Causal relationship of internal factors, External factors, Web Pages/Bloggers, and interest to travel

Abstract

          The objective of this research was to 1) investigate the causal relationship between internal factors, external factors, web pages/bloggers and interest to travel and 2) study direct, indirect, and total influences of internal factors, external factors, web pages/bloggers and interest to travel. The sample, derived from by means of purposive sampling, consisted of 360 tourists in Bangkok and vicinity. The research instrument were questionnaires and data were analyzed by frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation. The hypothesis was tested by Goodness of Fit Indices such as Chi-square, Goodness of Fit Index (GFI), Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) and Comparative Fit Index (CFI)

          The research findings revealed that most of samples were female students aged 21-30 years old with the bachelor’s degree and earning lower that 10,000 baht per month.  Regarding the internal factors, the samples rated mostly at a high level by focusing on information searching and problem recognition respectively. Equally rated at a high level, the accommodation was rated as the most important external factor while activities and accessibility were less respectively. For the web pages/bloggers, the tourists were interested in tourist attractions web pages/bloggers because the web pages/bloggers allowed them to search information quickly and completely. The second reason was they can read and chat through tourist web pages and bloggers and they were motivated to travel. Considering the Goodness of Fit Indices of the model, all values are positive and perfect fit. The final model found that the internal factors, web pages/bloggers and external factors were respectively affecting the decision making of the tourists.