Foreign Tourists' Satisfaction with Service Quality of Restaurants in Hat Yai District, Songkhla Province

Abstract

This quantitative research had the following objectives: 1) to study the demographic characteristics of foreign tourists using restaurant services in Hat Yai District, Songkhla Province; 2) to study the satisfaction levels of foreign tourists toward restaurant service quality in Hat Yai District, Songkhla Province; and 3) to compare the satisfaction levels of foreign tourists toward restaurant service quality in Hat Yai District, classified by demographic characteristics. The research instrument used was a questionnaire. Multi-stage sampling was employed, consisting of purposive sampling and convenience sampling, to select 400 foreign tourists. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics, including percentage, mean (\bar{x}), and standard deviation (S.D.). Hypothesis testing utilized inferential statistics, specifically the t-test for comparing means between two groups and the F-test (One-way ANOVA) for comparing means among more than two groups, with a statistical significance level of 0.05, using the SPSS software package.

The research results found that: The majority of tourists were female, aged between 36-48 years, working as business owners/merchants, with an average monthly income between 15,000-30,000 Baht, married, and of Malaysian nationality. The overall satisfaction of foreign tourists was (\bar{x} = 3.9939, S.D. = 0.609290). When classified by aspect, the results were: Tangibles (\bar{x} = 4.068, S.D. = 0.671), Empathy (\bar{x} = 3.993, S.D. = 0.609), Reliability (\bar{x} = 3.992, S.D. = 0.696), Responsiveness (\bar{x} = 3.973, S.D. = 0.700), and Assurance (\bar{x} = 3.953, S.D. = 0.799), respectively. Comparing the satisfaction of foreign tourists classified by personal characteristics, it was found that overall satisfaction in each aspect showed statistically significant differences. Specifically, Tangibles showed significant differences based on Nationality at the 0.05 level; Reliability showed significant differences based on Occupation at the 0.05 level; Responsiveness showed significant differences based on Average Monthly Income and Nationality at the 0.05 level; and Empathy showed significant differences based on Nationality and Occupation at the 0.05 level. The study revealed that the dimension of satisfaction most affecting foreign tourists regarding restaurant service quality in Hat Yai District was Reliability, which reflects the restaurant's ability to provide services as promised, with accuracy and consistency. Therefore, entrepreneurs should prioritize maintaining continuous service standards and training staff to provide reliable service to build confidence among foreign tourists.