Research on Theme Park Customer Satisfaction Based on ECSI Model—Taking Shanghai Disneyland as an Example ()
1. Introduction
As a new element of urban tourism development, theme parks have a strong tourism appeal. In recent years, China’s tourism industry is on a continuous growth trend, and with the rapid development of China’s social and economic development, the people’s demand for a better life is increasing day by day, and the demand for quality continues to rise, the demand and supply of China’s tourism market are showing a trend of diversification and accelerated upgrading. Under this development trend, China’s theme park industry is booming. Currently, China’s theme parks are in a high-speed period of construction and development. While creating a large number of jobs and tax revenue for local governments, theme park projects have also optimized the local environment and promoted urbanization.
With the continuous development of China’s tourism industry, the continuous upgrading of tourism consumption and the increasing preference of tourists for theme parks, China’s theme park market has been expanding, creating a number of local theme park brands and companies with certain strengths, forming a situation in which a number of theme park companies such as OCT Group, Changlong Group, Haichang Holdings and Songcheng Performing Arts coexist and develop. Industry competition is becoming increasingly fierce, which makes every theme park needs to think about how to make the business can be sustainable development. In the present time, the era of experience economy has come, and the ultimate goal of being human-oriented and satisfying the psychological needs of visitors is the basis of theme park development and operation (Chen, 2018a). Creating value from the consumer perspective and improving customer satisfaction can bring life to theme parks and create more benefits. Therefore, this paper takes theme park customer satisfaction as an entry point for in-depth research, explores the factors affecting customer satisfaction by constructing a model, and makes suggestions to provide some valuable references for theme park operation. The structure of this paper is as follows: firstly, there is a literature review section, which examines the literature related to satisfaction and theme park customer satisfaction, then the development and current situation of theme parks in China are analyzed, and in the third section, hypotheses are proposed and models are developed based on the above studies, then the empirical analysis is conducted, and finally conclusions are drawn and some recommendations are given.
2. Literature Review
2.1. A Review of Satisfaction Studies
In the study of satisfaction, it is important to construct a model. In 1980, Richard L. Oliver proposed the performance-expectation model, the most representative theoretical model for customer satisfaction research, which provides one of the most influential models for examining whether customers are satisfied or not. In 1984, Norimaki Kano, a professor at Tokyo Institute of Technology inspired by behavioral scientist Herzberg’s two-factor theory, formally proposed the KANO model. In 1988, American marketing scientists A. Parasuraman Zeithaml and Berry proposed a service quality evaluation system for the service industry, called the SERVQUAL model, based on Total Quality Management (TQM) theory. The model uses difference theory to classify factors affecting customers into five categories, including responsiveness, physical facilities, reliability, emotional engagement and responsiveness, and finally evaluates customers according to the difference in the quality of service they receive. In 1989, Dr. Fornell of the Center for Quality Studies at the University of Michigan Business School proposed the Fornell Logic Model, a logical model based on econometrics and created by bringing together various factors such as customer expectations, post-purchase perceptions, and purchase price. The model was later named the Swedish Customer Satisfaction Index Model, or SCSB, and consists of five main components: customer expectations, customer complaints, customer loyalty, satisfaction, and customer perceptions.
In 1992, based on the SCSB, the American Society for Quality (ASQ) and the National Quality Research Center (NQRC), among others, embarked on a study to establish the American Customer Satisfaction Index, or ACSI for short. ACSI is a customer satisfaction index model created by Fornell et al. based on the Swedish Customer Satisfaction Index model (SCSB). The model is able to measure the quality of economic output from a macro perspective and includes five variables: customer expectations, perceived quality, perceived value, customer satisfaction, customer complaints, and customer loyalty. After this, some European scholars further researched on the basis of the American Customer Satisfaction Index model and constructed the ECSI model, which improved on the basic structure of ACSI by deleting customer complaints and adding the corporate image variable at the same time.
