An Examination of the Vaal River Carnival Attendees’ Perceptions of Service Quality Towards Satisfaction and Future Behavioural Intentions

Abstract

Carnival events have become pivotal in the growth of tourism initiatives to many destinations. Tourist experiences of event captivities touted the dawn of carnival events as valued visitor destinations. Accordingly, gaining insights on the event attendees’ perceptions of service quality rendered at carnival events is crucial in growing visitor continued support and tourism at large. The impact of carnival events is gradually being examined in tourism marketing research since such occasions are sought to attract tourists through cultural and heritage services that enhance life experiences. This study investigates the Vaal River Carnival attendees’ service quality perceptions towards their satisfaction and future behavioural intentions at an event hosted in Vanderbijlpark town, Gauteng province. A cross-sectional approach of gathering data using convenience non-probability sampling procedure was adopted. On-site questionnaire survey method was employed to collect data from 400 respondents. The study results highlight constructive and negative views of the respondent’s experiences. The respondent’s satisfaction with the event’s level of service quality were high and positively impacted their future behavioural intentions. However, the event managers are advised to exigently deal with challenges of inadequate parking space and traffic jam linked to the event.

Keywords

• behavioural intention
• carnival events
• satisfaction
• service quality
• attendees