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The Theoretical Model Underlying the Survey

The CWB index employed is based on needs hierarchy theory (Maslow, 1954, 1970), Herzberg (1966) two-factor theory, and travel/tourism research conducted using visitors of a popular national wildlife park in South Africadthe Kruger National Park (KNP) (Crompton, 1979; Dann, 1977, 1981; Van Der Merwe & Saayman, 2008). The central theoretical tenet underlying our CWB index is that human developmental needs encompass a wide range of needs grouped in terms of two major categories, namely high-order and low-order needs. High-order needs include the need for self-actualization, esteem, knowledge, and beauty or aesthetics. Low-order needs include physiological, economic, and social. Consumer goods and services that serve to meet the full spectrum of human developmental needs should then be rated highly in terms of CWB than goods and services that satisfy only a small subset of needs (Sirgy, Widgery, Lee, & Yu, 2010). Thus, our CWB index is conceptualized as a combination of high- and low-order needs. That is, CWB is enhanced when the consumption experiences meet the full spectrum of human developmental needs (i.e., safety, economic, family, social, esteem, actualization, knowledge, and aesthetics needs) (Sirgy, Lee, & Kressman, 2006).

The CWB index related to consumption experiences at a wildlife park comprises a synthesis of individual need satisfaction reflecting various travel motivations and experiences (Schreyer & Lime, 1984; Schreyer, Lime, & Williams, 1984; Watson, Roggenbuck, & Williams, 1991). The measure is conceptualized as the extent to which visiting a natural wildlife park satisfy a wide range of human developmental needs a la Maslow (1954, 1970), Herzberg (1966), and the research on visitors’ motives to relation to natural wildlife tourism (e.g., Bresler, 2011; Cini et al., 2013; Galloway & Lopez, 1999; Grafe, 1977; Iso-Ahola, 1989; Kim et al., 2003; Pearce & Lee, 2005; Uysal, McDonald, & Martin, 1994). Examples of the high-order need dimensions include: (1) need for exploration (“To explore”), (2) need to teach and impart knowledge to children (“For the benefit of my children”), (3) need to increase knowledge (“To increase my knowledge”), (4) need to gain new knowledge (“To learn about animals”), and (5) need to experience spirituality (“It is a spiritual experience”). Examples of the low-order need satisfaction dimensions include: (6) need for relaxation (“To relax”), (7) need for novelty seeking (“To get away from my routine”) (8) need to socialize (“To spend time with my friends”), (9) need for memorable accommodation and events (“accommodation and facilities”), and (10) need to document memorable things and events (“To see the Big 5”).

References

Lee, D. J., Kruger, S., Whang, M. J., Uysal, M., & Sirgy, M. J. (2014). Validating a customer well-being index related to natural wildlife tourism. Tourism Management, 45, 171-180.

Bibliography

Arbieu, U., Grünewald, C., Schleuning, M., & Böhning-Gaese, K. (2017). The importance of vegetation density for tourists’ wildlife viewing experience and satisfaction in African savannah ecosystems. PloS one, 12(9), e0185793.

Berbekova, A., & Uysal, M. (2021). Wellbeing and quality of life in tourism. In Tourist health, safety and wellbeing in the new normal (pp. 243-268). Singapore: Springer Singapore.

Garcês, S., Pocinho, M., Jesus, S. N., & Rieber, M. S. (2018). Positive psychology & tourism: A systematic literature review. Tourism & Management Studies, 14(3), 41-51.

Hartwell, H., Fyall, A., Willis, C., Page, S., Ladkin, A., & Hemingway, A. (2018). Progress in tourism and destination wellbeing research. Current issues in Tourism, 21(16), 1830-1892.

Liu, B., Li, Y., Kralj, A., Moyle, B., & He, M. (2022). Inspiration and wellness tourism: The role of cognitive appraisal. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 39(2), 173-187.

Liu, L., Zhou, Y., & Sun, X. (2023). The impact of the wellness tourism experience on tourist well-being: The mediating role of tourist satisfaction. Sustainability, 15(3), 1872.

