Multi-dimensional Analysis and Prediction Model for Tourist Satisfaction

Abstract

This work assesses the degree of satisfaction tourists receive as final recipients in a tourism destination based on the fact that satisfied tourists can make a significant contribution to the growth and continuous improvement of a tourism business. The work considers Pokhara, the tourism capital of Nepal as a prefecture of study. A stratified sampling methodology with open-ended survey questions is used as a primary source of data for a sample size of 1019 for both international and domestic tourists. The data collected through a survey is processed using a data mining tool to perform multi-dimensional analysis to discover information patterns and visualize clusters. Further, supervised machine learning algorithms, kNN, Decision tree, Support vector machine, Random forest, Neural network, Naïve Bayes, and Gradient boost are used to develop models for training and prediction purposes for the survey data. To find the best model for prediction purposes, different performance matrices are used to evaluate a model for performance, accuracy, and robustness. The best model is used in constructing a learning-enabled model for predicting tourists as satisfied, neutral, and unsatisfied visitors. This work is very important for tourism business personnel, government agencies, and tourism stakeholders to find information on tourist satisfaction and factors that influence it. Though this work was carried out for Pokhara city of Nepal, the study is equally relevant to any other tourism destination of similar nature.