entire range of facilities and services offered locally,

together with all socio-cultural, environmental resources and public goods (Buhalis,

2000). Law (1995) grouped these destination attributes into two major categories. One

of the categories is those developments introduced particularly for tourists, such as

hotels, catering, transport, activities and entertainment. He further claimed that the

attributes are necessary to reinforce the attractiveness of the destination. Similarly,

Van Raaij (1986) viewed a tourism destination as a set of attributes that are partly

“given” and partly “manmade” part. In the “manmade” part, there exist features such as hotel and transportation facilities, package tours and facilities for sports and recreation, which can be adapted to customer preferences, subject to budget restrictions.

As is evident from the foregoing discussion, the attractiveness of a destination is determined by its unique attributes. The importance of these attributes helps people to evaluate the attractiveness of a destination and make destination choices. The more a destination is able to meet the needs of its visitors, the more it is perceived to be attractive and the greater the probability that it will be selected as the final destination.

The influence of destination attractiveness is not limited to the stage of selecting the

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destination, but also affects the behavior of tourists in general. It is noted that destination attractiveness is the most significant predictor of revisit intention (Kozak et al. 1998; Sparks 2007; Um 2006). In order words, the more impressed visitors are with the destination, the greater visitation frequency is expected. An investigation of the impact of destination attributes on frequency of visitors and their intention weakness of a destination by assessing its attractiveness level.

For the purpose of this study, the attractiveness of the Noah Ark, which is likely to influence the visitor behavior intention, is assumed to be determined by the frequently used attributes identified above and classified into three major categories: core attractions, supporting infrastructure, and safety & security (see Figure 2). Core attractions are the primary elements of destination appeal. They are the key motivators for visitation to a destination and the fundamental reasons why prospective visitors choose Noah Ark. In the context of Noah Ark, core attractions are comprised of three main parts: the museum in the Ark, beautiful view and learning love and environment center. Supporting infrastructure consists of a variety of commercial services and facilities offered to visitors to satisfy their accommodation, catering and transportation to Ma Wan needs. They exert a secondary effect on the motivation to travel and provide the foundation for the development of strong tourism resources

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(Crouch et al. 1999). A well-established supporting infrastructure can contribute to

making the destination more attractive on the one hand, while tourist satisfaction will

also grow owing to the increased quality of infrastructure base (Murphy et al. 2000).

Finally, Noah Ark has many learning set of love, life style and environment, those

elements can encourage visitors to revisit. In Hong Kong, visitors usually come and visit the Noah Ark with their families, including children. The maintenance of fun and joy is highly valued by those visitors with families.

Core attraction

 Museum in the Ark  Beautiful scenery

 Learning love and environment center

Supporting  Accommodation Destination Visit  Transportation Attraction frequency  Catering

Safety and security

Figure 2 A Proposed Model of the Attractiveness of Noah Ark

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2.7.2 Major Noah’s Ark facilities

Ark Garden and Expo

The path leading to the Ark will be lined by 67 pairs of sculptures of endangered or

rare wild animals to teach visitors about their characteristics. The sculptures,

waterfalls and ponds in the garden surrounding the Ark will remind visitors to love

animals and treasure the environment. The Ark Expo will allow visitors to experience

an exciting adventure. They will be able to watch a 180° screen showing the connection between the Ark and the future of mankind, and also feel the flood that covered the earth. There will be models of the ark and a colourful animal kingdom

including the only honey-pot ants on display in Asia, allowing visitors to appreciate

the wonders of nature and see and understand the challenges the earth is facing in the

4D theatre (Noah Ark 2009).

Noah’s Adventureland

Adventure Land will challenge visitors’ courage. It will have an eight-metre giant

swing, challenging participants to a ‘leap of faith’ and a rope ladder by the sea will

allow people to experience ‘walking on air’. A rock climbing wall will test physical

and mental strength (Noah Ark 2009).

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Treasure House

Treasure House will be a children’s museum for training young minds. It will have 15 fun-filled galleries with themes covering life education, development of the mind and liberal education. It will encourage children to think and be creative and learn through interactive games and activities. They will learn to develop character in the global village, build confidence through drama lessons, learn to make music, learn science by observing the earth in action and apply their imaginations to different arts and crafts (Noah Ark 2009).

Ark Life Education House

The Ark Life Education House will provide visitors the chance to explore the true meaning of life in its different stages through innovative, interactive games. People will be able to set personal goals and trace their steps through life; addressing challenges in the interactive forum. They will be able to learn what life means and how to achieve harmony of the body and mind. It will be ideal for school trips, corporate training and visits by individuals and organizations (Noah Ark 2009).

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Noah’s Resort and Harvest Restaurant

Guests staying in the Noah’s Hotel will be able to experience life on the Ark enjoying

sunshine and greenery in Ma Wan Park or seeing the historic Ma Wan village within

walking distance of the park. They will also be able to have coffee on the coffee

lounge. The hotel will offer double / twin rooms and hostel dorms with their own

bathroom for groups of four to eight people. The Harvest Restaurant will be by the

seaside where customers will be able to see both the Tsing Ma and Ting Kau bridges

in the distance. It will have international cuisine, and will be suitable for wedding

banquets and other gatherings (Noah Ark 2009).

2.8 Definition of Ecotourism

Ecotourism initially was promoted by Hetzer who endorsed ‘ecological tourism’ by

identifying four criteria to measure ecotourism activities: minimizing environmental

impacts, respecting host cultures, maximizing benefits to hosts, and maximizing

tourist satisfaction. Now ecotourism had various definitions and synonyms such as green, sustainable, nature-based, alterative, and adventure tourism; other includes elements of environmental education. Ceballos-Lascurain (1987) defined that ecotourism as traveling to relatively undistributed or uncontaminated natural area with

the specific objective of studying, admiring, and enjoying the scenery and its wild

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plants and animals, as well as any existing cultural manifestations both past and

present found in these areas. Ceballos-Lascurain (1987) stated that ecotourism aims to

conserve biodiversity, sustains the well being of local people, includes learning experience, and involves responsible action on the part of tourists and the tourism

industry.

