University of the Incarnate Word The Athenaeum Theses & Dissertations 5-2015 Ethics of Thailand's Tourism Industry Ganjanaporn Lertpipat Luther University of the Incarnate Word, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://athenaeum.uiw.edu/uiw_etds Part of the Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons, Marketing Commons, and the Philosophy Commons Recommended Citation Luther, Ganjanaporn Lertpipat, "Ethics of Thailand's Tourism Industry" (2015). Theses & Dissertations. 25. https://athenaeum.uiw.edu/uiw_etds/25 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by The Athenaeum. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses & Dissertations by an authorized administrator of The Athenaeum. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ETHICS OF THAILAND’S TOURISM INDUSTRY by GANJANAPORN LERTPIPAT LUTHER, BBA, MBA A DISSERTATION Presented to the Faculty of the University of the Incarnate Word in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF THE INCARNATE WORD May 2015 ii Copyright 2015 by Ganjanaporn Lertpipat Luther iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The writing of this dissertation has been one of my most significant academic challenges. Without the guidance of the following people, this study would not have been completed. I am sincerely thankful to all these people, and they have my deepest gratitude. To Dr. Judith Beauford, my dissertation chair, you always believed I could do this. Your knowledge and academic professionalism instilled in me the highest standards of achievement. You have taught and guided me for several years with an abundance of patience and compassion that continued while I was conducting my research. Thank you. To Dr. Norman S. St. Clair and Dr. Osman Özturgut, I am thankful for your guidance and direction while writing this dissertation. John Estess, a loyal friend, thank you for the editorial reviews and advice and also the continuous encouragement in support of my educational successes. My parents, my parents-in-law, and my younger sister, thank you for your love and sacrifices and for always encouraging me and believing in me throughout all my endeavors. My husband, William Leonard Luther III, and my daughter, Nantashaporn Jewell Luther, have my heartfelt and sincere appreciation too. Without your encouragement and continued support I could not have finished this dissertation. Thank you for always cheering me up, providing me with strength, and standing by me through good times and bad times. I would like to thank my editor, Ilene W. Devlin, for her attention to detail. Ganjanaporn Lertpipat Luther iv ETHICS OF THAILAND’S TOURISM INDUSTRY Ganjanaporn Lertpipat Luther, PhD University of the Incarnate Word, 2015 The purpose of this study was to investigate how ethical sales behavior related to the likelihood of tourists to return to Thailand. The Ethical Tourism Industry survey used was adapted from previous studies found in the literature. The sample of 300 participants was drawn from international tourists who travelled in the North, Central, and South regions of Thailand. Tests of correlation used Pearson, logistic regression, and linear regression to analyze the research questions in this study. An analysis found that most tourists who were revisiting Thailand were male, and 49% of tourists came from Europe and Africa for leisure purposes. Those tourists had a median age of 37.5 years with an average household income. Generally speaking, tourists were satisfied with all aspects, except tour packages and information services, the public signs and directions, political and economic stability, and especially, the cleanliness of public places. Thailand’s tourism might be increased by improving public facilities and improving the stability of government. Also, international tourists reported that well over half would return to Thailand in the next 12 months if given the opportunity, and they would recommend Thailand to others. The empirical results of this study emphasized that there was a strong relationship between the perceived ethical sales behaviors of businesses and international tourists’ satisfaction when moderated by gender, age, household income, and region. In addition, Somers’ v analysis showed that there was a moderately significant relationship between the tourists’ satisfaction and the likelihood of international tourists to return, and the relationship between the tourists’ satisfaction and their positive recommendations Thailand to others. The results indicated that the variables of gender, age, household income, and region did not have an influence on the likelihood of international tourists to return, but the tourists’ satisfaction did positively influence that likelihood to return. The study provided useful information to the tourism local authorities, tourism planners, businesses, and marketers to focus more on enhancing, improving, and maintaining factors that contribute to international tourists’ satisfaction, ethical sales behaviors, and likelihood to return. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE: THAILAND’S TOURISM INDUSTRY............................................................1 Context of the Study ............................................................................................................1 Statement of the Problem .....................................................................................................2 Purpose of the Study ............................................................................................................5 Research Questions ..............................................................................................................5 Significance of the Study .....................................................................................................6 Research Methodology ........................................................................................................7 Theoretical Framework ........................................................................................................8 Definition of Terms ............................................................................................................10 Marketing ethics .....................................................................................................10 Ethical sales behavior ............................................................................................10 Tourist satisfaction .................................................................................................11 Likelihood to return ...............................................................................................11 Limitations of the Study.....................................................................................................11 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................14 History of Thai Tourism Industry ......................................................................................14 Ethical Sales Behavior .......................................................................................................17 Cultural aspects of ethics .......................................................................................22 Ethics in Thai culture .............................................................................................23 Summary ................................................................................................................25 vii Table of Contents—Continued CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW Demographic Factors in Business ......................................................................................26 Customer Satisfaction ........................................................................................................28 Definition ...............................................................................................................28 Importance of customer satisfaction ......................................................................29 Tourism customer satisfaction ...............................................................................30 Summary ................................................................................................................33 Customer Loyalty ...............................................................................................................34 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY ......................................................................................39 Research Design .................................................................................................................39 Setting for Study ................................................................................................................42 Population and Sample Selection .......................................................................................44 Protection of Human Subjects ...........................................................................................45 Instrumentation ..................................................................................................................46 Ethical sales behavior survey .................................................................................46 Validity and reliability of ethical sales behavior survey ........................................47 Demographic survey ..............................................................................................49 Tourist satisfaction