Perceptions of Sudanese Tourists towards Tourist Destinations of Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia
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Date
2021-02
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Tourism industry is highly affected by the perception that tourists may carry about the particular destination and hence it is very important to have timely studies on this issue. This study was conducted to assess perceptions of Sudanese tourists towards tourist destinations of Amhara Regional State particularly focusing on specific tourists who visited destinations of Gondar, Bahir Dar and Lalibela. To get this, both quantitative and qualitative approaches were employed and hence, quantitative and qualitative data were collected from purposely and conveniently selected respondents. Quantitative data was collected from 108 Sudanese tourists based on availability sampling technique. Qualitative data was collected from 8 key informants drawn from governmental bodies, tour operators and tour leaders in Sudan. Quantitative data was analyzed by using descriptive statistics while qualitative data was analyzed through discourse and content analysis. This finding clearly shows that Sudanese tourists’ perception towards tourist destinations of Gondar, Lalibela and Bahir Dar in destination attributes of climate and weather conditions, availability of attractions and hospitality are relatively high and positive. Opposite to this, their perception towards these tourist destinations at destination attributes of availability of tourist information, tourist infrastructure, safety and security and money value at destinations is relatively low. When individual performance of each tourist destinations is
assessed, Bahir Dar is the most positively perceived tourist destination followed by Gondar. Contrary to this, Lalibela is the least positively perceived tourist destination by Sudanese tourists. Giving due attention for timely studies on tourist perceptions, working closely with Embassy of Sudan in Ethiopia, assigning highly qualified tourism marketing and promotion professionals at Embassies and Consulates of Ethiopia in foreign countries and undertaking comprehensive studies on internal and external motivating factors of Sudanese tourists in choosing and deciding tourist destinations were recommended issues in this research.
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Keywords
Perception, Sudanese Tourists, Gondar, Lalibela, Bahir Dar