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CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY

3.1 Research Design

A review of the relevant research has shown that the most common approach to the assessment of destination attractiveness is to study the unique attributes of a destination and to explore the perceptions of those who were attracted by them (Kim

1998). Since, there were not secondary data from Ma Wan Park or other research by some search companies and Ma Wan Park. Primary research should be carried out. In the study, a quantitative research is concerned with measurement. According to business dictionary, the definition of quantitative research is that the use of sampling techniques (such as consumer surveys) whose findings may be expressed numerically, and are amenable to statistical manipulation enabling the researcher to forecast future events or quantities. So, the study would carry among of data to analyze the result.The questionnaire used in the study measures visitor’s demographic characteristics, the push and pull factors by destination attributes to let visitors to make a decision of going to Ma Wan Park and the visitor’s satisfaction with the Noah Ark facilities, food and beverage, customer service and Ma Wan Park’s environment.

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3.2 Questionnaire Design

A survey questionnaire was developed to examine respondents’ perceptions of the important of destination attributes in determining the attractiveness of Ma Wan Park.

The survey questionnaire consisted of 4 parts. The part A of the questionnaire consisted of frequency and stay times of Ma Wan Park, which carried out about the simple reach of revisiting in Ma Wan Park. The part B of the questionnaire was

related about the reasons for visiting Ma Wan Pak. There were two parts in this

section which were 8 items of push factor and 4 items of pull factor. These factors

attempted to capture the underlying determinants of destination attractiveness of the

Ma Wan Park. The part C of the questionnaire was related about satisfaction of Ma

Wan Park. There were 14 items to measure satisfaction of different areas in Ma Wan

Park, it could be analyzed the customer’s satisfaction on Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark, and it could help to Ma Wan Park how to match the visitor’s expectations. The part D contained questions designed to extract visitors’ demographic characteristics, including gender, age, education level, monthly income and Occupation.

Questionnaire should be easy and clear to guide the respondents to finish the questions. Some of the questions were put in Likert-scale format in order to examine how strongly the respondents agreed or disagreed with the statements that followed

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and how important or unimportant statements were (Sekaran 2003). Responses were

measured on a five-point Likert scale for more variability. In part B of the questionnaire, the respondents were requested to answer a score of each item about

the reasons for visiting the Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark, ranging from not at all

important (1) to very important (5). And in part C of the questionnaire, the

respondents were requested to answer a score of each item about the satisfaction for

visiting the Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark, ranging from very dissatisfied (1) to very

satisfied (5).

The questionnaire had two versions which were Chinese and English versions. It

could suit for different visitors to do the survey. The questionnaire samples are shown

in Appendix 1 and 2.

Based on these findings, we could measure the degree of visitor’s needs and wants,

and help Ma Wan Park to improve the service and capture different views for

attracting more visitors.

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3.3 Pilot test

Before posting the survey to the public, the questionnaire was tested by pilot test. It

was because the questionnaire must be unambiguously. The Pilot test aimed to find

out any problems in the questionnaires. For example, the questionnaire had some

unclear of the questions, or sometimes typed wrong wording and misunderstanding

wording. Also, the questionnaire had two versions, it might has a little unclear

translation from English to Chinese. It is important to correct the mistakes and

minimize the difficulties to answer the questionnaire. So, the result should be more accurate and reliable. During the pilot test, there were 15 respondents who were

tourism management students, friends and they had visited Ma Wan Park and Noah

Ark. All of them were answered and commented both the English and Chinese version

of the questionnaire. After the Pilot test, some misunderstanding and wrong wordings

were corrected in order to avoid ambiguities. The revised questionnaire was used

during the survey.

3.4 Data Collection

The target group was the visitors who had visited Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark as they

understood and experienced the facilities and service in the park. The collection

period was within 5 days from 15th February 2010 to 12th March. The time was

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around 4:00 pm to 7:00pm that visitors had visited the park and returned to home as it

is good time for do the survey. All of the survey using face to face interviews, this was

the direct way to collect the data, so the data could control in high standard and

realistic. The target collection was about 150 respondents in the Ma Wan Park and the

interview was about 3 minutes and had two versions which were Chinese and English.

And the response rate was 100 percent.

3.5 Data analysis

After collecting the data, the data used the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences

(SPSS) to analysis the data. The data was analysis in two parts which were frequency analysis and independent sample t-Test analysis. They used to compare the relationship the data and found out the useful and meaningful result.

Frequency analysis was carried out for part A and D in the questionnaire which was visit frequency and demographic characteristics. The purpose of mean comparison was to find out satisfaction level of visitor. Independent Sample t-Test was used to identify the differences between the demographic and the visitor’s perception. Also, using Analysis of variance (ANOVA) which is a methodology employed in determining if the variance between the mean in different sets of observations is

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greater than what may be attributable to chance. The changes show the demographic factor, selection factor and satisfaction factor to develop the theoretical framework. It used to analysis part B and C.

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CHAPTER 4 RESULTS

4.1 Results design

In this chapter, the collected data from the survey would be analyzed. Also, it found out the motivation and satisfaction factors of Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark from the visitors. All of the results were come from the primary research. The result had 3 parts which were simple frequencies, mean rating of different motivation and satisfaction factors and using t-Test to analyze overall satisfaction of different groups.

The simple frequencies were performed on the visitor’s demographic and travelling profiles. That background information could provide some expectations of visitors in

order to help devising appropriate recommendations for improvements. Mean rating

was used to rank the visitors’ perceptions and satisfaction regarding the relative

importance of 26 items of push and pull factors and satisfaction factors. And the t-test

analysis shows that the significant difference between the different general and age

group related to expectation and satisfaction of Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark. It could

analyze the visitors’ behaviour and how to match their needs and wants.

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4.2 Demographic Description of Respondents

There were 150 valid questionnaires were collected. All of the respondents were Hong

Kong residents. The demographic profile’s data was in the part D in the questionnaire.

