INTRODUCTION
Tourism in theme parks had increased due to higher wealth, money and more leisure time (Teo and Yeoh, 2001). Park tourism has become important activity where visitor's satisfaction and priorities are taken care by the park owners (Eagles, 2014). The visitor's perception had motived tourists to visit a particular site or destination, the symbolic, emotional and functional meanings they ascribe to that site, and their insights and observations of the authenticity of the site they visited (Budruk et al., 2008).
The role of destination image on tourist's destination choices had an impact on new information and had progressed significantly (Li, Ali, and Kim, 2015; Jun and Yan, 2015). Proposed tourists formed the image of the group of destinations they considered to visit and images that influenced destinations they finally visit (Gartner, 1989). The image and perceived value of a particular place help to determine the behavioural intentions of the visitors (Jin, Lee, and Lee, 2013). Theme park destinations attempt to optimize visitors' experience in the park (Kemperman, et al., 2003). At times the positive tourist experiences encourage destination loyalty and thus tourists' intentions to re-visit a theme park increases (Muller, Tse and Venkatasubramaniam, 1991; Barsky and Nash, 2003; Ma, Gao, Scott and Ding, 2013; Bigne´, Andreu, and Gnoth, 2005).
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New information technologies and telecommunications had influenced the theme park tourism industry (Gonzaga and Kogan, 2005). Tourists' intention to visit a theme park is significantly related to the image of that park (Quintal and Phau, 2015). Parks based on different themes, diversity of products along with environmental hygiene, quality of tourism infrastructure, etc. have an impact on the image of the park selected (Li, Kim and Wong, 2017). Moreover, travel arrangements act as a satisfaction and image building for the visitors to these parks (Liu, Li, and Yang, 2015). The psychological forces that motivate individual's travel-related decisions have an impact on the level of satisfaction (Beritelli and Bieger, 2014; Chon, 1990). The visitors' features significantly affect the relationship between the image of the theme park and visitors' satisfaction or behavioural intentions to re-visit (Li, Ali and Kim, 2017). Thus, the affinity of the atmosphere plays an important role in predicting future visits of the tourists (Hallmann and Breuer, 2010).
The tourism industry in an economy had increased due to the contribution of theme parks in some economies (Dong and Sin, 2013). The re-visit intention of the visitors' to theme parks helped to create more revenue for the country (Park and Yoon, 2009). An individuals' willingness to accurately predict an intention of the tourist to re-visit the same park destinations has grown (Han and Kim, 2010). Researchers have focused on factors that contribute to re-visit intention of the existing customers (Stylos, et al., 2016; Assaker & Hallak, 2013; Assaker, Vinzi, & O'Connor, 2011; Alegre & Garau, 2011; Chen and Chen, 2010; Cole and Scott, 2004; Baloglu, 2000; Chen & Tsai, 2007). In other words, tourist's intention for planning to perform the certain behavior at a chosen theme parks becomes important (Oliver, 1997; Ajzen, 2002; Ryan and Glendon, 1997).
Theme-park destination in India had increased across the globe as it depicts Indian art, culture and provides leisure opportunities (Kapur, 2016). After liberalization policies in India, the tourist arrivals were expected to grow at an average annual rate of 7.9% till 2023 (Indian Tourism Statistics, 2014). It had become the third fastest growing tourism destination in the world. The varieties of travel packages and discounts had been provided to attract and promote theme parks in India. These packages helped to gather feedback from the visitors and their experience in theme parks (Lan, 2011). In this study, we selected a theme park which provides pleasurable experiences and leisure activity with emphasis on the delivery of a sense of fantasy (Pikkemaat and Schuckert, 2007). The visit to a theme park provides an experience and maximises fun that adds on the quality of tourists' experiences (Milan, 2009; Reiter, 2004). Thus in this paper, we attempt to understand the factors that provide satisfaction to the visitors of theme park destinations and to predict visitors' intent to re-visit the theme park destinations in India. It will promote Indian tourism industry by motivating managers to bring up new, creative and innovative ideas to attract more visitors in theme parks.
We organize the rest of the article as follows: we first summarize prior findings and provide a conceptual framework, and develop our research hypothesis and methodology, introduce tourist parks in Indian markets. We specify and report the findings and discussion. In the final section, we offer managerial implications and provide recommendations to our findings.
