4th International Conference on Engineering and Applied Natural Sciences November 20-21, 2023 : Konya, Turkey AS-Proceedings © 2023 Published by AS-Proceedings https://alls-academy.com/index.php https://www.iceans.org/ Assessing tourism service quality in Albania: A 5-scale Likert survey analysis and interpretation with SPSS Robert Kosova*, Daniela Qendraj Halidini2, Evgjeni Xhafaj3, Neime Gjikaj4, Anna Maria Kosova5 Department of Mathematics. University “A. Moisiu” Durres. Albania Department of Mathematics. Polytechnic University of Tirana. Albania 5 Department of Computer Science. University “A. Moisiu” Durres. Albania. 1,2,4 2 * (robertkosova@uamd.edu.al) Abstract – Tourism today is considered a powerful force for economic growth and the promotion of cultural diversity at a global level. With a wide reach across different countries, tourism not only contributes to the state's income but also creates a platform for cultural exchange and international cooperation. The tourism sector creates jobs for hundreds of thousands of people, including various services such as accommodation, restaurants, travel agencies, and transport services. This encourages the creation of local businesses and increased economic activity, contributing to the reduction of unemployment and increased fiscal revenue for the government. With the growing interest in Albania as a tourist destination, it is imperative to assess the quality of services offered to meet the evolving demands of travelers. This research presents a comprehensive survey-based analysis of tourism services in Albania, aimed at understanding the perceptions and satisfaction levels of tourists visiting the country. The analysis is conducted through a 5point Likert scale survey, assessing the opinions and preferences of tourists, and analyzing and interpreting with SPSS. Respondents' experiences were assessed across a range of tourism service aspects, including accommodation, transportation, culinary offerings, and recreational activities, the tourists' perception of the country's cultural heritage, natural attractions, and overall destination appeal. Key findings from the survey indicate that tourists are drawn to Albania for its breathtaking landscapes, historical landmarks, and vibrant local culture. Positive evaluations are observed regarding hospitality and warmth extended by locals, contributing to overall visitor satisfaction. Keywords –Tourism Services, Survey, Albania, Likert, SPSS I. INTRODUCTION Tourism is an integral part of the global economy, with destinations worldwide working to attract travelers seeking unique and memorable experiences. In this pursuit, the quality of tourism services offered plays a pivotal role in shaping tourists' perceptions and satisfaction levels [1]. Understanding and evaluating tourist experiences and service quality is essential for destination management organizations and service providers to enhance their offerings and stay competitive in the market [2]. By administering the survey to a diverse sample of domestic and international tourists, we aim to capture a comprehensive overview of the different factors influencing tourist satisfaction and identify potential areas for improvement. Tourism services play a crucial role in shaping the overall travel experience, influencing tourists' satisfaction levels and their likelihood of recommending a destination to others [3-4]. In the dynamic and competitive tourism industry, understanding the quality of services and travelers' perceptions becomes paramount for destination managers and service providers seeking to enhance their offerings and maintain a competitive edge [5]. Tourism services encompass a wide array of elements, 523 including accommodation, transportation, dining options, guided tours, and recreational activities. Likewise, tourism has a great impact on the infrastructure of a country. To receive high numbers of tourists, investments in roads, hotels, airports, and other tourist facilities are necessary. These investments not only bring an increase in public investment but also improve the quality of life for local communities [6]. On the cultural level, tourism brings about a continuous exchange between cultures and traditions. Tourists have the opportunity to know and respect the cultural diversity of the country they visit. This promotes intercultural dialogue and helps create further understanding between different people [7]. The evaluation of tourist service quality and tourist satisfaction through surveys is of particular importance [8]. Through structured questionnaires, several aspects of tourist services such as accommodation, food, and tourist activities are analyzed. The results of the surveys help to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the tourism infrastructure, creating opportunities for necessary improvements. Tourists feel heard and valued when they have the opportunity to express their opinions. In addition, surveys are a rich source of information for tourism marketing. The importance of surveys also extends to the field of tourism marketing. The results of the responses provide a rich base of information to design appropriate strategies to increase the attractiveness of the destination and improve the quality of tourist services. II. In the last decade, the tourism industry has enjoyed significant development, contributing to the economic progress of the country, through employment, development of the local economy, infrastructure, and income from economic activities. The contribution of foreign tourists in 2022 is estimated to be around 2.3 billion euros, which accounts for around 44% of total exports for 2022, figure 1. The average contribution per international tourist is estimated to be around 480 euros in 2022, against the global average indicator of 990 euros per tourist [9-10]. Tourism also has a significant contribution to employment, with a weight of around 20% of total employment, figure 2. Tourism services account for about 250 thousand jobs in 2022, from 244 thousand jobs in 2019 before the pandemic. According to the official statistics of the Ministry of Tourism, this sector generated a total of about 291 thousand jobs in 2017 [11]. Number of tourists, 1995-2023 10.000.000 8.000.000 6.000.000 4.000.000 2.000.000 0 Fig. 1. Number of foreign tourists in Albania. ALBANIAN TOURISM INDUSTRY Albania as a Mediterranean country had all the possibilities to rank among other Mediterranean countries with developed tourism, but various economic, social, and political factors have prevented such a development. Albania has a great tourist potential. This is due to the geographical position in which it is located, its rich nature, and the numerous historical and cultural assets that are present everywhere. For these reasons, Albania has been classified in recent years by international tourist agencies as one of the most interesting tourist destinations in the world. 