Ohe, Y., Ikei, H., Song, C., & Miyazaki, Y. (2017). Evaluating the relaxation effects of emerging forest-therapy tourism: A multidisciplinary approach. Tourism Management, 62, 322-334.

Sirgy, M. J. (2019). Promoting quality-of-life and well-being research in hospitality and tourism. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 36(1), 1-13.

Sirgy, M. J., Uysal, M., & Kruger, S. (2017). Towards a benefits theory of leisure well-being. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 12(1), 205-228.

Sirgy, M. J., & Uysal, M. (2016). Developing a eudaimonia research agenda in travel and tourism. Handbook of eudaimonic well-being, 485-495.

Sirgy, M. J., Uysal, M., & Kruger, S. (2018). A benefits theory of leisure well-being. In Handbook of leisure, physical activity, sports, recreation and quality of life (pp. 3-18). Cham: Springer International Publishing.

Smith, M. K., & Csurgó, B. (2018). Tourism, wellbeing and cultural ecosystem services: a case study of Örség National Park, Hungary. In Tourism, health, wellbeing and protected areas (pp. 26-38). Wallingford UK: CAB International.

Uysal, M., Sirgy, M. J., Woo, E., & Kim, H. (2016). The impact of tourists activities on tourists ‘subjective wellbeing. The Routledge handbook of health tourism, 65-78.

Vada, S., Prentice, C., & Hsiao, A. (2019). The role of positive psychology in tourists’ behavioural intentions. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 51, 293-303.

Wang, Y. C., Liu, C. R., Huang, W. S., & Chen, S. P. (2020). Destination fascination and destination loyalty: Subjective well-being and destination attachment as mediators. Journal of Travel Research, 59(3), 496-511.

Xie, J., Tkaczynski, A., & Prebensen, N. K. (2020). Human value co-creation behavior in tourism: Insight from an Australian whale watching experience. Tourism Management Perspectives, 35, 100709.

Yan, B. J., Zhang, J., Zhang, H. L., Lu, S. J., & Guo, Y. R. (2016). Investigating the motivation–experience relationship in a dark tourism space: A case study of the Beichuan earthquake relics, China. Tourism Management, 53, 108-121.

Zhang, Y., Li, J., Liu, C. H., Shen, Y., & Li, G. (2021). The effect of novelty on travel intention: the mediating effect of brand equity and travel motivation. Management Decision, 59(6), 1271-1290.

Description of the Survey

	I. PARK SATISFACTION MEASURES higher order needs (exploration, discovery, benefit of children, education, spiritual reasons), lower order needs (relaxation, time with friends, entertainment), cost, time spent	II. SATISFACTION IN OTHER LIFE DOMAINS family, leisure, finances, health, education, social life, neighborhood life, community life, spiritual life, environment, housing, culture, social status
	III. LIFE SATISFACTION life in general	IV. DEMOGRAPHICS age, gender, marital status, full-time vs. part-time employment

Targets of the survey are introduced to the survey questionnaire via a cover letter from the client describing the objectives of the survey. Participants are assured that their responses would remain confidential and anonymous.

The questionnaire consists of three major sections. The first section involves the park satisfaction measure, which asks respondents to evaluate their satisfaction for higher order and lower order need satisfaction. See exact items of this construct in the actual online survey questionnaire.

The second section focuses on measures of satisfaction with various life domains, including the work domain, and life overall. See exact items of these constructs in the actual online survey questionnaire.

The last (third) section of the questionnaire contains demographic questions related to gender, age, educational level, years of service in current type of work, and years of service.

Conducting the Survey

The Management Institute for Quality-of-Life Studies (MIQOLS) provides assistance in conducting the survey online. The survey is first adapted to the exact specification of the community in question. The adapted version of the survey is then posted on MIQOLS website for data collection. A client representative must then publicize a call to target responders to complete the online survey anonymously and confidentially. A link is provided with the call to complete the survey with a specific deadline.

After the deadline, the survey site is closed and a spreadsheet is issued to the client.