For domestic purposes, China has also established the China Customer Satisfaction Index (CCSI). However, the establishment of CCSI measurement system started late, and in 1997, under the promotion of China Quality Association and National Users Committee, China started the research of CCSI system and started the design of national satisfaction index model suitable for China’s national conditions. CCSI is a quality assessment method with Chinese characteristics based on the reference and borrowing of American Customer Satisfaction Index method (ACSI) and according to Chinese national conditions and characteristics. CCSI is a quality assessment method with Chinese characteristics based on the national conditions and characteristics of China. Up to 2004, China’s national customer satisfaction evaluation only included a few industries such as steel, coal, real estate, automobile, IT, etc. Compared with foreign countries which started earlier, there is an obvious gap in both depth and breadth.
In summary, ACSI is an accurate quantitative economic model based on advanced consumer behavior theory, but since it is established to monitor macroeconomic performance, it mainly considers cross-industry and cross-industry sectoral customer satisfaction comparisons, rather than a diagnostic guide for specific enterprises. The ESCI model, on the other hand, adds corporate image indicators and refines perceived quality into hardware and software aspects, i.e., while emphasizing the perceived value of tangible product quality to consumers, it also emphasizes the impact of intangible product quality on consumers’ perceived value. Since this paper focuses on Disney to explore the influencing factors of satisfaction, the ECSI model is chosen to conduct the study.
2.2. A Review of Theme Park Customer Satisfaction Studies
In terms of theme park customer satisfaction, domestic and foreign scholars have focused on their own research. Foreign scholars maintain the tradition of empirical research in theme park customer satisfaction studies, and most studies focus on visitor behavior and visitor experience perspectives. Moutinho (1988) suggested that family and friends play an important role in tourism decisions, and fun rides, shorter queuing time and pleasant park atmosphere are also important factors for visitors to choose theme parks. Tsang et al. (2012) referred to the classic SERVQUA scale, and designed a theme park visitor service satisfaction scale including the five aspects of the scale and politeness.
Domestic research on theme park customer satisfaction can be divided into two aspects: qualitative research and quantitative research. Among them, there are relatively more qualitative and theoretical researches, mainly focusing on the perception research of each element of theme parks. For example, Chen (2007) decomposed film and television theme park customer satisfaction into five aspects: landscape experience, facility experience, service experience, performance appreciation experience, and activity participation experience from the perspective of tourism experience. Sun et al. (2010) measured customer satisfaction in five aspects: entertainment experience, park services, park environment, guidance information and amusement consumption. Lian et al. (2012) constructed five core evaluation indicators of customer satisfaction, such as scenic area service, tourism resources, tourism experience, tourism facilities, and tourism consumption. In addition to qualitative research, on theme park customer satisfaction, some domestic scholars also conducted quantitative research on satisfaction by constructing conceptual models, such as Chen (2018b) constructed an evaluation system including five three-level indicators and 39 four-level indicators based on the ACSI model through Delphi analysis to measure and analyze Zhuzhou Fantasy customer satisfaction and put forward service quality improvement strategies. Chen (2018a) used the ACSI model as a reference and constructed a theme park festival customer satisfaction model using Smart PLS2.0 software, and tested the validity of the model with Shanghai Happy Valley as the empirical object. As for the ECSI model, at present, domestic academics mainly use it for the purchase evaluation research of general goods and services, such as group purchase of catering (Huang & Wen, 2016), customer satisfaction of dairy enterprises (Jin et al., 2017), and satisfaction of inpatients (Zhou et al., 2016), etc. The ECSI model has not attracted the attention of tourism scholars, and only Tang (2015) and Zhou (2020) used the ECSI model for scenic spots for empirical study.
Based on the above, although there have been abundant research results on customer satisfaction, there are fewer studies on theme park customer satisfaction using ESCI model, so this paper tries to use ESCI model, build theme park customer satisfaction index, and put forward suggestions on theme park operation in response to the results.