In the table 4.1, the gender distribution was 44 % male respondents (N=66) and 56% female respondents (N=84). For age group distribution, the sample was predominantly younger. There were 20% (N=30) of respondents aged 18 – 25 and

40% (N=60) of respondents aged 26-35. It was 60% of respondents 35 of below the ages. Age 36-45 was about 24% (N=36) and age 46-55 was about 16% (N=24). It was found that Ma Wan Park‘s target group was aged 26-35 who was a family type visitors.

For educational level distribution, there was 20% (N=30) of respondents who graduated with Secondary School level, the respondents who graduated with

Technical Diploma level was 20% (N=30) same as Secondary School level. The majority of the respondents who were educated with degree level were 52% (N=78).

There was 8% (N=12) of respondents who graduated with Postgraduate level. It was shown that most of the respondents were well educated.

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For occupation distribution, there was 20% (N=30) of respondents who were students, there was 24% (N=36) of respondents who were white collars. The majority of the respondents who were professionals such as teacher, doctor and designer were 52%

(N=78). There was 4% (N=6) of respondents who were housewives. Another occupation did not have any data by the respondents, so it would not show in the table

1. The result was shown that most of the respondents had a job and most of them were professional.

For monthly income level distribution, there was 24% (N=36) of respondents who got below $10,000 per month as more 80% were students. There was 36% (N=54) of respondents who got income level in between $10,001 to $20,000. That was the largest group in this distribution. There was 20% (N=30) of respondents who got income level in between $20,001 to $30,000 because there were many professionals to increase the Income level. Also, there was 16% (N=24) respondents who got income level in between $30,001 to $40,000. And 4% (N=6) of respondents represented the income level which more than $40,001. It was shown that most of the respondents were worth and had educated.

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Table 1 Sample Demographic Characteristics

Demographic Characteristic Frequency Percentage (%)

Gender Male 66 44 Female 84 56 Age Group 18-25 30 20 26-35 60 40 36-45 36 24 46-55 24 16 Educational level Secondary level 30 20 Technical Diploma level 30 20 Degree level 78 52 Postgraduate level 12 8 Occupation Student 30 20 White Collar 36 24 Housewife 6 4 Professional 78 52 Monthly income level Below $10,000 36 24 $10,001-$20,000 54 36 $20,001-$30,000 30 20 $30,001-$40,000 24 16 $40,001 or above 6 4

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4.3 The visiting profile

In the table 2, it was shown that the respondents visited profile which was the part A in the questionnaire. There was about 96% (N=144) of respondents did not visit the

Ma Wan Park before. Only 4% (N=6) of respondents visited the Ma Wan Park and

Noah Ark second time. As the park operated about one and half years, many visitors might visit the Ma Wan Park in the first time. And none of the respondents had visited the Park more than two times.

For the visiting hours, it was shown that there was about 92% (N=138) of respondents who used about 3 to 5 hours for visiting Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark. Only 8% (N=12) of the respondents who used about less than 3 hours of visiting the park. Ma Wan Park is not a very big park such as Ocean Park. Therefore, visitors could stay in the park

around 6 hours. Also, the Noah Ark’s capacity was not very large. And Ma Wan Park

and Noah Ark had a good crowd control system to manage the visitors. So, if visitors

came to Ma Wan Park on weekday, they could use all of the facilities in the Noah Ark

within 3 hours.

For the revisit Ma Wan Park, it was shown that there was about 68% (N=102) of respondents who would like to revisit Ma Wan Park in the future. However, there was

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about 32% (N=48) of respondents who would not revisit Ma Wan Park in the future. It

seemed that Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark could not attract most of the visitors to

revisit the park. Therefore, maintaining the visitor’s satisfaction and matching their

expectation level are very important task because it influences the visitors’ revisit

behaviour. Keeping visitor satisfied was an art to increase the number of visitors.

Table 2 Sample visiting profile

Demographic Characteristic Frequency Percentage (%)

How many times have you visited? 1 times 144 96 2 times 6 4 More than 3 times 0 0

How long did you stay? Less than 3 hours 12 8 3-5 hours 138 92 More than 6 hours 0 0

Will you visit the park again? Yes 102 68 No 48 32

4.4 The push and pull factor of visitors to Ma Wan Park.

In this study, one of the objectives was identified the visitor’s expectation of Ma Wan

Park. There was push and pull factor to understand the visitors’ perception on Ma

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Wan Park and Noah Ark’s performance. The result could find out the Ma Wan Park which has a positive destination images to enhance the push and pull effect.

There were 12 items in the part B which was the reasons for visiting Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark in the questionnaire. 8 items were push factors which were internal factors to push residents and tourists to visit Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark. 4 items were pull factors which were external factors to pull residents and tourists to visit the

Park. All of the 12 items were scored based on the 5-point scale that indicates the respondents’ perception and expectation of Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark.

In the table 3, there was the mean ranking of push factors. The result was shown that visitors wanted to facilitate family and kinship ties which were the highest means 4.12 in the push factors. It is because the Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark has some activities for family type of visitors and built up and strength family relationship. In the demographic result, the age group of 26-35 was the highest number to visit Ma Wan

Park and Noah Ark. On the other hand, the second higher mean was rest and relax in the Ma Wan Park which was 4.04. It seemed that visitors thought Ma Wan Park was a good place to escape the stressful working life. Ma Wan has a lot of beautiful scenery and still atmosphere to let visitors for relaxation. Also, the reason of visiting an

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attraction that would impress my friends and family was one of the higher mean

which was 4. The Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark‘s activities were very successful to

build up family and friend’s relationship. As Mr. Kwok who is Kwai Tsing District

Council Chairman said: “Ma Wan Park promotes love of life, family and the Earth

and other positive values.” It was very successful of the park.

However, there were three low means push factors in the table. The lowest mean was

the experience of rejuvenation which was 1.68 and the standard deviation was 0.837.

Ma Wan Park is not like Ocean Park and Hong Kong Disneyland where they have many amusement rides and funny characters. So people were difficult to feel that they get fun atmosphere in Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark. Also, Noah Ark was not targeting this group visitor who wanted to get excited. The second lower mean about the visitors wanted to more about the animals which was 2.4. It seemed that visitors did not want to be educated about the knowledge of animal. Also, the knowledge of the earth was not attracted by the visitors. The mean was about 2.76 which was the third lower in the table. One of the objectives of Noah Ark is about educating and raising public awareness about the environment. But now, it was very difficult to educate visitors. Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark also could find out the effective method to educate visitors.