The Survey Report

After the survey has been completed you will receive an Excel data file containing the survey data plus statistical norms for every survey item. A convenient summary sheet will be provided to quickly gauge the responses for each survey question, as well as the computed averages for important question sets.

Data: The raw data containing the results from the survey.

Summary: A sheet which summarizes the survey responses.

An example results spreadsheet is available here.

Data: The raw data containing the results from the survey.

Summary: A sheet which summarizes the survey responses.

An example results spreadsheet is available here.

If the spreadsheet provided is insufficient for your needs, you may also want to consider asking MIQOLS to produce an official report. Official reports can provide not only an analysis and visualization (in the form of charts and graphs) for each survey item, but also further analysis with respect to specific demographics of interest.

The production of an official report varies greatly depending on the specific needs of clients. If you are interested in pursuing this option, please contact us (office@miqols.org) to discuss in detail your requirements.

The report is structured as follows:

Cover page: A title page with applicant contact information and MIQOLS contact information
Executive Summary: The entire content of the report is summarized here.
Theory and Model: The theoretical model underlying the survey is described here and the theoretical constructs are clearly defined. The research supporting the model is also discussed in this section.
Description of the Survey: This section contains a description of the constructs with corresponding survey items.
Sampling and Data Collection: This part of the report describes the call issued to people to participate in the survey, the deadline imposed, any incentives used to encourage participation, the survey link, the number of people who actually participated in the survey, the total number of people contacted, and the response rate. The response rate is compared to past response rates.
Survey Results: This section of the report provides descriptive statistics related to each survey item with figures (e.g., bar charts) against the norm. The norm is calculated based on the average of all past surveys that have been administered through MIQOLS.
Discussion and Recommendations: The survey results are then summarized and interpreted in this section. As such, specific strengths and weaknesses are identified.
References: Exact references of corresponding text citations are fleshed out in this section.
Appendices: Extra detailed information related to any aspect of the report is placed in this section.

Example Reports

Project Fee

$1000 to help set up the survey site for your data collection (guided by the validated survey measures). After the completion of data collection, we will deliver an Excel data file containing the survey data plus statistical norms for every survey item. If you would like a full report with charts and recommendations, you can contact our office to discuss in detail your requirements and the corresponding payment.

To request MIQOLS to conduct a Satisfaction with Natural Wildlife TourismSatisfaction with Tourism Trips and Services Survey, please send an e-mail message to the executive director of MIQOLS, Joe Sirgy, at office@miqols.org indicating interest. You can also contact MIQOLS by letter (address: 6020 Lyons Road, Dublin, Virginia 24084, USA) or by phone (540-674-5022; leave voicemail message). A staff member will contact you by e-mail to set up a telephone (or Skype or ZOOM) meeting. The staff member will answer whatever questions you may have and discuss the logistics of the entire project, the cost, survey specifications, time line, delivery of the survey report and other details.

The Theoretical Model

Description

Conducting the Survey

The Survey Report

Project Fee

The Theoretical Model Underlying the Survey

Overall life satisfaction is derived from two sources of satisfaction, namely satisfaction with non-leisure life domains and satisfaction with leisure life. Satisfaction with leisure life is derived from satisfaction with leisure experiences that take place at home and satisfaction with travel/tourism experiences. Satisfaction with travel/tourism experiences results from satisfaction with trip reflections of the traveler (e.g., what the traveler remembers regarding perceived freedom from control, perceived freedom from work, involvement, arousal, mastery, and spontaneity experienced during the trip) and satisfaction with travel/tourism services. Satisfaction with travel/tourism services was further derived from satisfaction with the service aspects of travel/tourism phases – pre-trip services, enroute services, destination services, and return-trip services. The model was tested using a study of university faculty and staff.

References

Neal, J. D., Sirgy, M. J., & Uysal, M. (2004). Measuring the effect of tourism services on travelers’ quality of life: Further validation. Social Indicators Research, 69(3), 243-277.