LITERATURE REVIEW AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
There is limited empirical research on the tourism research perceptions by the consumers across the globe (Wu, et al., 2012; and Lemmetyinen, 2015) and its implications on the socio-economic development possibilities (Park, et al., 2016; and Markowitz, 2001). Tourists travel to explore more about the people and the stories associated with the historical, cultural and natural resources of the region (Yeh and Lin, 2017; National Trust, 2006). Tourism may encourage people to start up new ventures and develop new businesses to enable them to access markets nearby (Mitrut and Constantin, 2009). Thus nature of tourism phenomenon employs new dynamic places and state the relationship between human mobility and immobility's (Bærenholdt, Haldrup, Larsen, and Urry, 2004). The shift of tourism towards pilgrimage and religious destinations have transformed the visitor's experience to do activities taking place at these theme parks (Collins-Kreiner, 2010). From a social and cultural perspective, tourism can improve the quality of life of its nearby people by providing the increased number of attractions, recreational opportunities, and services (Sharpley and Jepson, 2011). It may offer residents the opportunity to meet new people, experience different cultural practices, increase the insight and appreciation for different approaches to living (Galdini, 2005). The world's top 25 destinations and parks hosted 187.6 million guests in 2007 (Rubin, 2008; Pricewaterhouse Coopers 2008).
Tourists' behaviour within theme parks is reasonably different based on the visitor's activity choices and preferences for activities provided within the theme park. Tourists define attitude as the psychological tendencies expressed by both positive and negative evaluations of tourists when they engage in certain behaviour (Lee, 2009). It signifies that the image of the park is formed due to the number of times the tourist visits same destinations (Gallarza, et al., 2002) and develops a particular feeling towards an object (Pike and Ryan, 2004). The image of the place influences the attitude of the tourist towards a particular type of behaviour. To increase the number of repeat visits to a theme park more attractive facilities should be introduced carefully to fill up time between planned facilities (Dietvorst 1995; Jeng and Fesenmaier 1998; Tideswell and Faulkner 1999; Taplin and McGinley, 2000). An understanding of visitors' preferences for different activity patterns in a theme park is highly relevant because it can develop a better theoretical understanding of theme park visitors' complex choice behavior.
The theme park visitors experience includes visitors' approach towards pleasure to avoid pain (hedonic consumption) (Hirschman & Holbrook, 1982). Previous research on experiences has attempted to explain what a service experience consists of (Grace and O'Cass, 2004). The theme parks consisted of a mixture of entertainment, rides, games, and demonstrate skills at fairs, carnivals, and circuses and the religious and cultural values of the region. They had an outdoor garden for drinking (Pearce, 1988). The success for these kinds of parks is based on the opinions of operators, consultants and marketers (Lavery and Stevens, 1990; Stevens, 1991; Gratton, 1992; Martin and Mason, 1993; Pearce and Rutledge 1994; Tourism Research and Marketing, 1996). They had encouraged visitors to re-visit the theme park mainly due to the cultural values, historical or entertainment factors (Malhotra and Ranjan, 2013). Also, the consumer lifestyles and their demographic changes attract future tourist (Martin and Mason, 1993). These parks need to attract and satisfy tourists who are demanding and discriminating. Furthermore, a regular visitor is preferred as per the choice of the park (Hayes, 2015).
The Butler Model of tourism development given by Butler in 1980 states that tourism carrying capacity and sustainability are important to attract tourists carefully. With an intention to manage tourism based parks, we need to protect theme parks from being overcrowded. There are six stages of the tourism cycles namely the exploration stage, the involvement stage, the development stage, the consolidation stage, the stagnation stage and the decline scenario. India is at present in the development stage wherein high number of tourists, heavy advertisement and well-defined tourist market, local involvement, and control of tourism declines, natural and cultural attractions are developed and marketed, local people experience physical changes of the area that takes place in terms of different theme parks developed nearby. Thus the development scenario is required to bring change in tourism attractions and previously untapped tourism resources may be found.
Since India is a land of diversities, that hosts the diversity of culture, languages, religion, traditions, foods, music, dance, etc. that makes it the most popular tourist destinations (Girardin, et al., 2007). The tourists experience in India is further enhanced due to the rich hospitality, unique culture and a variety of cuisines found in different regions in India. This experience enables Indian tourism industry to grow and attract tourists across the globe (Kapur, 2016, George, 2006). Moreover, the decision to visit theme parks depends on the tourists' perception of various theme parks depicting their own heritage and understanding of various cultures and religious values (Ranjan and Malhotra, 2011; Poria, Butler and Airey, 2004).