3. The Development of Theme Parks in China
3.1. The Concept and Development of Theme Parks
In 1955, Walt Disney built the world’s first modern large-scale theme park— Disneyland in California, USA. The development of domestic theme parks, starting with the birth of the first theme park “JinxiuZhonghua” in 1989 to the completion of the current Beijing Universal Studios, the construction of China’s theme parks from the creation of their own brands to the introduction of brands, after more than 30 years.
In 1994, Bao (1994) pointed out that a theme park is a kind of man-made tourism park that focuses on creating a special environment and atmosphere with one or several themes and creating a series of thematic items to attract visitors through a special concept. Dong (1999) referred to theme parks as tourism main parks, a modern tourist destination form with creative tour clues and planned activity approaches. According to Lin (2013), a theme park is a large modern leisure and entertainment place that is built artificially with attraction to create a series of special environment and atmosphere to meet the entertainment and leisure needs of tourists around a set theme, using technology, culture and other expressions. By 2018, National Development and Reform Commission (2018) clearly defined theme parks as parks built for profit, occupying a certain scale of land and investment, with closed management, with one or more specific cultural tourism themes, and providing leisure experiences, cultural and entertainment products or services for tourists for a fee. It mainly includes: amusement parks with large amusement facilities, large miniature landscape parks, and various types of film and television cities and animation cities that provide scenario simulation and environmental experience as the main content.
3.2. The Development History of Chinese Theme Parks
The development of China’s theme parks started late compared to foreign countries, but has formed a certain scale. China’s modern sense of theme parks began in 1989 with the opening of Shenzhen JinxiuZhonghua. Since then, nationwide theme park construction entered a boom, with more than 500 theme parks rapidly developing and closing down, and after the mid-1990s, theme parks were left in the cold, entering a period of “theme park phobia” and closure (Chen, 2018a). This was the first period of theme park development in China, i.e., before 2002, which was the exploration and construction phase, and major first-tier cities were keen on theme park construction and development, but generally showed a short life cycle (Zhong et al., 2015).
The “21st Century China Theme Park Development Forum” hosted by the National Tourism Administration of China in 2002 was the turning point of the second period, after which theme parks formally entered the stage of high-quality development. Compared with the period before 2002, theme parks in this period tended to be standardized and standardized (Wu & Liu 2022).
Entering the 21st century, theme parks present important features such as a useful complement to the overall tourism product, a huge scale of development and construction, a more diverse distribution of thematic types and locations, an increasing cultural reproduction and industrial cluster development, and the integration of tourism with urban and regional development (Zhong et al., 2015). By 2015, the first year of rapid development of theme parks, foreign theme park brands began to invade, and local brands also accelerated the upgrade. According to incomplete market statistics, as of the first half of 2014, China has counted 45 proposed theme park projects, the construction number of the world’s first. The opening of Disney in Shanghai in 2016 changed the course of local theme park development in China. China’s local parks began to create storytelling IP theme parks, such as the Huaqiang Fantasy Group, which took 5000 years of Chinese civilization as the background of the park, applied high technology to park construction, and built the Fantasy Oriental Mythology Theme Park.
The fourth stage of promoting China’s local theme parks is the full outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic in 2020 and the official opening of Universal Studios Beijing in 2021. According to data, the annual registration of theme parks in China is rising year by year in recent years, and even with the impact of the New Crown pneumonia epidemic, 26,000 new theme parks will be added in China in 2020, up 54% from 2019 (Wu & Liu, 2022).
3.3. Status of China’s Theme Parks
According to the data analyzed in the “2022-2026 China Theme Park Industry Competitive Landscape and Development Trend Forecast Report” by China Research Institute of Industrial Research, there are 128 existing projects of city-level theme parks in China, and about 70 projects are expected to complete construction by 2025. Most of the proposed theme park projects in China are concentrated in economically developed regions such as South China and East China. The number of theme parks in East China accounts for 34% of the overall number of theme parks in the country, mainly based on the huge population size and total economic volume in East China.