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In the table 3, there was also the mean of pull factors. The result was shown that ma

Wan Park and Noah Ark has nice scenery which was the highest means 4.16 in the

pull factors and the standard deviation was 0.733, it was the lowest standard deviation in this table. Most of the respondents agreed that the scenery was the important part of the Park. The result showed that visitors were very enjoyable the beautiful view because it was very difficult to visit in their busy life. When they saw the nice scenery, they felt relax and free. But, the special events of Noah Ark’s mean was about 2.84, it seemed disappointed of the organisation that it hold some event in the Noah Ark about the animals, earth and some Christian knowledge. In fact, visitors were not like the theme included some knowledge of protecting environment elements in it.

About the mean of the life learning was about 3.4. It seemed that visitors had some mental needs and relationship building. They were very enjoyed of those life activities in the Noah Ark. And the mean of the educational opportunities of Noah Ark was about 3.36. It was in average of the visitors’ perception.

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Table 3 Reasons for visiting Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark

Attributes Rank Mean Standard (N=150) Deviation Push Factors I want to facilitate family and kinship ties 1 4.12 1.035 I want to rest and relax 2 4.04 0.873 I want to visit an attraction that would 3 4 0.982 impress my friends and family I want to spend more time in the outdoor 4 3.8 1.022 I want to experience different activities 5 3.44 1.064 in my life I want to know more about the earth 6 2.76 1.179 I want to know more about animal 7 2.4 0.982 I want to experience rejuvenation 8 1.68 0.837

Pull Factors Noah Ark has nice scenery 1 4.16 0.733 Noah Ark provides life learning 2 3.4 1.299 Noah Ark provides educational opportunities 3 3.36 1.165 Noah Ark provides special events 4 2.84 1.086

(5 = Very Important; 1 = Not at all Important)

4.5 Visitors’ Satisfaction of Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark

In this study, one of the objectives was find out the most attractive elements in Ma

Wan Park. The result was analyzed the satisfaction about after visiting the Ma Wan

Park and Noah Ark’s facilities and service quality.

There were 14 items in the part C which was the satisfaction factors of Ma Wan Park

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and Noah Ark in the questionnaire. All of the 14 items were scored based on the

5-point scale that indicates the respondents’ satisfaction of Ma Wan Park and Noah

Ark.

In the table 4, there was the mean ranking of satisfaction about the facilities and customer service. The result was shown that Cleanliness which was the highest means

4.2 in the table, and the Standard Deviation was about 0.695. It is because visitors were very care about the cleanliness of the area. As, there were a lot of educated visitors to visit Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark, and family type of visitors were special care about the cleanliness to confirm their children safety. Also, Ma Wan Park and

Noah Ark were the newest destinations, so they provided good hygiene of the area.

Therefore, the source was very high of the cleanliness. The second higher mean was friendliness of staff in Noah Ark which was 3.88 and the Standard Deviation was about 0.767. It seemed that the Noah Ark‘s staffs were helpful in the life learning activities which were leaded by the staffs. They had a good explanation of the activities and they paid a lot of attention and joyful to visitors. Therefore, visitors gave a high marks to life learning in table 4.3. Also, operation hour was one of the higher mean which was 3.56. Another high means was the crowing control and waiting time in Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark‘s. Good control of the waiting time was a successful key to manage the theme park. Visitors could keep a good mood for

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waiting the activities. In Ocean Park, some of visitors needed to wait about half an hour to play the amusement ride. Therefore, Noah Ark had a little bit competitiveness advantage.

But, there was some disappointed result in the Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark. In the table 4, there were three attributes which were low than 2.6 mean. The lowest mean was the variety of food and beverage which was 1.96 and the standard deviation was

0.776. Most of the visitors thought that Noah Ark could not provide favorite food choice to customers. Food and beverage were the important factor of visitors’ staying times. In the table 2, the time of visitors’ staying was not longer than 6 hours. If Noah

Ark could provide some good quality food and beverage, visitors will stay a long period in the park. The second lower mean was the price of food and beverage which was 2.04 and the standard deviation was 0.766. Not only visitors dissatisfied about the food choice, also they dissatisfied about the price. In Noah Ark, one set lunch was about $35-$45. Visitors did not accept a high price and did not have choice to choose the food. Also, some of the visitors thought that the admission price was not reasonable. The mean of the admission price was about 2.6 and the standard deviation was 0.695. The admission price of Noah Ark was about $100 per adult. Visitors did not think valuable of this high price. It meant that Noah Ark should reset the price or

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add more activities to value the Noah Ark that visitors think it is valuable.

Table 4 Satisfaction for visiting Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark

Attributes Rank Mean Standard (N=150) Deviation Cleanliness 1 4.2 0.695 Friendliness of the staff 2 3.88 0.767 Operation hours 3 3.56 0.498 Staffs’ willingness to help the guest 4 3.52 0.757 Crowding control and waiting time 5 3.36 0.796 Fun atmosphere 6 3.28 0.666 Variety of activities 7 3.12 0.818 Learning material 8 3.04 0.722 Accessibility 9 2.88 1.073 Special events 10 2.76 0.652 Admission price 11 2.6 0.695 The Price of Food and Beverage 12 2.04 0.766 Variety of Food and Beverage 13 1.96 0.776

Overall satisfaction of Ma Wan Park 3.44 0.639

(5 = Very Satisfied; 1 = very Dissatisfied)

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4.6 Gender comparisons for all factors in Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark

Although the different variables received relatively high ratings, it is imperative to establish possible difference that may exist between groups based on gender, age and education level of usual residence. Ma Wan Park looking to boost their tourism market share should take into account the characteristics of their target markets and shape their image and positioning efforts to particular socio-demographic segments.

In the table 5, an independent t-test would be used to establish whether the dimensions of push and pull factors and satisfactions factor of Ma Wan Park and

Noah Ark were significantly different between male and female.

