engleski

EVENT MANAGEMENT FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF GUEST SATISFACTION

Taking into consideration the importance of events and the fact that demand for this form of tourism is continuously growing and is subject to change, the purpose of this paper is to underline the need for enriching the tourism offering with events, as well as the necessity of enhancing the quality of this element of the tourism offering. The paper’s primary aim is to prove that an association exists between guest satisfaction with events in a destination and guest satisfaction with the overall tourism offering, and to measure guest satisfaction with events, relative to guest expectations. A study of guest satisfaction with events offered in a tourist destination was conducted in July and August 2010 in the Municipality of Neum in Bosnia-Herzegovina. A previously prepared structured questionnaire was used in the study. For the purpose of this paper, separately analysed are data relating to general guest data, data based on which guest satisfaction with the entire stay is assessed, as well as data that provide a comparison between guest expectations (pre-arrival) and guest satisfaction with events, using a 5-point Likert scale. A total of 100 questionnaires were found usable for the study. The collected data were analysed using the statistical package SPSS for Windows 19.0. Results of the study show that pre-arrival guest-expectation concerning events was higher than guest satisfaction with events at the end of the stay, indicating that this element of the tourism offering failed to measure up to the expectations of guests. Results also show that an association exists between the level of guest satisfaction with events and the level of guest satisfaction with the destination’s overall tourism offering (Pearson’s R 0, 389, sig<0, 05). The discrepancy between guest expectation and guest satisfaction with events provided suggests the need for introducing new types of events and enhancing the quality of existing programmes. Event Management plays an indispensable role in augmenting the quality of a destination to make it distinctive by the experiences it offers and the extent to which it is capable of meeting the needs of modern guests. Hence, the paper emphasizes the importance of continuously measuring and assessing guest satisfaction with events offered to ensure that an event offering is designed in accordance with the expectations of modern guests. The study conducted has demonstrated that results obtained are useful to all tourism supply providers and, in particular, to Event Management, and that results must be continuously monitored.

event management ; guest satisfaction ; quality

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