FROM TRAVELERS EXPECTATIONS TO: The Workability of the HOLSAT Model (Tourism and Hospitality Development and Management)

This book focuses on the Australian occidental tourists' expectations and satisfaction in one of the oriental tourist destinations such as Vietnam. It makes use the HOLSAT model to assess the holiday satisfaction of Australian travellers to Vietnam, and it is the second known application of this model. It seriously looks at the capabilities of the existing theoretical models to assess the tourist expectations and satisfaction and highlight the importance of the HOLSTAT model in understanding explicitly the differences between Expectation and Experience. An examination of various sample segments has tested the effectiveness of the HOLSAT model. Gender and the mode of travel were investigated and have determined the differences amongst various segments of Australian tourists who visited Vietnam. This aspect of using the HOLSAT model to study segmentation was differed from the one undertaken by Tribe and Snaith (1998). From a theoretical point of view, the findings from this study have demonstrated the workability of the HOLSAT model as a useful instrument for measuring holiday satisfaction and also for segmenting tourist market. The HOLSAT model has great potential because it does not require a fixed menu of attributes, generic to all destinations, compared with some other satisfaction models that seek to apply the same attributes to different situations. From a practical approach, this book also looks at the destination marketing implications for the results obtained through the administration of normal parametric measures. This is an important feature of the research findings since it helps the tourism industry at large to design products and services that suit myriad segments of the international, national and regional tourism markets. About the Author As a researcher, Dr Thuy-Huong Truong has published in numerous peer-reviewed, books and many other academic journals and forums. Dr. Truong's academic expertise focuses on Cross-cultural studies, Marketing, Consumer behaviour, Tourism Principles and associated research. Dr. Truong has worked on numerous studies and projects. These include examining the Emerging Markets of Inbound Tourism in Vietnam, in Asia Pacific Region and in Developing Countries; Destination Resources and Product Development; International Marketing and Tourism, and Sustainable and Ecotourism Tourism. As a lecturer, Dr. Truong has coordinated and taught a range of Subjects including Marketing, Tourism, Consumer Behaviour, Hospitality, Management, Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods spanning over 20 years at various institutions in Australia (Melbourne and Sydney), Vietnam, France, Malaysia, Kuwait and China. With her multiple language skills and extensive industry experience, Dr. Truong has being an assistant manager and business consultant for many international joint-venture companies across Vietnam. These comprise of various fields including marketing, tourism, hospitality, medicine, engineering and construction, water and waste water and, forestry and agriculture.