Table 3 illustrated that male and female had similar source about push and pull factors and satisfaction factors. The overall satisfaction of Ma Wan Park was about 3.54

(male) and 3.43 (female) and the standard deviation was about 0.584. It seemed that

Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark’s activities and facilities were welcomed two parties.

However, there were some factors which should be concern. In satisfaction factors, the price of food and beverage and the variety of food and beverage were gotten the lowest mark which were 1.82, 1.73 of male and 2.21, 2.13 of female.

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There were some factors which were the means higher than 4. Both visitors had a high

perception of the rest and relax, the family relationship, the nice scenery and

cleanliness in the park. There were some different views between two groups. Male

visitors had higher mean of spending more time in the outdoor that the mean was 4 and the female’s mean was 3.64. Also, Male visitors thought that the friendliness of the staff was important. The mean was 4.09 and the female’s was 3.71. About female visitors thought that the impression of friends and family was important. The mean was 4.14 and the male’s was 3.82.

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Table 5 Gender comparisons for all factors in Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark

Attributes Gender Male Female (N=66) (N=84) t-value Sig. Push Factors I want to facilitate family and kinship ties 4.09 4.14 3.007 0.086 I want to rest and relax 4.09 4.00 0.631 0.000* I want to visit an attraction that would 3.82 4.14 -2.029 0.000* impress my friends and family I want to spend more time in the outdoor 4.00 3.64 2.148 0.288 I want to experience different activities 3.73 3.21 3.007 0.086 in my life I want to know more about the earth 2.73 2.79 -0.300 0.729 I want to know more about animal 2.36 2.43 -0.400 0.020* I want to experience rejuvenation 1.73 1.64 0.611 0.005* Pull Factors Noah Ark has nice scenery 4.18 4.14 -0.302 0.200 Noah Ark provides life learning 3.36 3.43 -0.303 0.709 Noah Ark provides educational opportunities 3.27 3.43 -0.812 0.642 Noah Ark provides special events 3.09 2.64 2.551 0.277 Satisfaction factors Cleanliness 4.27 4.14 1.137 0.185 Friendliness of the staff 4.09 3.71 3.065 0.037* Operation hours 3.55 3.57 -0.316 0.548 Staffs’ willingness to help the guest 3.82 3.29 4.549 0.777 Crowding control and waiting time 3.36 3.36 0.049 0.001* Fun atmosphere 3.27 3.29 -0.118 0.129 Variety of activities 3.12 3.12 0.512 0.628 Learning material 3.00 3.07 -0.600 0.000* Accessibility 2.73 3.00 -1.551 0.893 Special events 2.37 2.98 2.551 0.277 Admission price 2.55 2.64 -0.851 0.691 The Price of Food and Beverage 1.82 2.21 -3.197 0.233 Variety of Food and Beverage 1.73 2.14 -3.366 0.172

Overall satisfaction of Ma Wan Park 3.45 3.43 0.246 0.584 *Significant lower than 0.05 level

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4.7 Revisit comparisons for satisfactions factors in Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark

After looking at the results of visitors’ perception and satisfaction of Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark, it was important to analyze the revisit of the Ma Wan Park. Ma Wan

Park should sustain the volume of customers that it could educate visitor about the protection of the environment. This was also the Ma Wan Park’s objective. The result was used an independent t-test to analyze the revisit factors. In table 2, there were only 62% of visitors who planned to visit Ma Wan Park in the future. It seemed that

Ma Wan Park could not sustain the visitors to revisit the park.

In the table 6, visitors who were not revisit Ma Wan Park had a high source of the overall satisfaction. It was about 3.38 and the standard deviation was 0.001. Visitors thought Ma Wan Park was good destination place. However, there was some dissatisfied mean in the table 6. The food price and the quality were talked on the above part. There was admission price and accessibility also the main factor that visitors did not revisit Ma Wan Park again. Their mean were 2.38 and 2.88. Also, another factor was the Noah Ark was too small that visitor would not go the Ark again.

In the table 6, there were some factors that visitors would like to visit the Ma Wan

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Park again. The cleanliness, friendliness of the staff and crowding control were gotten a high mean which were above 3.5. Noah Ark should strength its advantages and minimizes its weakness to attract visit to come again.

Table 6 Revisit comparisons for satisfactions factors

In Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark

Attributes Revisit Yes No (N=102) (N=48) t-value Sig. Satisfaction factors Cleanliness 4.24 4.13 0.906 0.081 Friendliness of the staff 3.88 3.88 0.055 0.025* Operation hours 3.53 3.63 -1.097 0.022* Staffs’ willingness to help the guest 3.47 3.63 -1.166 0.398 Crowding control and waiting time 3.35 3.38 -0.158 0.134 Fun atmosphere 3.12 3.63 -4.637 0.434 Variety of activities 3.12 3.12 0.512 0.628 Learning material 2.94 3.25 -2.484 0.908 Accessibility 2.88 2.88 0.039 0.005* Special events 2.37 2.98 2.551 0.277 Admission price 2.71 2.38 2.780 0.162 The Price of Food and Beverage 2.18 1.75 3.238 0.014* Variety of Food and Beverage 2.00 1.88 0.920 0.059

Overall satisfaction of Ma Wan Park 3.47 3.38 0.853 0.001* *Significant lower than 0.05 level

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4.8 One-way ANOVA results of push factors towards different aged group

According to table 1, the age group of 26-35 and 36-45 were the most percentage of the visitors to Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark. It is worth that Ma Wan Park’s marketing provided their events and activities to family type visitors. Family type visitors should be the target customers. In the table 7, One–way ANOVA analysis was reported statistically significant differences for different age group of the push factors. It was shown that the young family group and elder family group had a different needs and

Ma Wan Park should respect their wants and needs to sustain the number of visitors.

Table 7 illustrates that elder family who were 36-45 and 46-55 age group respondents had a strong satisfaction to the Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark. The overall satisfaction means of 36-45 was about 3.67 and 46-55 was about 3.75. Other age group respondent’s mean were about 3.4 (18-25) and 3.2 (26-35). It seemed that the Ma Wan

Park was suitable to elder family type visitors. There were three highest mean in the

36-45 age group’s result, they were ‘I want to facilitate family ad kinship ties’(Factor

1), ‘I want to rest and relax’ (Factor2), and ‘I want to spend more time in the outdoor’(Factor 4) which got the 4.50 means with the significant level below 0.05.

