TTLV: Research on factors influencing the decision of domestic tourists to choose spiritual tourism in Ninh Binh.

INFORMATION ABOUT THE MASTER'S THESIS

1. Student's full name: Le Pham Khanh Ly

2. Gender: Female

3. Date of birth: November 20, 2001

4. Place of birth:Thanh Hoa

5. Decision to recognize student number:Decision No. 5915/QD-XHNV, dated October 28, 2024, of the Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi.

6. Changes in the training process:Are not

7. Thesis title:Research on factors influencing the decision of domestic tourists to choose spiritual tourism in Ninh Binh.

8. Major: Tourism; Code: 8810101

9. Scientific supervisor:

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Hong Long,Faculty of Tourism Studies, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi.

PhD.Nguyen Xuan Hai,Faculty of Tourism and Foreign Languages,Vietnam Academy of Agriculture

10. Summary of the thesis results

Based on a literature review, bibliographic analysis, and content analysis, this thesis identifies research gaps and constructs a model suitable for the context of spiritual tourism in Ninh Binh. Analysis using SmartPLS shows that 24 out of 28 observed variables were retained, and the relationships in the model are acceptable. In particular, Attitude had the strongest impact on the Choice Decision (β = 0.717); Communication and technology had a stronger impact on Perception than Destination Attributes (β = 0.542 compared to β = 0.290). Indirect impacts were statistically significant, indicating that the Choice Decision is formed through a chain of transformations from Perception to Attitude and then to Decision. The model has relatively good explanatory power with R² values ​​of 0.562 for Perception, 0.455 for Attitude, and 0.514 for Choice Decision, respectively. The research findings contribute to clarifying the mediating role of Perception and Attitude, and provide a scientific basis for the management and development of spiritual tourism in Ninh Binh.

11. Practical applications

The research findings provide a scientific basis for proposing governance implications for state management agencies, tourism businesses, destination management boards, local communities, and tourists. The implications focus on improving communication effectiveness, promoting the value of spiritual resources, accelerating the application of digital technology, enhancing the quality of experiences, strengthening heritage preservation, and fostering community participation, thereby contributing to increasing the attractiveness of the destination and developing spiritual tourism in Ninh Binh in a sustainable manner.

12. Future research directions

Further studies could expand the scope of the survey to other spiritual tourism centers or compare different localities to improve the model's generalizability. Simultaneously, personal factors such as motivation, psychological state, and past experiences should be added to further clarify the mechanisms of demand formation and destination choice decisions. The research should also target a more diverse range of customer groups based on demographic characteristics to support segmentation and the development of appropriate marketing strategies. Furthermore, incorporating qualitative methods such as in-depth interviews and focus groups will help to further explain relationships and aspects not fully reflected in quantitative data.

13. Published works related to the thesis:Do not have

INFORMATION ON MASTER'S THESIS

1. Full name: Le Pham Khanh Ly

2. Sex: Female

3. Date of birth: 20/11/2001

4. Place of birth:Thanh Hoa

5. Admission decision number: 5915/QD-XHNV, dated October 28, 2024, issued by the Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi.

6. Changes in academic process: None

7. Official thesis title: Factors affecting domestic tourists' decision to choose spiritual tourism in Ninh Binh

8. Major: Tourism,Code: 8810101

9.Supervisors:

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Hong Long, Faculty of Tourism Studies, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University,Hanoi.

Dr. Nguyen Xuan Hai,Faculty of Tourism and Foreign Languages, Vietnam National University of Agriculture

10. Summary of the findings of the thesis

Based on a review of the literature, bibliometric analysis, and content analysis, the thesis identifies the research gap and developed a model appropriate to the context of spiritual tourism in Ninh Binh. The SmartPLS analysis shows that 24 out of 28 observed variables were retained and that all relationships in the proposed model were supported. Among these, Attitude had the strongest effect on Choice Decision (β = 0.717), while Communication and Technology had a stronger effect on Perception than Destination Attributes (β = 0.542 compared with β = 0.290). All indirect effects were significantly significant, indicating that the Choice Decision is formed through a transformation process from Perception to Attitude and subsequently to Choice Decision. The model demonstrated relatively good explanatory power, with R² values ​​of 0.562 for Perception, 0.455 for Attitude, and 0.514 for Choice Decision. The findings contribute to clarifying the mediating roles of Perception and Attitude, while also providing a scientific basis for the management and development of spiritual tourism in Ninh Binh.

11. Practical applicability

The research findings provide a scientific basis for promoting management implications for state management agencies, tourism enterprises, destination management boards, local communities, and tourists. These implications focus on improving communication effectiveness, promoting the value of spiritual tourism resources, accelerating the application of digital technologies, enhancing the quality of tourist experiences, strengthening heritage conservation, and promoting community participation, thereby contributing to enhancing destination attractiveness and fostering the sustainable development of spiritual tourism in Ninh Binh.

12. Further research directions

Future studies could expand the survey scope to other spiritual tourism centers or conduct comparative studies across different localities to enhance the generalizability of the research model. In addition, personal factors such as motivation, psychological states, and previous travel experiences should be incorporated to provide a deeper understanding of the mechanisms underlying the formation of tourists' needs and destination choice decisions. Future research should also include more diverse tourist groups based on demographic characteristics to support market segmentation and the development of appropriate marketing strategies. Furthermore, incorporating qualitative methods, such as in-depth interviews and focus group discussions, would help provide deeper explanations of the relationships identified and explore aspects that cannot be fully captured through quantitative survey data.

13. Thesis-related publications: None