China’s theme park market is vast in the future, with many completed and under-construction projects, but it is still difficult to reach saturation in the short term, with huge development potential in the medium and long term. This has caused international theme parks to enter the domestic theme park market one after another, which undoubtedly brings great challenges to the Chinese theme park industry. In the environment of consumer upgrading, visitors’ requirements for amusement projects are also getting higher and higher, and simple scenery viewing projects can no longer meet visitors’ needs. With the maturity of 5G, ultra-high definition, augmented reality, virtual reality, artificial intelligence and other technologies, a large number of amusement projects in the park use technical means and equipment such as special movies, flight simulators, intelligent seats, kinetic rail cars, laser props and virtual reality space to better meet the needs of visitors in terms of project participation, interactivity and experience.
4. Construction of Theoretical Model and Index System
4.1. Formulation of the Research Hypothesis
After reading domestic and international literature and combining the characteristics of theme parks themselves, this paper adopts the method of structural equation modeling, based on the ECSI model, to construct a theme park customer satisfaction model. This model contains six structural variables, which are corporate image, visitor expectation, perceived quality, perceived value, satisfaction, and loyalty, constituting nine hypothetical relationships, as shown in Figure 1.
When customers choose a scenic spot for a trip, they will have an image perception of the scenic spot. In the ECSI model, the corporate image as the product background does not directly affect customer expectations, which deviates from the customer’s travel consumption behavior habits. Corporate image can make customers generate customer expectations before traveling, and a good corporate image can, to a certain extent, lead to higher customer expectations, and vice versa, lower tourist expectations. Attractions with high visibility and reputation can satisfy customers’ psychological needs and make tourists feel more rewarded, i.e., with the same time and economic costs, attractions with high visibility and reputation are more likely to enhance customers’ perceived value (Zhou, 2020). Based on the above, this paper proposes the following two hypotheses:
H1: There is a significant positive correlation between corporate image and customer expectation.
H2: There is a significant positive correlation between corporate image and perceived quality.
Customer expectation is an estimate of the quality of the product or service that a customer will receive before consumption. Customer satisfaction is the evaluation of the difference between the actual perception of the product or service purchased by the customer and his or her expectation. If the actual perception is greater than the customer’s expectation, the consumer will be satisfied, and vice versa the customer will not be satisfied. Reasonable expectations of future
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Figure 1. Theme park customer satisfaction model based on ECSI model. Source: Constructed by the authors from ESCI base model.
goods and services play an important role in overall customer satisfaction (Anderson, 1994). Therefore, the following hypothesis is proposed:
H3: There is a significant positive correlation between customer expectation and perceived quality.
H4: There is a significant positive correlation between customer expectation and perceived value.
H5: There is a significant positive correlation between customer expectation and customer satisfaction.
Perceived quality refers to the actual experience and feelings generated by customers while conducting a tour. Good tourism quality and service experience can improve the perception, based on this, this paper argues that perceived quality has a significant positive effect on perceived value. And by reading the literature, the better the situation of perceived quality, the higher the likelihood that customers will feel satisfied (Fornell, 1992), i.e., there is a positive relationship between the two. Therefore, this paper proposes the following hypothesis:
H6: There is a significant positive correlation between perceived quality and perceived value.
H7: There is a significant positive correlation between perceived quality and customer satisfaction.
Parasuraman et al. argue that perceived value is the customer’s perception based on the comparison of what they get and what they pay, and Fornell’s study shows that perceived value is an important causal variable of customer satisfaction and has a positive effect on customer satisfaction. Therefore the following hypothesis is proposed.
H8: There is a significant positive relationship between perceived value and customer satisfaction.
After having a high satisfaction tour and service experience, customers will be more inclined to choose again or recommend to others. Therefore, the following hypothesis is proposed.
H9: There is a significant positive relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.