Bibliography

Aydın, D., & Ömüriş, E. (2020). The mediating role of meaning in life in the relationship between memorable tourism experiences and subjective well-being. Advances in Hospitality and Tourism Research (AHTR), 8(2), 314-337.

Berdychevsky, L., Gibson, H. J., & Bell, H. L. (2013). Girlfriend getaways and women’s well-being. Journal of Leisure Research, 45(5), 602-623.

Bimonte, S., & Faralla, V. (2016). Does residents’ perceived life satisfaction vary with tourist season? A two-step survey in a Mediterranean destination. Tourism Management, 55, 199-208.

Bimonte, S., & Faralla, V. (2015). Happiness and outdoor vacations appreciative versus consumptive tourists. Journal of Travel Research, 54(2), 179-192.

Chen, C. C., Huang, W. J., & Petrick, J. F. (2016). Holiday recovery experiences, tourism satisfaction and life satisfaction–is there a relationship?. Tourism Management, 53, 140-147.

Chen, Y., & Li, X. R. (2018). Does a happy destination bring you happiness? Evidence from Swiss inbound tourism. Tourism management, 65, 256-266.

Chen, Y., Lin, Z., Filieri, R., & Liu, R. (2021). Subjective well-being, mobile social media and the enjoyment of tourism experience: a broaden-and-build perspective. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 26(10), 1070-1080.

Cini, F., Kruger, S., & Ellis, S. (2013). A model of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations on subjective well-being: The experience of overnight visitors to a national park. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 8(1), 45-61.

Crespi-Vallbona, M. (2021). Satisfying experiences: guided tours at cultural heritage sites. Journal of Heritage Tourism, 16(2), 201-217.

Dolnicar, S., Yanamandram, V., & Cliff, K. (2012). The contribution of vacations to quality of life. Annals of tourism research, 39(1), 59-83.

Dolnicar, S., Lazarevski, K., & Yanamandram, V. (2013). Quality of life and tourism: A conceptual framework and novel segmentation base. Journal of business research, 66(6), 724-729.

Gao, J., Kerstetter, D. L., Mowen, A. J., & Hickerson, B. (2018). Changes in tourists’ perception of well-being based on their use of emotion regulation strategies during vacation. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 35(5), 567-582.

Holm, M. R., Lugosi, P., Croes, R. R., & Torres, E. N. (2017). Risk-tourism, risk-taking and subjective well-being: A review and synthesis. Tourism Management, 63, 115-122.

Kirillova, K., Lehto, X. Y., & Cai, L. (2017). Existential authenticity and anxiety as outcomes: The tourist in the experience economy. International Journal of Tourism Research, 19(1), 13-26.

Liang, Z. X., & Hui, T. K. (2016). Residents’ quality of life and attitudes toward tourism development in China. Tourism Management, 57, 56-67.

Lin, Z., Chen, Y., & Filieri, R. (2017). Resident-tourist value co-creation: The role of residents’ perceived tourism impacts and life satisfaction. Tourism Management, 61, 436-442.

Luo, Y., Lanlung, C., Kim, E., Tang, L. R., & Song, S. M. (2018). Towards quality of life: The effects of the wellness tourism experience. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 35(4), 410-424.

Mathis, E. F., Kim, H. L., Uysal, M., Sirgy, J. M., & Prebensen, N. K. (2016). The effect of co-creation experience on outcome variable. Annals of tourism research, 57, 62-75.

McCabe, S., & Johnson, S. (2013). The happiness factor in tourism: Subjective well-being and social tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 41, 42-65.

Meng, F. (2006). An examination of destination competitiveness from the tourists’ perspective: The relationship between quality of tourism experience and perceived destination competitiveness.

Nawijn, J., Marchand, M. A., Veenhoven, R., & Vingerhoets, A. J. (2010). Vacationers happier, but most not happier after a holiday. Applied research in quality of life, 5(1), 35-47.

Nawijn, J., & Veenhoven, R. (2011). The effect of leisure activities on life satisfaction: The importance of holiday trips. In The human pursuit of well-being: A cultural approach (pp. 39-53). Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands.