524 Fig. 2. Receipts in $, 1995-2022 III. MATERIAL AND METHODS A public survey is a powerful tool that provides valuable information to understand the needs, preferences, and challenges in different areas of society. Its diverse use serves to improve the quality of services and to influence the development of appropriate policies and strategies based on the real needs of individuals and communities. Public surveys can be used in many fields to collect the opinions, experiences, and opinions of a wide number of individuals [12-13]. This instrument has a wide range of uses in different spheres of society and administration, providing important information to understand the needs and preferences of users in several areas: Public administration: The survey is used to evaluate the performance of public institutions, to receive feedback from citizens about the services provided, and to identify areas for improvement in public policies [14]. It helps increase transparency and accountability by including citizens in the evaluation process, and public institutions show commitment to the improvement of services and the space for feedback and improvements [15-16]. Among many communities’ problems and concerns, urban resilience assessment is used to gather information about cities' resilience to various challenges, such as the development of city infrastructure in response to natural disasters, public health crises, or aspects of others that affect the survival and reconstruction of cities [17-18]. Marketing and Business: In the business world, surveying is used to understand consumer preferences, evaluate products and services, identify market trends, and develop new marketing strategies, evaluate people’s opinions and feelings about infrastructure projects [19-21]. Education: In the field of education, the survey is used to evaluate the performance of teachers and the experience of students in school, identifying areas where the quality of teaching and support of students' needs can be improved [22-24]. Universities use the performance assessment survey to understand and improve the quality of education, for ranking the faculties, departments, and lecturers [25-26]. Assessing the Quality of Online Learning: It is another application to get feedback from students about their experience with online learning platforms, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. Numerous surveys followed by many articles were conducted to improve online platforms and provide a better user experience for students [27]. Evaluation of Urban Transport in the City: Surveys can be an important tool to get feedback from users of public transport in the city to understand their experience and identify areas where improvements are needed. This improves service and can help increase the efficiency and adaptability of urban transport systems [28-29]. Health: In the field of health, the survey is important to obtain the opinions of patients, to assess the quality of health services, and to identify areas where there may be a need for improvements in the health system [30-32]. Industry data: collecting and analyzing data from the production industry, economy, or sociology studies, to find patterns, and formulas and help create mathematical models [33-36]. Tourist Services: the surveys can help identify areas and problems where improvements are needed, and, as a result, help increase the quality of tourism services [37]. Surveys serve as an important tool to understand and improve the experience of tourists. The need for surveys comes from the aim to meet and exceed the expectations of tourists, creating an unforgettable experience for them. The survey methodology employed for data collection incorporates the Likert scale, a widely used and reliable tool for measuring attitudes, perceptions, and opinions in social science research [38]. The Likert scale enables respondents to express their level of agreement or disagreement with specific statements, offering a nuanced understanding of travelers' perceptions of tourism services. The process of analyzing the data from the tourism services survey involves analyzing the data, estimating the reliability of the data, estimating the missing data and the reason for missingness, and then utilizing descriptive statistics to summarize respondents' responses [39-40]. Mean scores, standard deviations, and frequency distributions provide insights into the overall level of satisfaction and the variation in perceptions among the survey participants [41]. In this article, SPSS techniques are implemented for analyzing and interpreting the results. A collection of 180 forms was delivered to several hotels in Berat 525 City, such as Onufri Hotel, Mangalem, and Muzaka Hotel; the customers are foreign tourists from Italy, Spain, and France. From the 180 forms delivered, 146 were found complete and reliable for the study; 66 were male, 75 were female, and 5 forms were not filled. The questionnaire contained these questions: 1) Accommodation met my expectations. 2) Information was accurate and useful. 3) The natural beauty of this destination is appealing. 4) The local cuisine and dining options are enjoyable. 5) Cultural heritage and historical sites are interesting. 6) Overall safety and security are satisfactory. 7) The cost of tourism activities and services is reasonable. 8) The quality of the attractions met my expectations. 9) Overall value for money was satisfactory. 