4.2. Determination of the Observed Variables
In this paper, theme park customer satisfaction is taken as the target level, and the above 6 latent variables are used as the second level indicators. Since the six structural variables in the model are all latent variables that are difficult to measure directly, the questionnaire design refined the six latent variables into 20 observed variables as the third level indicators for the convenience of survey statistics (Table 1). The fourth level indicators are the specific questions in the questionnaire.
5. Empirical Analysis
Shanghai Disney officially opened on June 16, 2016, and achieved profitability in only one year of operation, receiving more than 11 million visitors, far exceeding
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Table 1. Theme park customer satisfaction evaluation index system.
the expectations of the Disney Group, which is the first theme park in Disney’s history to achieve financial break-even in its first year of operation. In 2019, Shanghai Disney’s annual revenue reached $7 billion, making it the most profitable theme park in the world for the Disney Group. Therefore, this paper chooses Shanghai Disney theme park as the object of empirical research.
5.1. Descriptive Statistical Analysis of the Questionnaire
Usually the sample size of the structural equation should be more than 5 times of the observed variables, and there are 20 observed variables in this paper, so the sample size should be more than 100. When designing the questionnaire, this paper adopted the Likert 5-level scale and used WeChat friends circle and QQ to conduct online research. 140 questionnaires were collected, of which 119 were valid, with an effective recovery rate of 85%, and the sample size met the basic requirements of the structural equation sample size and had certain reliability. The details of the survey respondents are shown in the following table (Table 2), and the statistical results show that there are more women in this survey, and the samples are mainly concentrated in the age of 19 - 25 and 26 - 35. Therefore, the following conclusions can be drawn: there are more women who are interested in theme parks, and the visitors to theme parks are mainly young people, and the customer groups are mostly students and corporate employees.
5.2. Reliability and Validity Tests of the Data
5.2.1. Reliability Test
Reliability refers to the consistency or stability of the questionnaire data. In this paper, reliability analysis in SPSS26.0 software is used to study the internal consistency of the data. Cronbach’ α coefficient is a widely used reliability coefficient, and it is generally believed that the value of Alpha is higher than 0.7, and the data reliability is higher.
As shown in Table 3, the internal consistency alpha coefficient of the total scale was 0.914, which is greater than 0.8, indicating good internal consistency of all question items in this questionnaire. In addition, the reliability coefficients of all subscales of the tested questionnaire are greater than 0.7, which confirms that there is also a high homogeneity in the level of each subscale.
Taken together, these two aspects indicate that this is a questionnaire with an ideal reliability coefficient and is suitable for a survey study in terms of reliability.
5.2.2. Validity Analysis
In this paper, we chose factor analysis to test the structural validity of the questionnaire, and the correlation between items was tested by KMO to determine whether factor analysis was appropriate (Table 4).
After KMO and Bartlett’s test of sphericity, it was found that KMO = 0.866 and Bartlett’s test of sphericity approximated Chi-square of 1185.565, df = 190, and sig = 0.000. This indicates that there is a correlation between the variables, so this questionnaire is suitable for factor analysis.
5.2.3. Research Analysis and Conclusion
In this study, the structural equation model was fitted and analyzed using AMOS 26.0, and then the hypotheses were tested, and the standardized path coefficients between the structural variables were estimated at the same time. The ideal values of each fitting index and the fitting index of the model in this paper are shown in Table 5. It can be seen that each fitting index meets the requirements, which indicates that the ECSI model constructed in this paper is well-validated.
As can be seen in Table 6, eight hypotheses in the original model are feasible, and only H5 is not verified.
Figure 2 clearly shows the path relationships and the strengths and weaknesses among the latent variables in the theme park customer satisfaction model, which are analyzed as follows.
1) Analysis of antecedent variables of theme park customer satisfaction
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Table 2. Sample structure of survey respondents.
Source: The results of the questionnaire were calculated and collated by SPSS software.
Source: calculated by SPSS software reliability test.
Source: calculated by SPSS software validity test.
Source: Calculated from relevant literature and AMOS software.
