Definition of TermsTourism is defin

Definition of Terms

Tourism is defined as a short-term movement of people to areas some distance from their normal place of residence in order to indulge in pleasurable activities (Swarbrooke and Horner, 2007). It is the sum of phenomena and relationships arising from the interaction among tourists, business suppliers, host governments, host communities, origin governments, universities, community colleges, and non-governmental organizations throughout the process of attracting, transporting, hosting and managing of the tourists and other visitors (Weave and Lawton, 2002). A tourist is a person who temporarily travels outside of his or her usual environment. Domestic tourist is one whose itinerary is confined to their usual country of residence, and an international tourist is a person who travels beyond their usual country of residence. Lanna cultural tourism product is defined as the handicraftmade by the Lanna local artisan or hilltribe people producing related cultural products, such as cotton, silk, embroidery, silverware, lacquer ware, or woodcarving, etc. and is also represented by the performing arts, such as Lanna Thai classical dance or folk music.

The Importance of Tourist Satisfaction

Satisfying consumers in tourism is important for at least three main reasons (Swarbrooke and Horner, 2007), as shown:

1. It leads to positive word-of-mouth recommendation of the product to friends and relatives, which in turn, attracts new customers.

2. Creating a repeat customer by satisfying them with their first use of the product brings a steady source of income without the need for extra marketing expenditure.

3. Dealing with complaints is expensive, time-consuming and bad for the organization's reputation. Furthermore, it can add direct costs through compensation payments.

Figure 1 illustrates a simplified view or model of the process by which tourists are either satisfied or not.