1. VISITOR SATISFACTION AND LOYALTY MEASUREMENT OF A LOCAL FOOD FESTIVAL: APPLICATION OF THE FESTPERF SCALE
Suzana Marković, PhD, Associate Professor
Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management, Opatija
Jelena Dorčić, M. A., Assistant
Monika Krnetić, M. A., Student

2. MAIN POINTS OF PRESENTATION
ToSEE - Tourism in South East Europe
3rd International Scientific Conference
Sustainable Tourism, Economic Development and Quality of Life
University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management Opatija
MAIN POINTS OF PRESENTATION
CONCEPTUAL BACKGROUND
Local food festival
Festival quality
Dimensions of festival quality
Satisfaction
Loyalty
METHODOLOGY
Research objectives
Sample design and administration
Measurement instrument
Data analysis
STUDY RESULTS
CONCLUSION

3. CONCEPTUAL BACKGROUND
ToSEE - Tourism in South East Europe
3rd International Scientific Conference
Sustainable Tourism, Economic Development and Quality of Life
University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management Opatija
CONCEPTUAL BACKGROUND

4. ToSEE - Tourism in South East Europe
3rd International Scientific Conference
Sustainable Tourism, Economic Development and Quality of Life
University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management Opatija
Local food festival
FESTIVALS = „themed, public celebrations” ,Getz (2005)
FESTIVAL = “an organized set of special events on a specific cultural manmade theme taking place on a specific day or period normally on a specific place gathering people in mutual and direct contact to the festival theme”, Lyck (2012)
FOOD FESTIVALS = „public events that are open to both locals and outsiders”, Hu (2012)
FOOD FESTIVALS = “festivals that purport to center on and revolve around food”,Lewis (1997)

5. ToSEE - Tourism in South East Europe
3rd International Scientific Conference
Sustainable Tourism, Economic Development and Quality of Life
University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management Opatija
Festival quality
SERVICE QUALITY = “overall evaluation that results from comparison between a customer’s expectation and service received from a provider”, Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (1985)
FESTIVAL QUALITY = „predictor of satisfaction and behavioral intention” , Wu et al. (2014)
FESTIVAL QUALITY = „multi-dimensional construct”, (Baker and Cromton, 2000; Lee et al., 2008; Yoon et al. 2010)

6. Dimensions of festival quality
ToSEE - Tourism in South East Europe
3rd International Scientific Conference
Sustainable Tourism, Economic Development and Quality of Life
University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management Opatija
Dimensions of festival quality
Researchers
Country
Sample size
Dimensions of festival quality
Baker and Crompton (2000)
USA
369
generic features, specific entertainment features, information sources, comfort amenities
Lee et al. (2008)
South Korea
472
convenience, staff, information, program content, facility, souvenirs, food
Cole and Chancellor (2009)
177
programs, amenities, entertainment
Yoon et al. (2010)
Korea
444
informational service, program, souvenirs, food, facilities
Tkaczynski and Stokes (2010)
Australia
308
professionalism, core service, environment
Lee et al. (2011)
400
festival program, informational service, festival product, convenient facility, natural environment
Grapp and Montanari (2011)
Italy
449
program content, staff behavior, place and atmosphere, information and facilities, hotel and restaurant, souvenir availability
Mason and Paggiaro (2012)
380
food, comfort, fun
Chen et al. (2012)
Taiwan
439
facilities, staff, comfort amenities, information, availability, convenience, programs
Anil (2012)
Turkey
352
festival area, staff, food, souvenir, information adequacy, convenience
Mensah (2013)
Ghana
471
ancillary services, participation in festival, festival information, festival activities, security and duration of festival
Wan and Chan (2013)
Macau 40
location and accessibility, food, venue facility, environment/ambiance, service, festival size, entertainment, timing
Wu et al. (2014)
450
interaction quality, physical environment quality, outcome quality, access quality

7. Festival satisfaction
ToSEE - Tourism in South East Europe
3rd International Scientific Conference
Sustainable Tourism, Economic Development and Quality of Life
University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management Opatija
Festival satisfaction
Tourists' satisfaction = „the post consumption evaluation of specific product or service” , Westbrook and Oliver (1991)
festival satisfaction = „a sum of the experiences the attendees had at the festival” , McDowall (2011)
festival satisfaction = „overall festival value evaluated by the composite of quality dimensions” , Yoon at al. (2010)

8. ToSEE - Tourism in South East Europe
3rd International Scientific Conference
Sustainable Tourism, Economic Development and Quality of Life
University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management Opatija
Festival loyalty
Loyalty = „repeating purchase behavior and is characterized in terms of repurchase intentions, word-of mouth-communication, and recommendations” , Lee, et al. (2006)
Festival loyalty - „deeply held commitment to re-visit, spread positive word of mouth about and willingness to recommend festival” , Anil (2012)