From a social and cultural perspective, tourism has improved the quality of life of its nearby visitors by providing the increased number of attractions, recreational opportunities, and services (Sharpley and Jepson, 2011). It may offer residents the opportunity to meet new people, experience different cultural practices, increase the insight and appreciation for different approaches to living (Galdini, 2005). Therefore, an attempt is made to predict the re-visit intention of tourists to theme park destinations operational in India. Tourists' awareness, reasons and preferences for selecting a particular theme park is based on the experience that they have within a park. Also the strategic plans and policies need to be implemented to attract these tourists to re-visit the parks (McDonald, 2009).
Social sciences are used to explain consumer behaviour in tourism. Most approaches explain decision-making behaviour process which includes pleasure and enjoyment they experience at a particular theme based destinations (Decrop, 1999). Some other traditional approaches consider individuals as a rational being (Heider, 1958; Mano and Oliver, 1993; Oliver, 1994; Bingne, Andrew and Gnoth, 2005). Also, loyalty with a particular theme park brings satisfaction to the tourists (Selnes, 1993; Brady and Robertson, 2001; Yu and Dean, 2001, Loken, 2006; Van Dolen, et al., 2004). For our study we have formulated the following hypothesis:
H1: The higher the tourist expectations from the theme park, there is a positive effect on the satisfaction image of the theme park and thus re-visit to theme parks increases.
It is believed that if the tourist who had visited a theme park had a positive experience while performing certain activities provided by the theme park is satisfied then his likely chance of visiting the theme park increases and his expectations also increase and thus revisit happens. It is only after the experience the consumer states if the product performed better or worse than expected (Oliver, 1980). Similarly, within the theme park, the visitor's expectation varies with respect to the negative or positive experiences and thus variations in the satisfaction level of the visitors differ. The effect of the disconfirmation on the satisfaction can be supported by Contrast theory (Hovland, Harvey and Sherif, 1957). After a visit to a theme park, the visitors or consumer's experiences, beliefs and performance is perceived with a difference due to the surprise or the contracts' that is originated (Del Bosque and San Martin, 2008). As per the individual's experience of what they would do under different circumstances leads to contrast or variations in their satisfaction levels (Jin, Lee, and Lee, 2015; Morgan, Attaway and Griffin, 1996; Oliver 1993; Yi 1990). This disconfirmation of expectations of the consumers is also acknowledged in tourism research (Bigne and Andrew, 2004; Bigne, et al., 2005; Chon and Olsen, 1991). Thus we have formulated another hypothesis for our study.
H2: The higher the level of tourist satisfaction, the higher the number of re-visits or stronger the loyalty to the theme park destination.
An exploration of visitor's satisfaction to visit any theme park it is needed to predict and understand the individual's responses after they had an experience in a theme park. The relationship between satisfaction and the loyalty of the tourist willingness to re-visit the theme park has been identified (Baker and Crompton, 2000; Brady and Robertson, 2001; Selnes, 1993; Yu and Dean, 2001; Del Bosque and San Martin, 2008). Moreover, the word-of-mouth communication (Andreassen and Lindestad, 1998; Selnes, 1993) and the likelihood of the visitors to visit theme park again (Szymanski and Henard, 2001) is influenced by the individual's intention to continue visiting the same park (Maxham III, 2001). Thus an intention to revisit the theme park destination in the future and willingness to recommend it to other people is positively affected by satisfaction the visitor had experienced (Bigne' et al., 2005; Bigne' et al., 2001; Kozak and Rimmington, 2000; Lee et al., 2005; Yoon and Uysal, 2005).
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The study is based on the primary data collected through structured questionnaire about the preferences and reasons that encourage tourists to re-visit various theme parks in India. We conducted the pilot study with 18 respondents to understand the interests and preferences of Indian tourists visiting theme parks. Following the result of a small pilot study, some items were reworded to fit the study settings. Ratings for each variable was captured on a 4-point scale ranging from (1) indifferent to (4) very important (Baloglu & Brinberg, 1997; Russel, 1980). The questionnaire included questions related to the visitors' choices and preferences that attract them in theme parks to decide a re-visit includes mainly culture, cuisine, music, monuments, history, handicraft, festivals, religious and handloom.