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Table 6. Table of model coefficients.
Source: Calculated from relevant literature and AMOS software.
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Figure 2. Influence path relationship of tourist satisfaction at Shanghai Disney. Source: Compiled from the results of the empirical analysis.
The effects of corporate image and customer expectations on perceived quality are 0.492 and 0.206 respectively, and they both have a more significant positive effect on perceived quality. With a total effect of 0.698, it can be said that both quality factors are important dimensions characterizing perceived quality. Among them, corporate image has a more significant effect on perceived quality. Also, corporate image has a more significant effect on customer expectations. Therefore, it can be said that the goodness of corporate image can directly influence customers’ perception of theme park quality on the one hand, and indirectly influence perceived value through the mediating variable of customer expectation on the other hand.
2) Analysis of determining variables of theme park customer satisfaction
From the path coefficient, the effect of perceived quality on perceived value is 0.487, customer expectation on perceived value is 0.476, and the effect of perceived value on customer satisfaction is 0.37. Perceived value plays a mediating role in the model in both the effect of customer expectation on customer satisfaction and perceived quality on customer satisfaction. That is, perceived quality/customer expectation has both a direct effect on customer satisfaction and an indirect effect on customer satisfaction through the mediating variable of perceived value. The statistical characteristics of the questionnaire show that customers seek and want to have a higher quality of travel experience, but also attach great importance to the price level. In the only subjective question of the questionnaire, most of the customer dissatisfaction comes from price. Customers’ perception of value comes from the balance between the service they enjoy and the cost they pay. Therefore, the higher the value for money, the higher the customer satisfaction.
3) Analysis of outcome variables of theme park visitors’ satisfaction
From the path coefficient, it can be seen that customer satisfaction has a significant positive influence on customer loyalty, with an influence coefficient as high as 0.81. It can be seen that visitors’ satisfaction with the theme park significantly affects customers’ willingness to revisit and recommend.
4) Analysis of the observed variables
From the path coefficients of potential variables and observed variables, each observed variable can better reflect the real situation of potential variables. The influence of both popularity and reputation on theme park image perception is above 70%, and both can better explain the evaluation factors of theme park image perception, indicating that enhancing the popularity and reputation of theme park brand can create a good antecedent impression in the visitor group. The overall expectation of tourism and the degree of satisfaction of demand can also explain well the predictive index of tourists’ expectation. In terms of theme park quality perceptions, visitors perceive a high degree of themed performances, which are also a theme park’s core competencies. There is little difference in visitors’ concern about rides, staff service, food and beverage, shopping, environmental hygiene, interactive effects, surrounding traffic and complaint channels, all of which are aspects that visitors pay more attention to when visiting theme parks. In terms of tourists’ perceived value, tourists’ perception of price is relatively obvious. The overall satisfaction of tourists is comparable to the expectation satisfaction, reflecting the relatively high satisfaction of tourists with tourism. In terms of customer loyalty, the degree of influence of willingness to revisit and willingness to recommend are comparable, i.e. once customer loyalty is formed, the willingness of customers to revisit and recommend will be stronger.
6. Comments and Suggestions
After the empirical study and the conclusions obtained, this paper makes some suggestions for four aspects: corporate image, internal theme and construction of the park and price.
6.1. Establish Brand Image and Implement Brand Marketing
As an important part of tourism products and a powerful means of marketing, brand can better provide opportunities for theme park development (Chen, 2012). The establishment of theme park brand image, on the one hand, should start from the enterprise itself, refine the theme connotation of the theme park, according to the theme park’s own characteristics, to branding, to form a personalized. On the other hand, it is necessary to establish a good image perception of the theme park by customers. Image is the personality characteristics of the brand, reflecting the reputation and popularity of the brand, and reflecting the public’s perception and evaluation of the brand (Chen, 2012). Therefore, the brand image of a theme park must be personalized and differentiated, and can have a strong appeal. After the brand image is established, the next step is to publicize and promote the image. In addition to establishing a good image, the business operation of an enterprise also needs to improve its visibility, which means improving its competitiveness. Especially in the tourism industry, enterprises promoting their brand image can make customers form a preference and be preferred when conducting tourism activities.