9. METHODOLOGY ToSEE - Tourism in South East Europe
3rd International Scientific Conference
Sustainable Tourism, Economic Development and Quality of Life
University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management Opatija
METHODOLOGY

10. Research objectives The purpose of this study was:
ToSEE - Tourism in South East Europe
3rd International Scientific Conference
Sustainable Tourism, Economic Development and Quality of Life
University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management Opatija
Research objectives
The purpose of this study was:
to explore variables and dimensions of festival quality that have significant impact on visitors’ satisfaction and future behavioral intentions
The research aimed:
to identify levels of visitors’ perceptions, satisfaction and loyalty, and determine the visitors’ motivations to consume local food
to identify perceived service quality factors

11. Sample design and administration
ToSEE - Tourism in South East Europe
3rd International Scientific Conference
Sustainable Tourism, Economic Development and Quality of Life
University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management Opatija
Sample design and administration
CHARACTERISTICS
DESCRIPTION
1. Type of research:
descriptive, empirical
2. Target population and research object:
Visitors of 14th Festival of Asparagus, Lovran
3. Type of data:
Primary data
4. Sample:
Convenient, N=145
5. Respondent rate:
36.25% (N=400, n=145)
6. The period of data collection:
one-day festival's central event, 12th April 2014, Lovran (Croatia)

12. Measurement instrument FESTPERF scale (modified)
ToSEE - Tourism in South East Europe
3rd International Scientific Conference
Sustainable Tourism, Economic Development and Quality of Life
University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management Opatija
Measurement instrument
Yoon at al. (2010)
Anil (2012)
Markovic et al (2014)
FESTPERF scale (modified)
Informational service (4 items)
Informational adequacy (3 items)
Program (5 items) -
Program (3 items)
Souvenir (3 items)
Food (3 items)
Food (4 items)
Staff (4 items)
Festival area (2 items)
Festival area (1 item)
Facilities (3 items)
Convenience (3 items)
Facilities (2 items)
Festival value (3 items)
Festival satisfaction (3 items)
Visitors 'satisfaction (3 items)
Festival loyalty (3 items)
Visitors’ loyalty (3 items)
Festival loyalty (5 items)
Total : 27 items
Total : 21 items
Total : 28 items

13. Data analysis Descriptive statistical analysis
ToSEE - Tourism in South East Europe
3rd International Scientific Conference
Sustainable Tourism, Economic Development and Quality of Life
University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management Opatija
Data analysis
Descriptive statistical analysis
to describe respondents’ demographic characteristics
to evaluate visitors’ festival service quality perceptions.
Exploratory factor analysis
to derive factors from 28 festival quality attributes
to identify the main dimensions of perceived festival service quality, using the principal component method with a varimax rotation
Reliability analysis
to test the reliability of the scale and to assess the inner consistency of each extracted factor

14. STUDY RESULTS ToSEE - Tourism in South East Europe
3rd International Scientific Conference
Sustainable Tourism, Economic Development and Quality of Life
University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management Opatija
STUDY RESULTS

15. Study results: respondents profile
ToSEE - Tourism in South East Europe
3rd International Scientific Conference
Sustainable Tourism, Economic Development and Quality of Life
University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management Opatija
Study results: respondents profile
Table: Demographic profile of the respondents (N=145)
Demographic profile
Responses
1. Country of residence:
84.1% domestic visitors
2. Gender:
51.7% females
48.3% males
3. Age:
44.8% between 20 and 29 years old
4. Education:
45.5% high school diploma
55.7% university degree
5. Frequncy of town visit:
81.4% more than five times
6. Frequency of festival visits:
54.5% first time
7. Number of previous visits:
64.2% never before
8. Motivations to visit festival:
47.0% hanging out with family and/or friends
26.0% tasting local food
21.0% escaping from routine/relax
Source: Authors

16. Study results: descriptive statistics
ToSEE - Tourism in South East Europe
3rd International Scientific Conference
Sustainable Tourism, Economic Development and Quality of Life
University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management Opatija
Study results: descriptive statistics
Perceived festival service quality
Table: Mean scores for attributes of perceived festival quality
DIMENSIONS
Attributes
FESTPERF
Mean
INFORMATION ADEQUACY
well prepared pamphlets
3.77
signboards provide sufficient information
4.01
signs showing festival provide sufficient information
4.23
PROGRAM
variety of program
4.38
well managed program
4.49
well organized program
4.66
FOOD
good quality of food
4.99
variety of food
4.50
good taste of food
5.22
reasonably priced food
4.82
STAFF
staff is kind
5.73
staff has enough knowledge about the festival
5.46
quick staff response
5.39
staff is willing to help
5.70
LOCATION
adequate size of festival area
5.14
FACILITIES
convenient parking
4.60
convenient restroom
3.90
Source: Authors

