Service Quality Ideals and Evaluations Among Backpackers

Service Quality ideals and evaluations are relatively neglected areas in regard to the backpacker/budget traveller segment of the tourism market. This study examines the Service Quality expectations and evaluations of a sample of backpacker visitors to the Wet Tropics World Heritage area of Northern Australia. It was found that ideals were rated more highly than were evaluations concerning the region. Older visitors were more likely to exhibit a higher ideal and also evaluation whereas those with a higher level of formal education expressed a higher ideal. This study has also found that individuals with a higher preference for planning and organization in their vacation were more likely to be associated with higher ideals. Higher evaluation levels regarding the destination were associated with individuals who preferred a new destination each vacation, who preferred only a few other people around them during a vacation, who preferred outdoor vacation facilities and who also preferred little previous planning and organization as part of their vacation. The implications of these findings for destinations and for this visitor segment are discussed