The survey questionnaires were administered outside theme parks and were also filled by the tourists visiting shopping malls, hotels, restaurants, souvenir shops, residential neighbourhoods, educational institutes and various other tourist places. Respondents were approached to answer the survey questions immediately after they visited the theme park or recalling the latest theme park that they visited in the last three months. The sample of this study consisted of Indian (India) residents and foreign tourists who visit India for vacations or for work. A total of 732 visitors were approached to collect the survey responses through an offline mode. Of these only 392 agreed, yielding a response rate of 53.55%. Of these thirty-two questionnaire were discarded due to inconsistent and ambiguous responses, leaving 360 usable responses (278 males and 82 females) for analysis.
The theme park visitors had varied experiences in theme park based on their satisfaction in the activities provided by the theme park destinations. We tried to understand the experience and the attribute that attract the visitors to plan a re-visit to the theme park. Therefore, in the first stage we did factor analysis (hypothesis 1) to understand the factors that attract visitors to re-visit theme parks. In the second stage we conducted logistic regression analysis (hypothesis 2) to predict the likelihood and intent of the visitors to visit theme park destination in future.
We used multivariate technique – factor analysis to determine the number of factors that would account for the maximum variance in the data collected. Factor analysis is a procedure used for data-reduction and summarizing. For analysing the data, we used SPSS version – 23, and through the Principal Component Method we extracted three factors with Eigenvalue (s) greater than 1 and others were ignored. We compared the Varimax Rotated Factor Matrix with Un-Rotated Factor Matrix (entitled as component matrix), rotation has provided simplicity and has enhanced interpretability. From the rotated factor matrix, the factors have been extracted and listed. The logistic regression analysis is a class of conditional probability models used to estimate a relationship between a set of variables describing an entity and the probability that the entity will be in a given final state (Storey et al., 1990). Logistic regression analyses evaluated dependencies between image congruence, location components and socio‐demographic aspects on behavioral intentions (Hallmann and Breuer, 2010). Logistic regression analysis was used to predict a binary dependent variable from the set of independent variables. This helps to overcome the problem of violating the assumption of linearity between variables by expressing the "multiple linear regression equations in logarithmic terms" (Field, 2000). It is non-linear and an iterative algorithm is necessary for parameter estimation.
Based on the odds ratio (the ratio of the probability of success of an event to the probability of failure of an event) we develop logit model which can be expressed as follows:
\[Pi = e z/(1+ez)\]
Where Z = β0 + β1X1i, e represents the exponential function and P represents the probability of an occurrence of dependent variable. In the logit model, as Z ranges from negative infinity to positive infinity and P ranges from 0 to 1. Hence, the probability is non-linearly related to Z. Thus ordinary least-squares (OLS) regression method cannot be applied to estimate the regression coefficients. To solve the problem, we transform the logit model into logistic regression (similar to the model adopted by De La Viña and Ford, 2001 and Lee, et al., 2002), and maximum likelihood estimation is used to estimate the regression coefficients of the logistic regression model. Thus after transformation, Logistic regression equation can be presented as:
\[P(Y) = 1 / (1 + e - (\beta 0 + \beta 1X1 + ... + \beta n Xn + \epsilon i))\] (1)
Where P(Y) – the probability of consumers visiting a tourism destination in India Y – predicted from a combination of each predictive variable (X) multiplied by its respective regression coefficient (β); e – the base of natural logarithms (approximately 2.718). ε – a residual term.
Basically, running a binary logistic regression analysis in SPSS would produce a selected model that could best fit the sample data. Consequentially, the predictors that significantly contributed to the equation could be identified by reading their respective p-values and βs. Each predictor's effect on the probability of Indian tourism attraction for entertainment could then be quantified according to its Exp (β) values.
Logistic regression is very appealing for several reasons: (1) logistic modelling is well known, and conceptually simple; (2) the ease of interpretation of logistic is an important advantage over other methods (for example, neural networks); (3) logistic modelling has been shown to provide good and robust results in comparison studies (Neslin et al., 2006). As for database marketing applications, it has been shown by several authors (Levin & Zahavi, 1998) that logistic modelling may outperform more sophisticated methods. Perhaps the most serious problem with logistic regression, failure to incorporate nonmonotonic relationships, can be partly solved by numeric variables quantization (using classification trees, for example).
DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
Theme parks may be defined as the park which provides rides, music, cultural values, and activity based games as a major attraction for the visitors. In India theme park experience have motivated the young generation to re-visit and involve themselves in various activities and fun rides provided by the owners of theme parks.
Indian visitor's theme park preferences
Indian tourism has grown over the years and the rejuvenation of new ideas attracted tourists across the globe. Theme and leisure park experience had given lifetime memories to its visitors (Mintel, 1996). It has emerged as the most preferred weekend destination not only for local tourists but also for foreign tourists. These theme based leisure parks provide an opportunity to its visitors to know and explore the importance of the place they visited along with the habitat of the people living near the park (similar to Gonzaga and Kogan, 2005). Major theme parks in India (Trip Savvy, 2017) includes:
- 1. Adlabs Imagica and Aqua Imagica, Mumbai This theme park started in 2013 near Khopoli on Mumbai-Pune Expressway. Ticket price for this theme park cost within a range of $12 to $20.
- 2. Wonderla, Bangalore This theme park started in 2005 on the Bangalore-Mysore Highway. Ticket price for this theme park cost within a range of $10 to $16.
- 3. Wonderla, Kochi (formerly was named as VeegaLand) - This theme park started in 2000 in Pallikkara, nearKochi in Kerala. Ticket price for this theme park cost within a range of $8 to $14.
- 4. Wonderla, Hyderabad This theme park started in 2016, near Hyderabad Airport. Ticket price for this theme park cost within a range of $11 to $18.
- 5. Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad This theme park started in 1996, near Hyderabad, in Telangana. Ticket price for this theme park cost within a range of $12 to $15.
- 6. Essel World and Water Kingdom Essel World, Mumbai This theme park started in 1999, near Gorai, in the outer northwest suburbs of Mumbai. Ticket price for this theme park cost within a range of $13 to $19.
- 7. Nicco Park Kolkata This theme park started in 1991, in Kolkata. It is also referred to as Disneyland of West Bengal. Ticket price for this theme park cost within a range of $12 to $35.
- 8. Appu Ghar, Delhi This theme park started in 1984, in Delhi, now re-located to Gurgoan, near Delhi. Ticket price for this theme park cost within a range of $5 to $10.
- 9. Queensland Theme Park, Chennai This theme park started in 2003, in Chennai. Ticket price for this theme park cost within a range of $5 to $15.
- 10. Aquatica, Kolkata This theme park started in 1999, in Kolkata. Ticket price for this theme park cost within a range of $12 to $45.
- 11. Worlds of Wonder, Noida This theme park started in 2007, in Noida, near Delhi. Ticket price for this theme park cost within a range of $5 to $15.
- 12. KidZania, Noida This theme park started in 2016, in Noida, near Delhi. Ticket price for this theme park cost within a range of $5 to $45.
These theme parks established in different states in India. These parks provide almost similar kinds of attractions and ticket prices to its visitors. Some of these attractions incorporate fun rides, water rides, shopping mall and various kinds of food across India. Tourists are further encouraged to re-visit such theme-parks mainly because they experience the different aspects of Indian culture. Almost 65% of the visitors shared that quality of both fun and water rides, shopping malls, music, culture and different cuisines attract them to re-visit theme-parks. These theme parks create excitement in the mind of its visitor to know more about India and thus encourage tourists to re-visit such parks (similar to Gonzaga and Kogan, 2005). Therefore, these theme parks are planned to provide special activities for children of all age groups as well as for adults. In some of the theme parks, the tourist only pays for few rides and get additional trips without paying the extra price. Tourists need to pay for their shopping and support facilities. All these together attract and motivate visitors to re-plan their visit to their preferred theme-park.
