DEVELOPING A RESORT DESTINATION THROUGH THE EYES OF THE TOURIST

Abstract

One of the fundamental ways of enhancing destination development and sustainability is through the satisfaction of the tourists, as it provides ripple effects for the destination. The purpose of this paper was to assess the value of integra ting views of the tourists in the development of a resort destination - Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. The study followed a quantitative research design in testing seven critical elements of the tourism product drawn from literature which include accommodation, activities and tours, accessibility, attractions, facilities, image and price from the tourist visiting Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. Data from 377 respondents were collected using systematic sampling and analysed using IBM23 Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). The results of this study underscore the importance of integrating the views of tourists as a fundamental element in the growth and development of a sustainable tourist destination. The tourists’ evaluation of the seven elements of the tourism product further revealed the price of the offering as deeming too high, while attractions, image, accommodation and activities and tours were the outstanding elements of the resort destination’s tourism product. A mixed reaction (mainly neutral), were noted on the accessibility and the facilities of the resort destination tourism produ ct.

Keywords

• resort destination
• tourists
• tourism product
• tourist satisfaction
• destination development
• perceptions