The Relationship Between Service Quality and Memorable Tourism Experience at Giant Panda Conservation Centre in Zoo Negara Malaysia
Poh Yee Thoo1, Shazali Johari2, Mohd Hafizal Ismail3, Lai Ling Lee4, Muhammad Luqman Hasan5
1Poh Yee Thoo, Faculty of Forestry, University Putra Malaysia, Malaysia.
2Shazali Johari, Faculty of Forestry, University Putra Malaysia, Malaysia and also in Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products (INTROP), University Putra Malaysia, Malaysia.
3Mohd Hafizal Ismail, Faculty of Forestry, University Putra Malaysia, Malaysia in Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products (INTROP), University Putra Malaysia, Malaysia.
4Lai Ling Yee, Faculty of Forestry, University Putra Malaysia, Malaysia.
5Muhammad Luqman Hasan, Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products (INTROP), Faculty of Forestry, University Putra Malaysia, Malaysia.
Manuscript received on 04 February 2019 | Revised Manuscript received on 17 February 2019 | Manuscript Published on 19 February 2019 | PP: 69-74 | Volume-7 Issue-5S January 2019 | Retrieval Number: ES2127017519/19©BEIESP
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© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Abstract: Service quality has always been the highlight in service-based sectors especially in the tourism sector where experience is their primary product. However, to be successful in this highly competitive tourism industry, bestowing visitors with great service quality and increase their positive memorable tourism experiences (MTEs) are essential as satisfaction alone is proven to be insufficient.Zoo Negara is the oldest zoo in Malaysia, but it is one of the latest additions to the panda zoo around the world as it has been chosen to house a pair of giant pandas named Fu Wa (Xing Xing) and Feng Yi (Liang Liang) for 10 years. Therefore, this exploratory research examines whether service quality is an antecedent of MTEs for GPCC in Zoo Negara Malaysia. Many studies have been done at GPCC but none have linked service quality with the MTEs in their studies.This study seeks to increase their understanding of their service quality and MTEs, and nevertheless covers the gap between the two dimensions for zoo setting. Quantitative method has been used, and a purposive sampling approach has been employed. The data gathered were analysed using multiple regression analysis. Results indicated that service qualityis an antecedent of MTEs where both technical quality and functional quality have positive relationship with MTEs.This has bridged the gap for current literature. Hence, it is necessary for the management of Zoo Negara to enhance their service quality of GPCC so that more people will have positive MTEs that will eventually increase the possibility of a person to revisit it.
Keywords: Service Quality, Memorable Tourism Experience, Zoo Negara Malaysia, Technical Quality, Functional Quality.
Scope of the Article: Quality Assurance Process, Standards, and Systems