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About the mean of ‘I want to visit an attraction that would impress my friends and family’ (Factor 3) 26-35 age group family was also higher than 36-45 age group family which was 4.20 and 3.83 and the standard deviation was about 0.051. Younger family wanted fun with their children and they also wanted to experience the excited.

However, Noah Ark could not provide this kind of exciting activities to them. They gave the mean of ‘I want to experience rejuvenation’ (Factor 8) which was 1.60. Noah

Ark should need to design some attractive activities to some younger visitors to increase the number of visitors.

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Table 7 One-way ANOVA results of push factors towards different aged group

Attributes Age group N Mean SD F-value Sig. Push Factors Factor 1 18-25 30 3.80 0.997 26-35 60 3.90 1.311 36-45 36 4.50 0.507 46-55 24 4.50 0.511 4.907 0.003* Factor 2 18-25 30 4.20 0.761 26-35 60 3.80 1.086 36-45 36 4.50 0.507 46-55 24 3.75 0.442 6.752 0.000* Factor 3 18-25 30 3.60 1.037 26-35 60 4.20 0.879 36-45 36 3.83 1.082 46-55 24 4.25 0.847 3.515 0.017* Factor 4 18-25 30 3.80 0.997 26-35 60 3.50 1.033 36-45 36 4.50 0.775 46-55 24 3.50 0.885 9.376 0.000* Factor 8 18-25 30 2.00 0.910 26-35 60 1.60 0.807 36-45 36 1.83 0.910 46-55 24 1.25 0.442 4.435 0.005* Overall 18-25 30 3.40 0.498 26-35 60 3.20 0.755 36-45 36 3.67 0.478 46-55 24 3.75 0.442 4.907 0.003*

*Significant lower than 0.05 level

The factor refer to Appendix 3

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4.9 One-way ANOVA results of education factors towards different education

level

According to table 1, the degree holders were 52% percentage of the visitors to Ma

Wan Park and Noah Ark. And most of the respondent had high education level. It is

worth that Ma Wan Park’s could educate visitor about the protection of environment,

know more about themselves and the relationship with others. In the table 7,

One–way ANOVA analysis was reported statistically significant differences for

different education level about the education factors. It was shown that the different

educational groups had different needs of education and Ma Wan Park should respect their wants to give some suitable knowledge to different groups.

Some sources were explained that the Noah Ark’s education was effectiveness.

Technical Diploma and secondary educational level gave the 3.60 and 3.80 scores on

‘Noah Ark provides life learning’ (Factor 9) and ‘Noah Ark provides educational

opportunities’ (Factor 10). Also, they gave the mark above 2.6 on ‘I want to know

more about the earth’ (Factor 6) and ‘I want to know more about animal’ (Factor 7).

They were higher than the average source in table 3 which are 2.76 (Factor 6) and .2.4

(Factor 7). However, degree holder and postgraduate did not interested in the learning

in Noah Ark. They gave low scores on Factor 6 and 7 which were below 2.6.

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Table 8 illustrates that the overall satisfaction means of all level education were above

3.3 with the significant level below 0.05. The highest score was given by Secondary which was 3.8. The second score was come from Postgraduate which was 3.5. Other educational level’s mean were about 3.4 (Technical Diploma) and 3.2 (Degree). It seemed that the Ma Wan Park was suitable to all educational level visitors.

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Table 8 One-way ANOVA results of education factors

towards different education level Attributes Education level N Mean SD F-value Sig.

Factor 6 Secondary 30 2.80 1.186 Technical Diploma 30 3.20 1.186 Degree 78 2.62 1.084 Postgraduate 12 2.50 1.567 2.029 0.112 Factor 7 Secondary 30 2.60 1.037 Technical Diploma 30 2.80 0.997 Degree 78 2.23 0.896 Postgraduate 12 2.00 1.044 3.692 0.013* Factor 10 Secondary 30 3.60 1.037 Technical Diploma 30 3.80 0.761 Degree 78 3.38 1.453 Postgraduate 12 2.00 1.044 6.485 0.000* Factor 11 Secondary 30 3.60 1.037 Technical Diploma 30 3.80 0.407 Degree 78 3.23 1.258 Postgraduate 12 2.50 1.567 4.663 0.004* Factor 20 Secondary 30 3.40 0.814 Technical Diploma 30 2.80 0.407 Degree 78 3.00 0.684 Postgraduate 12 3.00 1.044 3.893 0.010* Overall Secondary 30 3.80 0.407 Technical Diploma 30 3.40 0.498 Degree 78 3.31 0.726 Postgraduate 12 3.44 0.522 4.677 0.004*

*Significant lower than 0.05 level

The factors are referring to Appendix 3.

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CHAPTER 5 CONLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Conclusion of the results

Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark were a newly theme park in the Hong Kong tourism

industry. Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark play an important role about the education and relax theme in the tourism industry. It was important to ensure the attractiveness and unique of Ma Wan Park to meet visitor’s expectations. The primary propose of this

study was to identify the visitor’s expectation of Ma Wan Park to capture the most

attractive elements, and raise visitor’s awareness on the environment protection issue.

In the study, using the questionnaire measured the important levels of 25 theme park

attributes and factors, factor-analyzed them into three sections of push factor, pull factor and satisfaction factor to examine the relative impact of dimensions in contributing to the overall satisfaction of Ma Wan Park. Collecting about 150 simple did the analysis to the Noah Ark.

According to the survey, the demographic data was the important part of the study.

40% of respondents were around 26-35. And there was over 50% of respondents were

the family type of visitors. The Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark’s target customers should

set about 26-35 year old and family type of visitors. Also, 80% of respondents had a

high educational level, there were 50% of them had a degree holder. And 52% of

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respondents were professional. Therefore, Noah Ark could provide some interesting knowledge activities to explain about the protection of environment. This was one of the objectives in Noah Ark.

