TTLV: Research on tourist satisfaction with Hanoi night tour products

INFORMATION ABOUT THE MASTER'S THESIS

1. Student's full name: Tran Thuy Linh 2. Gender: Female

3. Date of birth: March 22, 1994

4. Place of birth: Hanoi

5. Decision on student admission No.: 4058/2022/QD-XHNV dated December 28, 2022, by the Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi

6. Changes in the training process: None

7. Thesis title: Research on tourist satisfaction with Hanoi night tour products

8. Major: Tourism; Code: 8810101.01

9. Scientific supervisor: Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Dung, Faculty of Tourism Studies, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU Hanoi.

10. Summary of the thesis results:

This thesis focuses on analyzing the factors influencing tourist satisfaction with night tour products in Hanoi, with three typical programs: "Decoding the Imperial Citadel" at Thang Long Imperial Citadel, the "Sacred Night" tour at Hoa Lo Prison, and the "Essence of Taoism" tour at Van Mieu - Quoc Tu Giam. Based on the SERVQUAL scale adjusted for the context of night tourism, the proposed research model includes five main factors: tangible facilities, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and attractiveness, which influence tourist satisfaction, thereby relating to the intention to return and recommend.

Quantitative research results show that all five factors have a positive and statistically significant influence on satisfaction. Satisfaction plays an important mediating role, linked to the intention to return and recommend the night tour product. Control variables such as age, gender, and education level have negligible influence.

11. Practical applications

The research findings of this thesis can be directly applied to the management and operation of night tours in Hanoi. Specifically, the results help organizers and site management understand better the service, content, and safety aspects that shape tourist satisfaction, thereby developing training and communication programs before and during tours, improving signage, lighting and sound systems, and designing unique experiential activities suitable for the nighttime context.

Furthermore, the research findings are valuable for other destinations and tourism businesses in Vietnam in designing strategies for developing night-time tourism products, implementing service quality management systems, and applying solutions to ensure security, safety, and heritage preservation to enhance business efficiency and brand image. Simultaneously, the study can provide a practical basis for state management agencies in developing and refining standards and mechanisms to encourage the development of night-time tourism linked to cultural preservation and urban night-time environmental management.

12. Future research directions

Based on the results achieved and the limitations of this thesis, several directions for further research could be pursued to deepen and expand upon the issues raised:

- Quantitative research on nighttime tourism carrying capacity at key historical sites: This is an urgent direction to provide a scientific basis for management, aiming to comprehensively assess carrying capacity in physical, operational, and social aspects (visitor density, overload threshold, distribution by time slots), thereby limiting overcrowding in night tours in Hanoi.

- Conduct in-depth case studies: Research is needed to analyze the value chain, benefit-sharing mechanisms, security and safety organization, crowd management, and the socio-economic impact of night tours on surrounding communities in typical locations such as Thang Long Imperial Citadel, Hoa Lo Prison historical site, and Temple of Literature - National University.

- Research on the impact of nighttime light and noise pollution on heritage sites and nearby residents: This is a long-term, interdisciplinary research direction focusing on changes in the light and sound environment, visitor safety and comfort, and proposing optimal technical thresholds and operational standards for night tours.

- Comparative analysis of international night tourism management models: Studying successful management models at destinations with nighttime heritage tours, drawing lessons learned regarding licensing, quality standards, visitor flow coordination, multi-sensory experience design, and cultural value preservation to apply creatively and appropriately to Hanoi's conditions.

- Research on the application of high technology in the management and experience of night tours: Focusing on evaluating the effectiveness and building models for applying virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), people-counting sensors - real-time heat maps, flexible time-based booking, and dynamic pricing to monitor the environment, manage tourists, and enrich the experience.

After a successful defense, the thesis topic can receive further investment and development to become a doctoral dissertation following these research directions.

13. The published works are related to the thesis.

(1) Nguyen Ngoc Dung, Tran Thuy Linh. (2025). Exploiting night tour products
To serve the development of tourism in Hanoi.Culture and Arts Magazine

(2) Tran, Thuy Linh. (2024). Urban green tourism: A study from some night tour products in Hanoi. InProceedings of the National Scientific Conference (peer-reviewed): Green Tourism in the Context of Global Climate Change - Current Situation and Solutions (pp. 964-980)Trade Union University.