Brand is a commitment; the brand must be recognized by the market to effectively play its role. The design and shaping process of the brand should be throughout the theme park’s own characteristics and advantages in order to establish a good corporate image. Once a good corporate image is formed, it will enhance customer expectations and perception of quality, and ultimately improve customer satisfaction. Therefore, theme parks must establish a good corporate image if they want to survive and develop.
6.2. Enhance Theme Selection and Strengthen Cultural Excavation
The essence of theming is a form of cultural expression and a creation of category culture. In today’s rapid development of big data and information technology, young people as the main customers of theme parks, need theme parks to strengthen the theme selection, in line with the trend, to seize the market hot spots, to create hot theme activities to stimulate customer demand, in creativity to gain customer recognition. At the same time, theme activities should also rely on regional cultural characteristics, integrate local special cultural resources, explore cultural characteristics, and integrate creativity and culture to ultimately enhance customer satisfaction and build customer loyalty.
6.3. Improve Park Facilities Conditions to Enhance the Play Experience
As a tourist attraction, the theme park needs to give customers a high-quality play experience. For the catering and shopping inside the park, rich catering facilities should be set up to provide a variety of different cuisines, ensure taste and cost performance, and provide customers with diversified catering services; a convenient shopping guidance system should be established to facilitate visitors’ shopping and make them get what they need in time. In terms of theme park amusement facilities and interaction, pay attention to innovation, add personalization and technology, use modern digital technology to improve interactive experience, create intelligent theme parks, and enhance customer satisfaction.
6.4. Optimize Pricing Strategies to Enhance Customer Satisfaction
Theme park tourism land products are different from ordinary retail goods, and their pricing is not based on the relationship between the value of the product itself and consumer supply and demand, with the special characteristics of product pricing in the tourism industry (Chen, 2012). In the survey in this paper, many customers expressed dissatisfaction with the excessively high and unreasonable consumer prices. Therefore, theme parks need to conduct in-depth market research to understand the demand characteristics of customers, and then make scientific and reasonable pricing for consumption in the park. The park can adopt a variety of pricing combination strategies to enhance the sense of value of tourism consumers. For example, the same activity program can be priced according to time or customer’s own differences. For different market segments with significantly different demand for tourism products, implement differential pricing to attract more visitors with different consumption levels with more flexible pricing. Optimize pricing strategies to make customers feel high value and satisfaction, i.e., value for money and excellent value for money, thus keeping old customers, attracting new customers, and increasing customer brand loyalty to the theme park.
7. Concluding Remark
This paper is based on the ECSI model to study the theme park customer satisfaction, using Shanghai Disney as the empirical research object, conducted research and analysis, and finally found the relative strength of the factors affecting customer satisfaction, and put forward some targeted suggestions for the conclusion from the corporate image, park planning and pricing issues. In order to sustain the operation of theme parks, first of all, it is necessary to establish a good corporate image and improve the brand awareness of theme parks. At the same time, we should continuously improve the construction of the park, apply digital intelligent technology to the construction of the park, take the customer as the center, and enrich the visitors’ play experience. In terms of price, theme parks should optimize their pricing strategies so that visitors can experience cost-effective tourism activities, ultimately increasing satisfaction and building brand loyalty.
The shortcomings of this paper’s research are the small amount of survey data and the research dimension is limited to Shanghai Disney, which makes the research results limited. Therefore, the sample size and spatial dimension can be improved, and several different types of theme parks can be selected for comparative studies.
Fund Project
Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology 2021 Educational Teaching Reform Project Key Projects—Model and Innovation of Integrating Innovative and En-trepreneurial Education and Practical Teaching Phase Result (ZDJG-2105).