10) Overall estimation was satisfactory. 11) Tourist attractions are well-maintained. 12) Local people are friendly and welcoming towards tourists. 13) Transportation is convenient and reliable. The 5-point Likert scale contained these 5 answers: 1) Strongly Disagree (SD) 2) Disagree (D) 3) Neutral (N) 4) Agree (A) 5) Strongly agree (SA) Fig 3. Missing values. Reliability test: Cronbach's alpha is a measure of the reliability or internal consistency of a set of scale or test items. It assumes that all items are measuring the same underlying construct and that the relationships between the items are linear. Its values are between values 0 and 1. A higher alpha value indicates greater internal consistency, suggesting that the items in the scale or test are more reliable in measuring the underlying construct, table 1. The data used for the reliability are 135 full cases instead of 146 because of listwise deletion (11 cases are deleted for having at least one missing value), table 2. The percentage of the deleted data is small enough (7%), so it is considered not to bias the result. The reliability statistics (Cronbach's Alpha = .795) show that there is a satisfactory consistent and reliable survey, table 3. IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Missing values: Among the provided data, there are cases with missing values that are considered Completely Missing in Random, (MCAR), meaning that the missingness is completely random and so, the deleted cases don’t impact the result. However, the SPSS software provides several methods of treating the missing data such as listwise deletion, pairwise deletion, or data imputation, figure 3. 526 Table 1. Consistency test values Values 0.0 - 0.6 0.6 - 0.7 0.7 - 0.8 0.8 - 0.9 0.9 - 1.0 Interpretation Poor internal consistency Questionable internal consistency Acceptable internal consistency Good internal consistency Excellent internal consistency Table 2. Valid and missing values Case Processing Summary N % Valid 135 92.5 a Excluded 11 7.5 Total 146 100.0 a. Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure. Cases Table 3. Value of consistency test Reliability Statistics Cronbach's Alpha N of Items Based on Standardized Items Cronbach's Alpha .788 .790 13 Descriptive statistics. Mean values. Interpretation. The distribution of the survey values for each variable is normal or nearly normal. The largest part of the values are around the center (average; 3.5-4.5), and the smallest part of the values are at their edges (values 1 and 5), figure 4,5. Distribution of 5- point values 3.429 for the transportation item (variable), and the maximum mean is equal to 3.993 for the atmosphere item (variable). The majority of the tourists show a positive opinion of all the aspects of tourism quality services. Among them, the items of Atmosphere and Destination are estimated with the highest values, table 4, 5. Comparing the means of two groups (F/M): the chosen variable is “overall”, and the groups are “Male=1”, and “Female=2”. The independent samples “t” test results in t=.039 and sig. (2 tailed)=.969 for equal variances assumed, and t=.039, sig. (2 tailed= .969>.05) for equal variances nor assumed. The conclusion is that Ho's hypothesis that means are equal is not rejected, (M/F means are equal regarding the “overall” item, table 6,7. The same result is concluded with other items (variables). 60% Table 4. Items statistics. Item Statistics 40% 20% 0% 1 2 3 SD=1 4 5 D=2 6 7 N=3 8 9 10 11 12 13 A=4 SA=5 Fig. 4. Distribution of 5-point values Mean Std. Deviation N Accommodation 3.6889 .78671 135 Information 3.7037 .82926 135 Destination 3.9926 .76779 135 Cuisine 3.8000 .86214 135 Heritage 3.8889 .69826 135 Safety 3.9037 .71104 135 Cost 3.5556 .82559 135 Quality 3.7630 .69333 135 Value 3.6889 .85052 135 Overall 3.8370 .81229 135 Attraction 3.6963 .81290 135 Atmosphere 3.9926 .74810 135 Transportation 3.4296 .82445 135 Table 5. Mean values and interpretation Fig. 5. “Normal” distribution, “overall” values The calculated means are between values (3.4-4) meaning “Agree”. The minimum mean is equal to 527 Mean value 1- 1.8 1.81- 2.6 2.61- 3.4 3.41- 4.2 4.21- 5.0 Interpretation Strongly disagree (SD) Disagree (D) Neutral (N) Agree (A) Strongly Agree (SA) Table 6. Groups (M/F) data statistics O v e r a ll Sex Group Statistics Mean Std. Dev. N Limitation of the study; The survey was conducted in a small area of Albania, in the city of Berat. For a more complete study, more data and from a larger area is needed. Surveys can also be conducted for special services related to the characteristics of the city, such as museums, historical sites, special national events, etc. Std. Error Mean 1.00 66 3.8030 .86326 .10626 2.00 74 3.7973 .89105 .10358 References Table 7. Independent sample Independent Samples Test Levene's Test for Equality of Variances t-test for Equality of Means Overall Sig. F Sig. T Df (2tailed) Equal variances .106 .745 .039 138 .969 assumed Equal variances .039 137 .969 not assumed V. CONCLUSION Assessing the quality of tourism services through surveys is a very important tool to understand and know the tourists’ experience, assessment, and opinion. Surveys help increase the appropriate level of services to international standards and build a positive image for the destination. By addressing the identified challenges, service providers can elevate the overall tourist experience, fostering repeat visitors and positive word-of-mouth recommendations. The main challenges of the Albanian tourism industry are many and they are reflected in the surveys: Enabling easier and faster access to tourist destinations, and improving the infrastructure in the destination are among the most important elements for qualitative and quantitative tourism developments. Promoting well-known brands of hotels and tourist operators, which are a guarantor of the quality of service for the majority of foreign tourists. Coping with the massification of tourism is a challenge and for this, it is important to manage tourism sustainably and to prevent negative impacts on the environment and culture. [1] Burlea-Schiopoiu, A., & Ozuni, F. (2021). 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