Profile of respondents
The sample of the visitors to a theme park consisted of 77.2% males and 22.8% females. Young and middle aged tourists within the age group of 19 to 30 years accounted for 66.8% of the total which is quiet similar to the age profile reported by International Association of Amusement parks and Attractions (IAAPA) (Milan, 2009). Married young population of the tourist was 38.2%. The demographic profile of respondents is presented in Table 1. The majority of the respondents were domestic travellers from across India. The reliability and convergent validity of the measurement model in the formal test were verified by significant Cronbach α score (> .7) (similar to Dong and Sin, 2013). We found that age and willingness to pay for the tickets to visit a theme park were inversely related (similar to Mostafa and Hamdi, 2016; Abdullah and Jeanty, 2011). However, we found that education and willingness to pay were statistically insignificant (similar to Baral, et al., 2008). Almost 82% of the respondents had an extensive experience of visiting different theme parks at least once in the last 12 months. The respondents showed enthusiasm to visit theme parks more often (consistent with IAAPA's 2007 study and Cliff, 2007).
Tourists in India are enthusiastic to explore new and creative places that bring them closer to the Indian culture and values. Thus there is a potential to invest in theme parks depicting rich Indian culture, heritage, music, the foods etc. in a creative and innovative ways to attract more visitors and at the same time encourage visitors to re-visit the same parks more often. Hence we can say that Indian tourism is still at the developmental stage model (similar to Butler, 1980). These theme parks motivate visitors to engage in specific activities as per their interest and thereby spend their valuable time in experiencing both the tangible and intangible components provided by such parks (similar to Björklund and Krueger, 2016; Middleton, 1988). Visitors experience included fun and water rides; activities and exhibits; supporting facilities and services; accessibility of the place; the image of the destination; and ticket prices. Of these components rides, activities and exhibits in the surroundings largely determine the tourist's motivation and choice for theme parks (similar to Moutinho, 1988). Furthermore, construction of theme parks paves the way for policy makers to provide ease in accessibility to reach such parks. That encourages and enhances public transport, frequency, and range of transport services, and roads, etc. to provide no hassle for the visitors in reaching the preferred theme park. Hence the price of the tickets, costs, speed, and convenience of the tourists is the most important aspect provided by the owners of such theme parks.
Table 1. Demographic profile of the theme park visitors
| Gender (% of total respondents) (n = 360) | Age group (years) (n = 360) (% of total respondents) | Family status (n = 360) (% of total respondents) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Female 82 | 22.8% | 15-18 | 1.9% | Single | 61.8% | |
| Male 278 | 77.2% | 19-23 | 32.2% | Married | 38.2% | |
| 24-30 | 34.6% | |||||
| 31-45 | 9.1% | |||||
RESULTS
The tourists' expectations from a theme park and variations in their satisfaction level after they visited a park has been analysed using factor analysis technique. Various attributes and reasons of the visitors of theme park had been captured on a scale of 1 (indifferent) to 4 (very important). The tourists or visitors were given freedom to select any particular theme park they visited in last six months and to select reasons to re-visit the theme park in future. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling adequacy was as high as 0.710 and the Bartlett test of sphericity (with chi-square value of 708.840 at 36 degrees of freedom) rejected the null hypothesis that the correlation matrix was an identity matrix.
Table 2. Rotated component Matrix using Principal component analysis and Varimax with Kaiser Normalization
| Component Method | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | ||
| Culture | .705 | .054 | .046 | |
| Cuisine | 168 | .162 | .790 | |
| Music | .231 | .005 | .693 | |
| Monuments | .294 | .782 | .094 | |
| History | .072 | .883 | .067 | |
| Handicraft | .764 | .170 | .114 | |
| Festivals | .503 | .009 | .439 | |
| Religious | .685 | .131 | 016 | |
| Handloom | .764 | .179 | .056 | |
Source: Compiled by the author
The eigenvalues for only three common factors were greater than unity. We reached the same conclusion using the Scree plot as a criterion to determine the number of common factors. The proportion (per cent) of variance explained by factor 1- 33.756%, factor 2 – 13.913% and factor 3 – 12.191%, indicating that these three factors altogether account for about 59.86 per cent of the total variance using the Principal Component method. We then rotate the resulting factors by the varimax method to facilitate the interpretation of the results (table 2). As can be seen the first factor includes culture, handicraft, religious and handlooms that interest visitors' choice behaviour. Therefore, we can name this factor as lifestyle. The second factor includes monuments and history and thus can be named as historical factor. While the third factor possess cuisine and music, thus can be named a leisure factor. There are 3 major factors that visitors consider while confirming re-visit to theme parks in India. These include lifestyle, historical and leisure (similar to Teo and Yeoh, 2001).