17. Study results: descriptive statistics
ToSEE - Tourism in South East Europe
3rd International Scientific Conference
Sustainable Tourism, Economic Development and Quality of Life
University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management Opatija
Study results: descriptive statistics
Festival value, visitors’ satisfaction and loyalty
Table: Mean scores for attributes of festival value, visitors’ satisfaction and loyalty
DIMENSIONS
Attributes
FESTPERF
Mean
FESTIVAL VALUE
festival is worth the money, time, effort
4.68
festival offered more value than expected
3.90
festival offered more value than other gastro festivals
3.80
VISITORS’ SATISFACTION
feeling very good with festival
4.95
satisfied with decision to visit festival
5.19
overall satisfaction
5.03
VISITORS’ LOYALTY
recommend festival
5.01
spread positive word-of-mouth about festival
5.21
visit festival again
5.04
keep attending festival
4.92
first choice of gastro event in the future
3.63
Source: Authors

18. Study results: descriptive statistics
ToSEE - Tourism in South East Europe
3rd International Scientific Conference
Sustainable Tourism, Economic Development and Quality of Life
University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management Opatija
Study results: descriptive statistics
Table: Mean scores of dimensions
DIMENSIONS
MEAN
INFORMATION ADEQUACY
4.00
PROGRAM
4.51
FOOD
4.88
STAFF
5.57
LOCATION
5.14
FACILITIES
4.25
FESTIVAL VALUE
4.13
VISITORS’ SATISFACTION
5.06
VISITORS’ LOYALTY
4.76
TOTAL
4.73
Source: Authors

19. Study results: exploratory factor analysis
ToSEE - Tourism in South East Europe
3rd International Scientific Conference
Sustainable Tourism, Economic Development and Quality of Life
University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management Opatija
Study results: exploratory factor analysis
The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure verified the sampling adequacy for analysis, KMO=0.907, which is well above the minimal criterion of 0.50 (Kaiser, 1974).
Bartlett's test of sphericity is significant (χ2= ; df=378; Sig. =0.000), showing that there is strong correlation among the variables.

20. Study results: exploratory factor analysis
ToSEE - Tourism in South East Europe
3rd International Scientific Conference
Sustainable Tourism, Economic Development and Quality of Life
University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management Opatija
Study results: exploratory factor analysis
Table: Results of factor analysis
FACTOR
% of Variance
Cronbach alpha
Number of items
Satisfaction and loyalty
19.201
0.949 9
Program and facilities
18.094
0.918
Staff
18.075
0.909 5
Information
10.373
0.856 3
Food
8.956
0.835 2
TOTAL
74.699
0.961 28
Source: Authors

21. CONCLUSION ToSEE - Tourism in South East Europe
3rd International Scientific Conference
Sustainable Tourism, Economic Development and Quality of Life
University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management Opatija
CONCLUSION

22. ToSEE - Tourism in South East Europe
3rd International Scientific Conference
Sustainable Tourism, Economic Development and Quality of Life
University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management Opatija
Conclusion
The highest assessed festival attributes are related to staff and food – this represent the strong points of festival offering and should be maintained in the future as well.
Adequacy of information and facilities were the worst rated – these areas of service requires more attention.
Despite the failure of the festival to offer more value than expected or in comparison with other festivals, visitors indicated that they would recommend the festival, spread positive word-of-mouth and revisit this festival again.
Similar extracted dimensions as Yoon et al. (2010) and Anil (2012).
Modified version of the FESTPERF scale is reliable and suitable for use by destination managers to enhance understanding of visitor festival satisfaction and loyalty in the context of small local food festivals.

23. Practical implications
ToSEE - Tourism in South East Europe
3rd International Scientific Conference
Sustainable Tourism, Economic Development and Quality of Life
University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management Opatija
Practical implications
festival organizers should focus on promoting the festival in nearby countries (Italy, Slovenia, Hungary, Serbia and Bosnia and Hercegovina);
local hotels could offer special packages during the period of the festival ;
provide more activities for visitors, such as workshops about the health benefits of asparagus, culinary workshops and competition, children and family activities, asparagus tours, picnics and sport activities.

24. Limitations Small sample size in comparison to with previous research.
ToSEE - Tourism in South East Europe
3rd International Scientific Conference
Sustainable Tourism, Economic Development and Quality of Life
University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management Opatija
Limitations
Small sample size in comparison to with previous research.
Study focused on only one festival of particular type and findings could not be generalized.
There could also be other relevant items that are likely to influence visitors’ satisfaction and future behavioral intentions.

25. ToSEE - Tourism in South East Europe
3rd International Scientific Conference
Sustainable Tourism, Economic Development and Quality of Life
University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management Opatija
Future research
conduct similar studies in other local food festivals in Croatia;
continue to refine, test and even modify the developed measurement scale;
analyze the effect of different factors, constructs or scales on local food festival quality;
examine differences between tourist and local resident perception of festival service quality;
use structural equation modeling to investigate the relationship between festival service quality, visitors’ satisfaction and loyalty.

26. Thank you for your attention!
Jelena Dorčić
Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management in Opatija