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STUDY ON SATISFACTION OF TOURISTS ON ECOTOURISM &

CULTURAL/HERITAGE SITES IN SAN MIGUEL, BULACAN

MARK JOHN L. ABO

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT

March 2012

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STUDY ON SATISFACTION OF TOURISTS ON ECOTOURISM &

CULTURAL/HERITAGE SITES IN SAN MIGUEL, BULACAN

An undergraduate thesis presented to the faculty of Institute of Management

Bulacan Agricultural State College, San Ildefonso, Bulacan

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree

Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management

Mark John L. Abo

March 2012

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APPROVAL SHEET

This thesis entitled “STUDY ON SATISFACTION OF TOURISTS ON

ECOTOURISM & CULTURAL/HERITAGE SITES IN SAN MIGUEL,

BULACAN”, prepared and submitted by Mark John L. Abo in partial fulfillment of the

requirements for the degree Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management, has been

examined and is recommended for acceptance and approval.

JULITA J. PONCE Adviser

Approved by the EXAMINATION COMMITTEE on February 17, 2012.

BILLY JOE V. VILLENA ELEONORA V. UY

Member Member

________ ________

Date Date

RONALD REAGAN T. ALONZO

Chairman

_______

Date

Accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Bachelor of

Science in Hospitality Management.

ELEONORA V. UY CESAR T. VILLANUEVA

HM Program Chair Dean, Institute of Management

ENGR. LIBERATO B. SILVERIO DINAH MARIE C. DAYAG

Director for Instruction Director for Research

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The researcher would like to express his gratitude to the following

people/agencies who helped him finish this undergraduate thesis;

The Tourism Office of the Municipality of San Miguel, Bulacan under the

leadership of Mr. Rodrigo R. Florencio and the Public Administration Office spearheaded

by Ms. Mary Jane Dela Cruz for allowing the conduct of this study.

To Mr. Billy Joe Villena and Engr. Emmanuel De Jesus for their help for

computation, analysis and interpretation of collected data.

To Christian A. Dela Cruz who helped the researcher finish this study and the

support he has granted together with the researcher’s classmates who prayed and

supported him since the conduct of the thesis started.

To Mrs. Julita J. Ponce, his thesis adviser and Mrs. Eleonora V. Uy for the

support and help they have given.

To Mr. Cesar T. Villanueva, Dean of the Institute of Management and Mr. Ronald

Reagan T. Alonzo for their part in carefully scrutinizing this study.

To his family for their prayers, understanding and financial support during the

conduct of the survey up to the final binding of this manuscript.

And above all, to the Almighty God who gave him strength, guidance and good

health which helped finish this thesis. With God, nothing is impossible.

M. J. L. ABO

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Mark John Lugares Abo was born on September 22, 1990 at his family’s

residence, Barangay Sapang Putol, San Ildefonso, Bulacan and was the seventh of the

eight children of Mr. Mariano Princesa Abo and Mrs. Marcela Lugares Abo.

He finished his elementary education at the San Ildefonso North Central

Elementary School located at Barangay Poblacion, San Ildefonso, Bulacan. He acquired

his secondary education at the Laboratory High School of the Bulacan Agricultural State

College (BASC) located at Barangay Pinaod, San Ildefonso, Bulacan. He is taking up

Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management at BASC.

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ABO, MARK JOHN L. STUDY ON SATISFACTION OF TOURISTS ON

ECOTOURISM & CULTURAL/HERITAGE SITES IN SAN MIGUEL, BULACAN

Adviser: MRS. JULITA J. PONCE

ABSTRACT

This study sought to assess the satisfaction of tourists in relation to the attributes

of the areas and the tourist demographic and travel characteristics of tourist attractions in

San Miguel, Bulacan namely San Vicente old houses, Biak na Bato National Park,

Madlum caves and Banal na Bundok. A total of 80 respondents were randomly selected

and were given a questionnaire each to assess their experience on the areas of study. The

attributes that the tourists assessed are accessibility, accommodation, environment, food

and beverage establishment, price, security, shopping and recreational facilities, and

tourist personnel. Computed data were analyzed and interpreted using weighted mean,

scoring mode and percentage distribution in determining the overall satisfaction of the

tourists. Based upon the results, the tourists that visit ecotourism and cultural/heritage

sites in San Miguel, Bulacan are slightly satisfied with the facilities and amenities

provided in the site. Improvements should be considered to enhance tourist satisfaction

however, to boost marketability and sustainability. Tourist demographics such as sex,

civil status, age, estimated household income and educational attainment can also be

significant in terms of the satisfaction of the tourists as they travel. Travel behavior

characteristics can also be related to the satisfaction of the tourist as it can foresee if the

tourists are repetitive to visit the place, their usual travel group, and from which sources

they knew about the place.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

TITLE PAGE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ii

APPROVAL PAGE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii

ACKNOWLEDGMENT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v

ABSTRACT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii

LIST OF TABLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ix

LIST OF FIGURES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi

LIST OF APPENDICES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xii

CHAPTER I. THE PROBLEM & ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Statement of the Problem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Significance of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Objectives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Scope & Limitation of the Study. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Time & Place of the Study. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Definition of Terms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY

Research Design. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

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Respondents of the Study. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Data Gathering Procedure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Statistical Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Scoring Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

CHAPTER IV. RESULTS & DISCUSSIONS

Weighted Mean Result. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Percentage Distribution Result. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

CHAPTER V. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS

Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Conclusions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Recommendations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

LITERATURE CITED

APPENDICES

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LIST OF TABLES

No. Title Page

1 Grand mean result of tourist satisfaction on attributes connected

with the tourist areas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

2 General assessment of respondents on the areas as tourist

attractions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

3 Frequency and percentage of tourists for every area in terms of

sexual orientation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

4 Weighted mean result of attributes based on sexual

orientation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

5 Frequency and percentage of tourists for every area in terms of

civil status. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

6 Weighted mean result of attributes based on civil status. . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

7 Frequency and percentage of tourists for every area in terms of

age. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

8 Weighted mean result of attributes based on age. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

9 Frequency and percentage of tourists for every area in terms of

household income. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

10 Weighted mean result of attributes based on estimated

household income. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

11 Frequency and percentage of tourists for every area in terms of

educational attainment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30

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12 Weighted mean result of attributes based on educational

attainment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

13 Frequency and percentage of tourists for every area in terms

of travel party. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

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LIST OF FIGURES

No. Title Page

1 Result of percentage distribution in terms of repeat visit at

the areas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

2 Result of percentage distribution in terms of count of visits

at the areas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

3 Result of percentage distribution based on source by which tourists

learned about the place. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

4 Respondent from Biak na Bato while answering

the survey questionnaire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

5 Respondents from the Madlum caves while answering

survey questionnaires. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

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LIST OF APPENDICES

Letter Title Page

A Sample survey questionnaire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

B Letter of request. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

C Sample survey questionnaire with answer from respondent

visiting Biak na Bato. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

D Sample survey questionnaire with answer from

respondent visiting Banal na Bundok. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

E Sample survey questionnaire with answer

from respondent visiting Madlum caves. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

F Sample survey questionnaire with answer from respondent

visiting San Vicente. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50

G Documentation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52

H Researcher’s curriculum vitae. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53