The image and satisfaction of the theme-park destination depends on the attractions provided by the theme park. The increase in the visits increases the loyalty of visitors to the theme park (hypothesis 2). In the second stage, we conducted logistic regression to understand the factors that motivate the visitors to visit and re-visit theme park destination in India. It is believed the probability than an event ends in a certain time period is clearly dependent on the length of time the duration has lasted (Hensher and Mannering, 1994). In this way the time spent by visitors in a theme park is dependent on the time the visitor has already spent in the park, conditional on the fact that a visitor still has not chosen this attraction. For logistic regression, the dependent variable was binary (1 for the tourist who preferred to re-visit the theme park destination and 2 for visitors who do not want to revisit the theme park destination) in nature. The independent variables consisted of the attributes which may attract the visitors to re-visit the theme park. These attributes include
music, monuments, culture, cuisine, history, handicraft, festivals, religious, and handlooms.
Table 3. Classification Table
| Predicted | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Do you visit cultural park | Percentage Correct | ||||
| Observed | No | Yes | |||
| Step0 Do you visit Cultural park | 134 | 61 | 68.7 | ||
| No (0) | |||||
| 96 | 67 | 41.1 | |||
| Yes (1) | |||||
| Overall percentage | 56.1 | ||||
Table 4. Variables in the equation
| B | S.E. | Wald | df | Sig. | Exp. (B) | ||
| Step 1 | Culture | 329 | .152 | 4.688 | 1 | .030 | .719 |
| Cuisine | 039 | .182 | .047 | 1 | .829 | .961 | |
| Music | .358 | .184 | 3.786 | 1 | .042 | 1.431 | |
| Monuments | 214 | .163 | 1.733 | 1 | .188 | .807 | |
| History | .388 | .151 | 6.579 | 1 | .010 | 1.473 | |
| Handicraft | .238 | .171 | 1.933 | 1 | .164 | 1.269 | |
| Festivals | .063 | .147 | .182 | 1 | .669 | 1.065 | |
| Religious | 034 | .141 | .059 | 1 | .807 | .966 | |
| Handloom | 005 | .166 | .001 | 1 | .978 | .995 | |
| Constant | 598 | .822 | .529 | 1 | .467 | .550 |
The range of the R-square of logistic regression was3.6 percent to 4.8 percent. The -2 log likelihood statistics showed the goodness of fit. The Nagelkerke R- square is calculated to be 0.048 which shows that explanatory power of the model is good. The classification table 3 shows the percentage of correct prediction on the existing data. The percentage of correct prediction is known as the Hit ratio. The results indicate that 56.1 percent of the predictions are correct of the existing cases in the data. A high value of a hit ratio is considered good. Table 4 shows that the p-values of the re-visit interest of the tourists at 5 percent level of significance. We can see at 5% level of significance culture, music, and history attributes were statistically significant. This means that visitors in the theme-park are attracted by the traditional music which depicts the culture and history of Indian heritage. This provides satisfaction and encourages the visitors to plan re-visit to a theme park. The Indian lifestyle is also depicted in theme parks which attract visitors. The other attributes such as cuisine, festivals, monuments religious, and handlooms are not much preferred by the visitors. Thus re-visit to theme-park destination happens mainly to understand the culture and history of India. During the festival time the major attraction becomes the traditional music. The theme-park destinations should provide elements such as theme song, regional music, theatre to depict history and culture of India. This will further attract visitors to re-visit theme parks. The focus should also be on other attributes as the visitors possess dynamic behaviour and habits and thus to attract visitors and encourage them to re-visit theme-park destinations (Baggio, et al., 2010; Svenson, et al., 2005).
For this there is a need to innovate and create excitement to the visitors which will attract them to re-visit theme-park destinations. Most visitors are attracted to theme-park
destinations in India due to lifestyle, historical and leisure factors (similar to Teo and Yeoh, 2001). The re-visit to the theme-park increases with the positive experience the visitor experience while performing the activities provided and the satisfaction derived from the image of the theme-park (similar to Oliver, 1980; Del Bosque and San Martin, 2008). The higher level of satisfaction among the visitors increases with the re-visit to the theme-park which inculcates loyalty for the theme-park destination (similar to Selnes, 1993; Brady and Robertson, 2001). The visitors are attracted by music, culture and history of India. This provides visitors with an opportunity to explore about the habitat of the people living near the theme parks (similar to Gonzaga and Kogan, 2005). Theme-parks organize theme based parties such as birthdays, weddings and anniversaries in the theme parks to attract and provide new experience to its visitors. Furthermore, visitors do not look for the ticket prices to re-visit the theme-park for leisure and hedonic values.
