IDENTIFYING DIMENSIONS OF TOURIST SATISFACTION FOR A CULTURAL DESTINATION: THE CASE OF LONGHOUSES IN SARAWAK(BORNEO)

Cultural heritage sites are important tourist attractions for many tourism-oriented countries worldwide. As for Sarawak in Borneo, the traditional longhouses have been one of the key selling points of the in-bound tour operators nationwide and worldwide. Many tourists go to Sarawak to gain the unique experiences with these longhouses. This paper presents the findings of a survey which aimed to identify the dimensions of tourist satisfaction on the longhouses in Sarawak. Structured questionnaires were distributed to the visitors to gauge their perceptions towards the longhouses that they recently visited. The findings from 280 usable questionnaires show that the tourist satisfaction dimensions include the travel services, access, nature, safety, the longhouses facilities, cleanliness, food and beverage, culture, people and overall longhouse experience. Implications for the cultural heritage site marketing (focusing on longhouses) and future research directions are also discussed