Chapter 5: Findings of the Qualitative Phase of the TDQ Study

This chapter presents findings of the qualitative phase of the TDQ study that aimed at exploring what tourists associate with tourism destination quality in terms of its attributes and dimensions. The exploratory study involved 41 in-depth interviews with tourists of diverse socio-economic backgrounds. This chapter outlines the qualitative study respondents' profile and identifies the emergent attributes and dimensions of tourism destination quality.

Forty-one tourists took part in the exploratory qualitative study. The sample was diverse in terms of respondents' characteristics as indicated in Table 5.1. In summary, respondents were divided almost equally in terms of gender with 49% female and 51% male. Nearly half of the respondents (49%) visited a tourism destination with children. As Table 5.1 shows, respondents were spread evenly through age ranges, with the largest group between 45 and 54. Almost two-thirds (64%) of respondents were white, although there were also Asian, blacks and mixed-race respondents. Interviewees were generally well educated, with a relatively large number having at least an undergraduate level degree (27%). The sample was also quite diverse in terms of annual household income with most respondents (90%) being in the lower and medium income levels bracket.