Effects of perceived value, expectation, visitor management, and visitor satisfaction on revisit intention to Borobudur Temple, Indonesia

ABSTRACT

Borobudur Temple is a World Heritage Site in Java, Indonesia, that sees millions of visitors each year. However, first-time sightseers make up the vast majority of visitors, leaving questions as to why few people decide to return to the site. This study aimed to analyze the effects of perceived service quality, perceived value, expectation, and visitor management on visitor satisfaction, and the effect of satisfaction on revisit intention. Data analysis comprised descriptive analysis to determine Borobudur visitors’ agreement level with the aforementioned variables, correlation analysis of these variables with respondents’ characteristics, and regression analysis to identify the effect of the variables on revisit intention. Country of origin was the only visitor characteristic to have a positive and significant correlation with revisit intention. Our hypothesis that all variables have a positive and significant correlation with revisit intention was confirmed, but contrary to previous studies, expectation and perceived value had a greater impact on revisit intention than satisfaction and visitor management. Based on these findings, development of Borobudur and other cultural heritage sites should primarily take visitors’ expectations into account, along with the cultural values inherent in the temple. Visitor experience should be maximized alongside maintaining the cultural significance of the site.

KEYWORDS:

• Revisit intention
• cultural tourism
• Borobudur Temple
• cultural heritage
• Indonesia

Acknowledgement

This research was supported by Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia. We would like to express our gratitude to anonymous referees for comments and criticisms, and to Joaquim Baeta for English editing of this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Universitas Gadjah Mada.

Notes on contributors

Janianton Damanik

Janianton Damanik is a professor at the Department of Social Development, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, and currently as a Head of the Center for Tourism Studies, Universitas Gadjah Mada. He holds a PhD in Social Geography from Universitaet Bielefeld, Germany, and has been a guest lecturer at the Hochschule Konstanz, Germany. His research interest focuses on the issue of community livelihood, especially through community-based tourism schemes. Some of his scientific publications have been published in international journals, among others: Examining emerging social policy during Covid-19 in Indonesia and the case for a community-based support system (Asia Pacific Journal for Social Work and Development); Analysis of the tourist experience of management of a heritage tourism product: Case study of the Sultan Palace of Yogyakarta, Indonesia (Journal of Heritage Tourism); and Subjective life satisfaction in changing rural Yogyakarta, Indonesia (The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social and Community Studies).

Mohamad Yusuf

Mohamad Yusuf is a lecturer at Tourism Studies, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada Yogyakarta, Indonesia. He is also an Expert Staff Member of Center for Tourism Studies, Universitas Gadjah Mada Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Among his research interests are those related to tourism education, sustainable tourism, ritual studies, and tourism curriculum. Some of his publications are, among others: Toward a framework for an undergraduate academic tourism curriculum in Indonesian Universities: Some perspectives from stakeholders (Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism Education); Ecological politics of water: The ramifications of tourism development in Yogyakarta (Journal of South-East Asian Research); and How far can tourism go: Residents' attitudes toward tourism development in Yogyakarta City, Indonesia (Indonesian Journal of Geography).