Factors Influencing Chinese Tourists in Thailand Towards Using Thailand’s Restaurant Recommendation Applications

Abstract

The objectives of this study are: 1) to study important factors in influencing Chinese tourists in Thailand when choosing to use the Thailand’s restaurant recommendation applications; and 2) to study satisfaction level of Chinese tourists in Thailand regarding Thailand’s restaurant recommendation applications. The sample used in the study was taken from 400 Chinese free individual travelers (FIT), who traveled to Thailand within the last 2 years. The questionnaire used in the study is in Chinese that has been translated from Thai language. The measurement is based on a 7-point Likert scale questionnaire collected through Link and QR code distributed to the targeted tourists via three major Chinese applications, including WeChat, QQ, and Weibo. The statistics used for data analysis were percentage, mean, AVE and parameters. The application ADANCO Version 2.1.1 was utilized to assess the structural model and the relationship between variables.

The research revealed that Chinese language functions (  = 5.34) and reviews by others (  = 4.96) are important factors influencing the tourist decision-making towards using Thailand’s restaurant recommendation applications. Brand familiarity (  = 4.31) has moderate influence towards using the applications.