Pan, Y., Fu, X., & Wang, Y. (2020). How does travel link to life satisfaction for senior tourists?. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 45, 234-244.

Pyke, J., Pyke, S., & Watuwa, R. (2019). Social tourism and well-being in a first nation community. Annals of Tourism Research, 77, 38-48.

Smith, M. K., & Diekmann, A. (2017). Tourism and wellbeing. Annals of tourism research, 66, 1-13.

Su, L., Swanson, S. R., & Chen, X. (2016). The effects of perceived service quality on repurchase intentions and subjective well-being of Chinese tourists: The mediating role of relationship quality. Tourism management, 52, 82-95.

Wang, S. (2017). Leisure travel outcomes and life satisfaction: An integrative look. Annals of Tourism Research, 63, 169-182.

Yan, N., de Bloom, J., & Halpenny, E. (2024). Integrative review: Vacations and subjective well-being. Journal of Leisure Research, 55(1), 65-94.

Description of the Survey

	I. SERVICE ASPECTS OF TRAVEL/TOURISM PHASES pre-trip services, enroute services, destination services, and return-trip services	II. TRIP REFLECTIONS OF THE TRAVELER memories regarding perceived freedom from control, perceived freedom from work, involvement, arousal, mastery, and spontaneity experienced during the trip
	III. LEISURE EXPERIENCES leisure at home, leisure at large	IV. SATISFACTION IN OTHER LIFE DOMAINS family, finances, health, education, social life, neighborhood life, community life, spiritual life, environment, housing, culture, social status
	V. DEMOGRAPHICS age, gender, marital status, full-time vs. part-time employment

The questionnaire consists of three major sections. The first section involves trips and tourism satisfaction measure, which asks respondents to evaluate their satisfaction with leisure experiences that take place at home and satisfaction with travel/tourism experiences. Satisfaction with travel/tourism experiences are broken down into satisfaction with trip reflections of the traveler (e.g., what the traveler remembers regarding perceived freedom from control, perceived freedom from work, involvement, arousal, mastery, and spontaneity experienced during the trip) and satisfaction with travel/tourism services. Satisfaction with travel/tourism services is further separated into satisfaction with the service aspects of travel/tourism phases – pre-trip services, enroute services, destination services, and return-trip services. See exact items of this construct in the actual online survey questionnaire.

The last (third) section of the questionnaire contains demographic questions related to gender, age, educational level, years of service in current type of work, and years of service.

Conducting the Survey

After the deadline, the survey site is closed and a spreadsheet is issued to the client.

The Survey Report

Data: The raw data containing the results from the survey.

Summary: A sheet which summarizes the survey responses.

An example results spreadsheet is available here.

Data: The raw data containing the results from the survey.

Summary: A sheet which summarizes the survey responses.

An example results spreadsheet is available here.

The report is structured as follows:

Cover page: A title page with applicant contact information and MIQOLS contact information
Executive Summary: The entire content of the report is summarized here.
Theory and Model: The theoretical model underlying the survey is described here and the theoretical constructs are clearly defined. The research supporting the model is also discussed in this section.
Description of the Survey: This section contains a description of the constructs with corresponding survey items.
Sampling and Data Collection: This part of the report describes the call issued to people to participate in the survey, the deadline imposed, any incentives used to encourage participation, the survey link, the number of people who actually participated in the survey, the total number of people contacted, and the response rate. The response rate is compared to past response rates.
Survey Results: This section of the report provides descriptive statistics related to each survey item with figures (e.g., bar charts) against the norm. The norm is calculated based on the average of all past surveys that have been administered through MIQOLS.
Discussion and Recommendations: The survey results are then summarized and interpreted in this section. As such, specific strengths and weaknesses are identified.
References: Exact references of corresponding text citations are fleshed out in this section.
Appendices: Extra detailed information related to any aspect of the report is placed in this section.

	MIQOLS; 6020 Lyons Road; Dublin, Virginia 24084; USA
	office@miqols.org
	+1-540-674-5022