Assessment and Comparison of Attractiveness of the City of Katowice and Health Resort of Ustroń in the Opinion of Tourists.

Abstract

Puropose. To assess and compare tourists’ perceptions of destination quality attractiveness and their quality of experience, satisfaction and behavioural intentions at two diverse tourism destinations (Katowice, an urban destination and Ustroń, a health resort). Method. A diagnostic survey method was used, and a questionnaire was used to collect the data. A total of 400 tourists were surveyed, 200 in Katowice and 200 in Ustroń. The Mann-Whitney U test was used for statistical analysis. Findings. Higher ratings were observed in Ustroń (a health resort) than in Katowice (an urban destination) for all but one indicator studied. The only indicator in which Katowice scored higher than Ustroń was the destination’s variety of attractions and facilities. Statistically significant differences between the two destinations were found for all indicators studied except for two: tourist satisfaction and behavioural intentions. Research and conclusions limitations. The study was cross-sectional and examined only two diverse destinations. Future longitudinal replication studies are needed in other types of tourism destinations. Practical implications. The research results may be useful in developing strategies for improving destination attractiveness and competitiveness. Originality. This is the first study that compares two tourism destinations with different characteristics to establish whether the type of a destination could determine tourists’ perceptions of destination attractiveness, in terms of destination quality, as well as the tourists’ perceptions of the quality of their experience, satisfaction and behavioural intentions. As such the study contributes to extending our knowledge of perceived destination attractiveness.