After data analysis by Independent Sample t-Test and one-way ANOVA, the study carried out four main factors to attract the visitors which were “Facilitate family and kinship”, “Rest and relax”, nice scenery” and “Cleanliness”. Their mean scores were above 4.0. This analysis has produced several important insights with the potential to enhance the attractiveness of the Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark.

“Facilitate family and kinship”, “Rest and relax”, “nice scenery” and “Cleanliness” were the external factors. Noah Ark could do some market strategies to strength visitor’s psychological motivation. According to social value of Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs, visitor wanted to association with their friends and family. Therefore, Noah

Ark could use the relationship and communication with their relative to become attractive elements. Also, Ma Wan was beautiful scenery. This was the main attraction of visitors. After a few years, Ma Wan Park should put more affords on the

Cleanliness and maintains the place to keep the visitors.

About the visitor’s overall satisfaction level, the mean score was 3.44 at a very

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significant level (0.004). The result showed that the respondents were satisfied the Ma

Wan Park and Noah Ark. As a result, Ma Wan Park could match the visitors’ perception and expectation.

5.2 Recommendations

According to the data analysis, it had shown that some factors that visitors dissatisfied about that. Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark should solve those weaknesses or minimize the problems. Those problems would affect the brand name of Ma Wan Park and

Noah Ark. The word of mouth was the important elements to promote the park. Also, visitors would not revisit the Ma Wan Park because of those negative factors. In the table 2, there were 32% of respondents who did not visit Ma Wan Park again. Barnes

(2006) mentioned that keeping customer satisfied will get them back again in order to create higher level of retention. Therefore, Ma Wan Park should reduce the problems.

In the table 3, “I want to experience rejuvenation” was scored the lowest by respondents. The mean score was 1.68 at a very significant level (0.005). It is no doubt that Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark did not aim the exciting elements in them. In fact, Ma Wan Park should add some exciting elements as well that it can capture more different perceptions visitors to visit the park.

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In the table 4, respondents were dissatisfied with the variety and price of food and beverage offered by Noah Ark. The mean scores were 1.96 and 2.04. It seemed that

Noah Ark should improve the food quality and change the price to match the visitors’ expectation. Although, the food and beverage were not the main factors in the Noah

Ark, it did not affect the overall satisfaction level. However, the table 2 was shown that most of the respondents used about 3-5 hours to visit Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark.

If the food and beverage improved, visitors had been enjoyed the food and nice scenery in the Noah Ark. The stay hour might extent to 6-7 hours.

One of the objectives of Noah Ark is about educating and raising public awareness about the environment. However, it was very difficult to educate visitors, the mean of

‘I want to more about the animals’ which was 2.4 in the table 3. Also, the knowledge of the earth was not attracted by the visitors. Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark should find out the effective method to educate visitors. Ross and Wall (1999) stated that the theme park was difficult to educate visitors about protection of the environment. But, there were one example about education to visitors which was the life learning centre.

If Noah Ark could mortify the knowledge of earth and animals to be similar the life learning, it will attract and get more visitors’ attention.

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5.3 Limitation of the study

The study was done in the limitation of time of the primary research. It was not enough to measure the visitor’s perception of the Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark. There were over 2000 visitors to Ma Wan Park per day. The survey only interviewed about small amount group of the visitors. Therefore, the findings could be generalized to the situations in the Ma Wan Park. It was very difficult to be reliability. Also, there was no secondary search to follow and to be a sample.

To develop of the credible result, the questionnaire was used some general items of theme park to reflect some core elements in the Ma Wan Park. It could strengthen the information of research. Also, the respondent were over eighteen years old that they were suitable to understand the questionnaire and answer the question maturely.

5.4 Future Research Directions

Future study might consider improving the accuracy and reliability of conclusions by conducting a large-scale survey on the target group which is the family type of customers. Also, it can do the research about the Noah Ark accommodation and food

& beverage because the Noah Ark has a hotel in there. It can find out the satisfaction

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of accommodation and find out the improvement of food & beverage in Noah Ark.

Lastly, the questionnaire was used closed question to do the survey. The respondents tended to impose a set of fixed ideas or value on the forcing choices or options.

Therefore, they were less likely to uncover new and unexpected information, and may limit the emergence of in depth understandings and nuances of meanings. As there could be new and additional determinants of Ma Wan Park’s attractiveness, future studies should take advantage of open-ended questions where respondents are invited to add any comments or express their individual thoughts and ideas.

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Appendix 1 I am a Tourism Management student of Sheffield Hallam University. I am conducting a survey of the motivation and satisfaction of visiting Ma Wan Park’s Noah Ark. It takes around 5 minutes of your time. All provided information is used solely for academic purpose and your individual response will be kept confidential. Thank you very much for your time and cooperation. Part A: General information 1. How many times have you visited Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark? 口 1 times 口 2 times 口 more than 3 times

2. How long did you stay in Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark? 口 less than 3 hours 口 3-5 hours 口 more than 6 hours

3. Will you visit Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark again in the future? 口 Yes 口 No

Part B: Reasons for visiting Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark

Please circle the level of importance of the following factors for visiting Noah Ark: 1= Not at all Important, 2= Somewhat Important, 3= important, 4= Quite Important, 5= Very Important

Push Factors 1. I want to experience different activities in my life 1 2 3 4 5 2. I want to know more about the animals 1 2 3 4 5 3. I want to know more about the earth 1 2 3 4 5 4. I want to experience rejuvenation (e.g. revival) 1 2 3 4 5 5. I want to spend more time in the outdoor 1 2 3 4 5 6. I want to rest and relax 1 2 3 4 5 7. I want to visit an attraction that would impress my 1 2 3 4 5 friends and family 8. I want to facilitate family and kinship ties 1 2 3 4 5

Pull Factors 1. Noah Ark provides life learning 1 2 3 4 5 2. Noah Ark has nice scenery 1 2 3 4 5 3. Noah Ark provides educational opportunities 1 2 3 4 5 4. Noah Ark provides special events 1 2 3 4 5