INFORMATION ON MASTER'S THESIS

1. Full name: Tran Thuy Linh 2. Sex: Female

3. Date of birth: March 22, 1994

4. Place of birth: Hanoi

5. Student recognition decision No. 4058/QD-XHNV dated December 28, 2022 Principal of University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Hanoi National University

6. Changes in the training process: None

7. Thesis title: A Study on Tourist Satisfaction with Night Tour Products in Hanoi.

8. Major: Tourism Code: 8810101.01

9. Scientific supervisor: Prof. Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Dung, Faculty of Tourism Studies, VNU University of Social Sciences and Humanities (VNU-USSH)

10. Summary of the results of the thesis:

The thesis analyzes factors stimulating tourist satisfaction with night tour products in Hanoi, focusing on three flagship programs: Decoding the Citadel at the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, Sacred Night at the Hoa Lo Prison Relic, and Essence of Scholarship at the Temple of Literature. Based on an adaptation of the SERVQUAL scale to the night-tourism context, the proposed research model includes five key constructs: Tangibles, Reliability, Responsiveness, Assurance, and Attractiveness that affects tourist satisfaction, which in turn relates to revisit and recommendation intentions.

Quantitative results indicate that all five constructs exert positive and significantly significant effects on satisfaction. Satisfaction plays an important mediating role, linking service attributes with revisit/recommendation intentions. Control variables such as age, gender, and education have dismissible effects.

11. Practical applicability

The findings can be applied directly to the management and operation of night tours in Hanoi. specifically, they help tour organizers and site management boards better understand the service, content, and safety dimensions shaping tourist satisfaction, thereby informing staff training, pre- and in-tour communication, improvements to signage and lighting and sound systems, and the design of distinctive experiential activities suited to nighttime settings.

In addition, the results offer reference value for other destinations and tourism enterprises in Vietnam in crafting night-tour product strategies, implementing service quality management systems, and adopting security, safety, and heritage conservation measures to enhance business performance and brand image. The study also provides practical evidence for Government authorities to formulate and refine standards and incentive mechanisms for developing night tourism in conjunction with cultural preservation and nighttime urban environmental management.

12. Future research directions:

Building on the thesis results and acknowledged limitations, several future directions can deepen and broaden the agenda:

- Quantifying night-tour carrying capacity at key heritage sites: Provide scientific foundations for management by assessing capacity across physical, operational, and social dimensions (visitor density, overload thresholds, time-slot distribution) to mitigate crowding on Hanoi night tours.

- In-depth case studies: Analyze value chains, benefit-sharing mechanisms, security and safety organization and crowd management, as well as the sociometric impacts of night tours on surrounding communities at exemplar sites such as the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, the Hoa Lo Prison Relic, and the Temple of Literature.

- Impacts of light and noise pollution at night on heritage and nearby residents: A long-term interdisciplinary line of inquiry focusing on lighting and acoustic environments, perceived safety and comfort, and reported technical thresholds and optimal operational guidelines for night tours.

- Comparative analysis of international night-tour management models: Draw lessons on licensing, quality standards, visitor-flow coordination, multisensory experience design, and cultural heritage conservation from successful destinations, with creative adaptation to Hanoi's context.

- High-tech applications in night-tour management and experience: Evaluate and model the use of VR/AR, people-counting sensors and real-time heat maps, flexible time-slot ticketing, and dynamic pricing to monitor environments, manage visitors, and enrich experiences.

The thesis topic, upon successful defense, may be further developed into a doctoral thesis along these research directions.

13. Thesis-related publications:

(1) Nguyen Ngoc Dung, Tran Thuy Linh. (2025). Leveraging night tour products to promote tourism development in Hanoi. Journal of Culture and Arts.

(2) Tran, Thuy Linh. (2024). Urban Green Tourism: A Study from Selected Night Tour Products in Hanoi. In the peer-reviewed Proceedings of the National Scientific Conference: Green Tourism in the Context of Global Climate Change - Status and Solutions (pp. 964-980). Trade Union University.