Evaluation of Tourists Satisfaction with Ecotourism Services in Six Ecotourism Destination in South West, Nigeria

Abstract

Satisfaction is an excellent predictor of tourists’ behavior as it influences the choice of destination, consumption of products and services, the decision to return and maintain lasting relationships. The study examined usefulness of producing satisfied tourists to ecotourism destinations in Nigeria by administering 320 well-structured questionnaires at the six selected ecotourism destinations. Data obtained from the study revealed that destination attributes especially the attractiveness of the site (70.0%), staff helpfulness (56.7%), Available varieties of recreational facilities (52.5%), Affordable toll fee (55.0%), Courtesy from staff (58.6%), Signage and available educational guides for tourist (57.5%), Guided educational tour services (60.0%), Interpretative facilities services (56.7%), Food & beverage (55.0%) , Cultural & entertainment services (56.7%), Shopping services (46.7%) Recreation services (53.8%) and Accommodation services (50.0%) were major determinant of visitors’ satisfaction. The result also shows that the quality of tourism services has a positive impact on the level of tourist satisfaction. Prominent amongst the challenges at the sites are difficulty in getting information about the ecotourism destination (100%) and Accommodation problems quality and abundance (76.7%) amongst others were identified as challenges by tourists. Inferential statistical analysis indicated that significant relationship exists between the tourist’s level of satisfaction and willingness to pay for ecotourism services (p<0.05). Therefore, this study suggests that visitors’ satisfaction can be boosted by raising the standard of service quality throughout the destinations’ attractions, facilities and modes of accessibility. Management should upgrade the ecotourism destinations to meet up with International standard so as to increase tourists’ patronage and satisfaction.