Tourists’ satisfaction on heritage sites of Dhaka city in Bangladesh

Abstract

Purpose Heritage tourism is recognized as one of the major factors for influencing national identities to the tourists through highlighting the connection between built and live heritages. Bangladesh is a country of treasure for heritage attractions. Lalbagh Fort and Ahsan Manzil are two famous Muslim heritage sites in Dhaka city. This study aims to measure the tourists’ satisfaction with these two attractions. Design/methodology/approach The study uses a non-probability convenience sampling technique to collect the primary data. A total of 100 tourists have been selected from both study areas, and primary data are collected through a structured questionnaire. A summated Likert Scale is used to obtain the tourists’ perception of five dimensions – attraction, information, staff and access, environment and facilities and satisfaction levels. Later, multiple regression analysis is used to identify the tourists’ satisfaction-related dimensions of the study sites. Findings The results reveal that four dimensions, namely, attraction, information, staff and access and environment are statistically significantly related to tourists’ satisfaction. Whereas, beta value for facilities dimension was found statistically insignificant. It implies that tourists’ are not satisfied with the information regarding the study sites, and observed facilities seem to be insufficient to meet the perception of the tourists. Practical implications The study suggests that recruitment of trained staffs, undertake programs to preserve and maintain the quality of attractions, proper promotional activities, well-kept and cleaning arrangements and improved facilities and services are essential to increase the tourists’ satisfaction in Lalbagh Fort and Ahsan Manzil heritage sites. Originality/value Dhaka city is famous for mosques and other Muslim heritages. Lalbagh Fort and Ahsan Manzil are two famous Muslim heritages sites in Dhaka city attracting huge tourists from home and abroad. In this paper, an investigation is carried out to measure the tourists’ satisfaction with these two attractions based on their perceptions.