WORLD EXPO 2010 SHANGHAI: EXPLORING INTERNATIONAL VISITORS’ EVALUATIONS OF EXPERIENCE QUALITY

Abstract

Large international events provide unique opportunities for individuals to engage in cross-cultural experiences. When individuals have positive/meaningful experiences, they are more likely to recommend the event or attend similar events in the future. Previous studies have mostly examined the effects of motivations and individual evaluations of service quality without considering the potential for interaction effects from additional factors related to the experience. This study explored how experience quality at international events such as the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai may be explained by the relationships observed between visitor motivations, perceptions of service factors, and reactions to various experiential factors. The hypotheses for this study included: (1) variances in international visitors’ evaluations of experience quality is explained by variables including gender, age, and previous experience including visits to Shanghai, attending national celebration events in China, and/or at a prior World Expo; (2) variances in international visitors’ evaluations of experience quality is explained by variables of experience factors, visitor motivations, and service quality; and (3) variances in international visitors’ evaluations of experience quality is explained by the interaction between variables of experience factors, motivations, and service quality. Secondary analysis was conducted on a total of 168 questionnaires completed by visitors to the World Expo 2010 Shanghai. The first hypothesis was tested using one-way ANOVA analysis and found no significant difference for the variables based on gender; however, there were significant differences in evaluations of experience factors and overall experience quality for individuals based on age. Visitors aged 25-34 had noticeably lower average scores than other age groups. Correlation analysis was used to test the second hypothesis. Significant correlations were found to exist between each of the variables. Finally, multiple regression analysis found visitor motivations and experience factors to have significant effects on the evaluation of overall experience quality. The effects of service quality on the remaining variance were negligible. Results suggest that experience factors, visitor motivations, and the performance/quality of service factors may positively influence the experience quality for visitors to large international events. Furthermore, when considering future examinations of experience quality, visitor motivations and reactions to experience factors are more significant than the performance/quality of service factors.