Suhot cold spring: Tourism support facilities and services and present environmental attributes as perceived by tourists

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the tourists’ perceived support facilities and services and present environmental attributes of Suhot Cold Spring. Specifically, the study aimed to determine 1) the personal profile of the respondents in terms of their age, sex, educational attainment, occupational status, monthly income, number of visit, and type of visit; 2) the observed tourism support facilities and services; 3) the perceived environmental attributes of Suhot Cold Spring; 4) the strengths and weaknesses of Suhot Cold Spring; and, 5) the tourists’ plan for return visit, recommend the site to other tourists and recommendations to improve the Suhot Cold Spring. Data were gathered from 300 randomly selected tourists who visited the site during the conduct of the study using a researcher-made interview schedule. All the data gathered were encoded and analyzed descriptively through the use of Statistical Package for the social Sciences (SPSS). Results revealed that the tourists visiting Suhot Cold Spring were 26 to 35 years of age with a mean age of 33.42 years, males, with post-graduate education, working in private companies, with an average monthly income of PHP 14,161.67, had visited Suhot Cold Spring before usually with friends or family members. They have observed the presence of adequate comfort rooms, adequate cottages, visible presence of law enforcers, adequate tour guides, and very satisfactory road and transportation quality to the area. The tourists respondents perceived the water quality in Suhot Cold Spring as very satisfactory, water volume as sufficient, flora diversity as diverse, fauna diversity as moderately diverse, waste disposal as satisfactory and carrying capacity as high. They considered the coldness of water, coldness of air and nice surroundings as the major strengths of Suhot Cold Spring, and soil degradation, waste segregation and disposal and being crowded sometimes as its major weaknesses. Given the tourists’ perceived strengths and weaknesses of Suhot Cold Spring, the tourists plan to visit again Suhot Cold Spring and recommend it to other tourists. To improve the Suhot Cold Spring as a tourist destination, they recommended the need to modify and develop the place, additional garbage bin, and improve security force.