| Scope and method of study. This study aims to (1) examine the images of Thailand as an international travel destination, (2) identify differences in the perceived image of Thailand, travel satisfaction, travel motivation, and travel inhibitors between first time and repeat travelers and among travelers with different demographic profiles, and (3) assess both an individual and mutual impacts of a bundle of four travel determinants (destination image, travel satisfaction, travel motivation, and travel inhibitors) on repeat visitation, and (4) determine the competitiveness of Thailand as compared to Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. An exit questionnaire survey was used to collect data. The target population was the international traveler who was checking in for departure flights to 13 countries at the Bangkok International Airport from June 1–4 and June 10–11, 2000. A three stage sampling approach including proportionate stratified, cluster and systematic random sampling was used to randomly select 590 international travelers. Descriptive statistics, T-tests, ANOVA, exploratory factor analysis, and logistic regression were used to analyze the data.; Findings and conclusions. Significant differences in the destination image, travel satisfaction, travel motivation, and travel inhibitors were found between the first time and repeat visitors and among international travelers with different demographic profiles. The exploratory factor analysis identified seven destination image, five travel satisfaction, six travel motivation, and five travel inhibitor dimensions. The finding of the logistic regression revealed that the travel motivation on “good value food, shopping, and a variety of things to do,” the image of “good value cuisine and hotels,” the travel motivation on “novelty seeking,” the travel inhibitor on “travel barrier,” and the image of “social and environmental problems” have impacts on the likelihood of travelers to revisit Thailand. |