Theme-park destinations in India is under development stage (Butler, 1980). Theme-parks destinations provide variety of fun rides, water rides, adventurous rides and cultural and historical importance of the city where it is situated.
Finally, these results enrich the currently flourishing literature on the re-visit intentions of the visitors to theme parks, which is a promising area for researchers in predicting tourism to the theme parks and services required through their management and marketing styles (Shaw, Bailey and Williams, 2011; Edvardsson, et al., 2005' Berry, et al., 2006).
MANAGERIAL AND PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS
Theme parks have gain importance and are continuously growing. These parks attract visitors on the basis of the rides, shopping malls, restaurants providing different cuisines, etc. These parks require high capital investment and thus charges ticket prices for an individual person. For adults they charge higher price as compared to the children. These parks are dominated by the theme of the park selected which is generally based on landscaping, rides, shows, food, and costumes (Kemperman 2000). Well-known examples include Disney World, Disneyland, Universal Studios, and Six Flags in the United States, as well as Disneyland Paris and the Efteling (The Netherlands) in Europe. In India it includes Kidzania, Kingdom of Dreams, Essel world, etc.
The new experiential services introduced to promote visitors hedonic value could be enhanced by regular advertisement or develop relevant online animations or interactive games or other promotional events (similar to Holbrook, 2006; Dong and Sin, 2013). In this way visitor's expectations and psychological preparations could help to enhance their desire for actively participating and increased number of visits to a theme parks in India. Moreover, the increased tourism in theme parks have experienced multi-generational visitors (in similar with Pendergast, 2012). The young population of India had considered these parks as a hedonic place and for leisure. The visitors who are more inclined to participate and get involved in the theme park experience tend to enjoy it more (similar to Dong and Siu, 2013).
The results confirm that music and festivals are considered important in visitors' evaluation of services provided by these theme parks under consideration. Marketers and entrepreneurs are therefore suggested to employ festival and music elements such as symbols, theme songs, religious and cultural music, shows or theatre organised to position themselves uniquely among their competitors. There is a need to increase the space and provide accommodation facilities as well to promote spectacular attractions within the theme park. In addition, participation in CSR and sponsorship programs might motivate visitors to re-visit the theme parks.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Theme-park destinations and their accessibility has increased over the years. There had been a transition in the way people live and spend their time. The theme-park visitors prefer to re-visit such parks more often to listen to music, to enjoy cultural and historical importance of the country. Theme-parks depicts various Indian cultures and promote tourist's attractions through varieties of water rides, fun rides, music, history etc. This multi-experience provided by theme parks encouraged visitors to re-visit these parks on a regular basis (Baporikar, 2017). Even the changing demographics, educational levels, working profiles of the Indian youth, higher disposable income, have significantly motivated tourists to visit these parks and willingly spend money on the services provided (Moreno-Gavara and Jiménez-Zarco, 2016; Black, 2012). Furthermore, the increased national income of Indian citizens has significantly influenced domestic visitors to these theme-parks in India (Mishra and Bansal, 2017). Indian theme-park destinations are in its development stage, where new opportunities have emerged (similar to Butler, 1980).
Theme-park owners need to attract visitors to experience activities provided and the satisfaction that visitors get from their visit to theme-parks. The timings of theme-parks may be adjusted as per the weather conditions – different timings for summer and winter may be implied. Theme parks may organise events such as rain dance party, skating, celebration of different festivals of India, birthday party, wedding ceremonies, etc. to attract its visitors to re-visit theme-parks. Thus there is a need to create new and innovative opportunities for the theme park visitors. In order to attract visitors these parks should be located near the tourist's places at an affordable ticket prices. Thus business managers may plan to increase the experience and the satisfaction gained by the tourists. Theme park planners need to work on the development of such parks keeping the view of the visitors and the park owners. Also the location and visitors demand and comfort should be the utmost priority to increase visitors experience in a competitive market. Moreover, the theme park managers and planners need to understand the likes and dislikes of the visitors and thus the major factors that motivate them to revisits the park.