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Part C: Satisfaction of Ma Wan Park and Noah Ark Please circle the satisfaction level towards the following items in Noah Ark. 1= Very Dissatisfied, 2= Dissatisfied, 3= Neutral, 4= Satisfied, 5= Very Satisfied 1. Admission price 1 2 3 4 5 2. Cleanliness 1 2 3 4 5 3. Crowding control and waiting time 1 2 3 4 5 4. Fun atmosphere 1 2 3 4 5 5. Variety of activities 1 2 3 4 5 6. Special events 1 2 3 4 5 7. Friendliness of the staff 1 2 3 4 5 8. Staffs’ willingness to help the guest 1 2 3 4 5 9. Operation hours 1 2 3 4 5 10. Accessibility 1 2 3 4 5 11. Variety food and beverage 1 2 3 4 5 12. The price of food and beverage 1 2 3 4 5 13. Learning material 1 2 3 4 5 14. Overall, how satisfied are you in Noah Ark 1 2 3 4 5

Part D: Personal information 1. Gender: 口 Male 口 Female

2. Age Group: 口 18-25 口 26-35 口 36-45 口 46-55 口 56 or above

3. Educational level 口 Primary 口 Secondary 口 Technical Diploma 口 Degree 口 Postgraduate

4. Monthly income (HK$) 口 Below $10,000 口 $10,001- $20,000 口 $20,001 - $30,000 口 $30,001-$40,000 口 $ 40,001 or above 5. Occupation 口 Student 口 White Collar 口 Management/ Administration 口 Housewife 口 Blue Collar 口 Self-employed 口 Professional 口 Retired 口 Unemployed

-The End- Thank you very much for your time and participation

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Appendix 2 你好, 本人就讀雪菲爾哈倫大學的旅遊管理, 現在研究遊客對馬灣公園的挪亞方 舟滿意程度. 問卷需時大慨五分鐘, 所有收集來的資料只作學術用途及內容絕對 保密, 謝謝閣下的協助.

第一部分: 基本資料 4. 閣下遊覽馬灣公園 口 1-次 口 2次 口 3 次 或 以上

5. 平均遊覽馬灣公園的時間 口 少於 3 小時 口 3-5 小時 口 6 小時 或 以上

6. 將來會否計劃遊覽馬灣公園 口 會 口 否

第二部分: 遊覽馬灣公園和挪亞方舟的原因

以下是一些遊覽馬灣公園的原因, 請圈出等級來表示這些原因對你的重要性: 1= 完全不重要, 2= 稍微重要, 3= 重要, 4= 很重要, 5= 非常重要

旅遊動機 (推動性因素) 9. 我想進行一些不同的活動 1 2 3 4 5 10. 我想知道一些動物的智識 1 2 3 4 5 11. 我想知道一些地球的知識 1 2 3 4 5 12. 我想回復年輕 1 2 3 4 5 13. 我想參與更多的戶外活動 1 2 3 4 5 14. 我想得到休息和鬆弛 1 2 3 4 5 15. 我想遊覽一個能夠使我的家人/朋友銘記的景點 1 2 3 4 5 16. 我想促進家庭/親屬的關係 1 2 3 4 5

旅遊地的特色 (吸引性因素) 5. 馬灣公園提供的生命教育 1 2 3 4 5 6. 馬灣公園有很美麗的景色 1 2 3 4 5 7. 馬灣公園提供的學習機會 1 2 3 4 5 8. 馬灣公園提供的特別節目 1 2 3 4 5

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第三郭分: 對馬灣公園和挪亞方舟和的滿意程度 以下是一些遊覽馬灣公園的不同項目, 請圈出等級來表示這些項目的滿意程度 1= 非常不滿意, 2= 不滿意, 3= 中立, 4= 滿意, 5= 非常滿意 15. 入場費 1 2 3 4 5 16. 地方清潔程度 1 2 3 4 5 17. 擠迫和排隊等候時間 1 2 3 4 5 18. 有趣的氣氛 1 2 3 4 5 19. 活動的多樣性 1 2 3 4 5 20. 特別節目 1 2 3 4 5 21. 員工的友善態度 1 2 3 4 5 22. 員工幫助客人的主動性 1 2 3 4 5 23. 公園的服務時間 1 2 3 4 5 24. 容易到達 1 2 3 4 5 25. 食物的多樣選擇 1 2 3 4 5 26. 食物的價錢 1 2 3 4 5 27. 學習材料 1 2 3 4 5 28. 總括而言, 你對馬灣公園的滿意程度 1 2 3 4 5

第四部分: 個人資料 6. 性別: 口 男 口 女

7. 年齡組別: 口 18-25 口 26-35 口 36-45 口 46-55 口 56 或 以上

8. 教育程度 口 小學畢業 口 中學畢業 口 專業文憑 口 大學畢業 口 研究生

9. 平均每月收入 (HK$) 口 $10,000 以下 口 $10,001- $20,000 口 $20,001 - $30,000 口 $30,001-40,000 口 $ 40,001 或 以上

10. 職業 口 學生 口 白領 口 管理人員/行政人員 口 家庭主婦 口 藍領 口 自顧人士 口 專業人員 口 退休人士 口 待業 -完- 多謝閣下的寶貴時間和幫助

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Appendix 3 Explanation of the Factor number

Push Factors Factor 1 I want to facilitate family and kinship ties Factor 2 I want to rest and relax Factor 3 I want to visit an attraction that would impress my friends and family Factor 4 I want to spend more time in the outdoor Factor 5 I want to experience different activities in my life Factor 6 I want to know more about the earth Factor 7 I want to know more about animal Factor 8 I want to experience rejuvenation

Pull Factors Factor 9 Noah Ark has nice scenery Factor 10 Noah Ark provides life learning Factor 11 Noah Ark provides educational opportunities Factor 12 Noah Ark provides special events

Satisfaction factors Factor 13 Cleanliness Factor 14 Friendliness of the staff Factor 15 Operation hours Factor 16 Staffs’ willingness to help the guest Factor 17 Crowding control and waiting time Factor 18 Fun atmosphere Factor 19 Variety of activities Factor 20 Learning material Factor 21 Accessibility Factor 22 Special events Factor 23 Admission price Factor 24 The Price of Food and Beverage Factor 25 Variety of Food and Beverage

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