A model analysis of the worthiness of public transport services to Guimaras Island as assessed by tourists: Inputs to the enhancement of a tourism development plan

Abstract

The study was a model analysis of the worthiness of public transport services to Guimaras Island, Western Visayas, Philippines as assessed by tourists’ travelers. A non-experimental predictive research design using linear regression was used. A total sample size of 389 respondents participated in the study. A continuous Likert scale was used to measure the tourists’ assessment of the worthiness of public transport services to Guimaras Island and to enable probability testing on data. Results pointed out that young to middle-age tourists (18-35 years old) have higher assessment of the worthiness of transport services as compared to older tourists (56 years old and above) especially in terms of convenience, reliability, and availability of public transportation. Light users (once a year) as compared to heavy users (once a week) of transport services have higher assessment of the worthiness of the transport services especially in terms of the safety, convenience and reliability, while professionals/employees have higher assessment of safety, reliability, convenience, and value for money as compared to housewife and students. These demographics (age, occupation) and psychographic (usage) variables are worth considering in revisiting the quality of transport services being provided to the tourists, especially in terms of cleanliness, availability of seats while waiting and accessibility, punctuality and service frequency of transport service, ticket availability and fare promotion and discounts, lower fare, advanced booking/online payment systems to deliver better travel experience to the Island of Guimaras, Western Visayas, Philippines.