influences on the consumer decision making process in

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INFLUENCES ON THE CONSUMER DECISION

MAKING PROCESS IN SELECTING

DESTINATION WEDDING

BY

MISS NATTAPORN SUTHATARTRAKUL

AN INDEPENDENT STUDY SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL

FULFILLMENT OF

THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF

MASTER OF SCIENCE PROGRAM IN MARKETING

(INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM)

FACULTY OF COMMERCE AND ACCOUNTANCY

THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY

ACADEMIC YEAR 2017

COPYRIGHT OF THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY

Ref. code: 25605902040509ZWT

INFLUENCES ON THE CONSUMER DECISION

MAKING PROCESS IN SELECTING

DESTINATION WEDDING

BY

MISS NATTAPORN SUTHATARTRAKUL

AN INDEPENDENT STUDY SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL

FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE

OF MASTER OF SCIENCE PROGRAM IN MARKETING

(INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM)

FACULTY OF COMMERCE AND ACCOUNTANCY

THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY

ACADEMIC YEAR 2017

COPYRIGHT OF THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY

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Independent Study Title INFLUENCES ON THE CONSUMER

DECISION MAKING PROCESS IN

SELECTING DESTINATION WEDDING

Author Miss Nattaporn Suthatartrakul

Degree Master of Science Program in Marketing

(International Program)

Major Field/Faculty/University Faculty of Commerce and Accountancy

Thammasat University

Independent Study Advisor Professor K. Douglas Hoffman, Ph.D.

Academic Year 2017

ABSTRACT

This study analyses factors considered by Thai and foreign couples when

choosing destination wedding by examining weddings in Thailand. The research

findings illustrate which factors compel couples to choose a destination wedding

because the recent trend is that many couples decide to celebrate their wedding

outside of their original hometown or country of residence. Due to this new context,

this study provides factors which affect decision-making pertaining to destination

wedding and also insight on related public organizers and wedding planners in a niche

market with special demands and characteristics.

To answer these topics, qualitative research and quantitative research

were conducted to describe the relative influences behind decision making.

Qualitative method was conducted through in-depth interview of those who work in

events management company. In quantitative approach, a questionnaire was carried

out with 133 respondents with eligible 91 respondents, who are already married or

intend to marry in the next few years in Thailand.

The respondents were divided into four groups based on factors that

couples consider before selecting destination wedding – Marketing-oriented segment

(23.1%), Convenience-oriented (15.4%), Self-reliance (13.2%) and Location-oriented

(48.4%).

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All these four segments are the respondents who selected or intent to select Thailand

as destination wedding, which have difference factors to be considered.

In conclusion, this study will give a better understanding of the various

factors to be considered between clusters and behavior pattern of each group and also

wedding preference and budget spending of each cluster. However, study related to

marketing was limited by time and study scope. This may continue to further develop

a deeper understanding in the aspect of marketing and the services of Thai wedding

service provider.

Keywords: Influencing factors, satisfaction of consumers, consumer behaviors,

Thailand and destination wedding

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor, Professor K.

Douglas Hoffman, Ph.D. for the useful comments, suggestion and engagement

through the learning process of this master Independent Study (IS).

Furthermore, I would like to thank the participants in my questionnaires,

who have willingly shared their precious time during the survey process.

Also, I would like to thank the Master’s degree program in marketing

(MIM) at Thammasat University who has provided a wide range of marketing

knowledge and education in which I will be able to use in real-life situations.

Miss Nattaporn Suthatartrakul

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

ABSTRACT (1)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS (3)

TABLE OF CONTENTS (4)

LIST OF TABLES (7)

LIST OF FIGURES (8)

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Problem statement and Research Propose 1

1.2 Research Objectives 1

CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE 3

2.1 News from the Tourism Authority of Thailand 3

2.2 Blogs from Signature Wedding 3

2.3 World Travel and Tourism Council Report 3

2.4 Research Gate Report 4

2.5 Wedding in Thailand: Traditional and Business Article 4

2.6 A Model of Destination Branding: Integrating the Concepts of the

Branding and Destination Image 5

2.7 News from Thailand Once Again Named Best Wedding Destination by

Travel and Leisure India 6

2.8 Blog from The Beginner’s Guide to Destination Weddings 6

2.9 Report from World Travel & Tourism Council 7

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CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 8

3.1 Research methodology 8

3.1.1 Exploratory Research 8

3.1.1.1 Secondary Data 8

3.1.1.2 In-depth interviews 8

3.1.2 Descriptive research 9

3.1.2.1 Questionnaire 9

3.2 Data Analysis 10

3.2.1 Qualitative data 10

3.2.2 Quantitative data 11

3.3 Sample Size and Qualifications 11

3.4 Limitation 12

CHAPTER 4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 13

4.1 Result of Analysis Using Factor Analysis 13

4.2 Result of Analysis Using Cluster analysis 18

4.3 Result of Analysis between Clusters towards their Behavior 20

4.3.1 Pre - purchase stage 20

4.3.2 Purchase stage 23

4.3.3 Post-purchase stage 26

4.4 Result of Analysis between Clusters and Nationality 27

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 33

5.1 Factors that predict satisfaction of target sample 33

5.2 Recommendation on segments and its behavior 34

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5.2.1 Marketing-oriented segment 34

5.2.2 Convenience-oriented segment 34

5.2.3 Self-reliance segment 35

5.2.4 Location-oriented segment 35

REFERENCES 37

APPENDICES 39

APPENDIX A: Questionnaire 40

APPENDIX B: Bar chart represented respondents’ behavior 48

BIOGRAPHY 50

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LIST OF TABLES

Tables Page

3.1 Questionnaires Distribution Timeline 11

4.1 Regression analysis between factors to be considered and satisfaction 14

4.2 Paired Samples analysis between expectation and satisfaction 14

4.3 Results of Factor Analysis of factors to be considered 16

4.4 Results of Source that Used the Most to Search for Related Information by

Clusters 20

4.5 Results of First Hear Source about wedding destination by Clusters 21

4.6 Results of Method of Booking Wedding Event by Clusters 22

4.7 Results of ANOVA Analysis, Factors to be Considered and Clusters 23

4.8 Satisfaction towards host country by Clusters 26

4.9 Frequency of Recommend Behavior by Clusters 26

4.10 Frequency of Re-purchase Behavior by Clusters 26

4.11 Frequency of wedding venue type selected by Clusters 27

4.12 Frequency of guest invitation by Clusters 28

4.13 Frequency of Budget Spending for Wedding by Clusters 28

4.14 Frequency of Budget Spending for Wedding by Nationality 29

4.15 Result of ANOVA Analysis of Night Spent by Clusters 30

4.16 Compare Means of Number of Guests by Clusters 31

4.17 Compare Means of Number of Guests by Nationality 32

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figures Page

4.1 Results of Cluster Analysis Based on Factors to be Considered 19

5.1 Study’s framework of factors that predict customers’ satisfaction 33

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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Problem Statement and Research Purpose

Hospitality service is one of the growing industries in Thailand. Many tourists

– foreigners and locals - are attracted to the charming environment of Thailand and

affectionate Thai people. Tourism industry is one of the main contributions in Thai

economy at THB1292bn, making up 9.2% of total GDP in 2016. The service industry

creates over 2.3 million jobs. Of the total amount of spending, leisure spending

accounted for 88% (THB 2096bn), while business spending amounted to only 12%

(THB 292bn).

My interest is on wedding events, which the bride and groom (consumers) are

highly involved most of the decision making and wedding plan. As this is a once in a

life time event, consumers have to consider a wide array of options for venue, food,

wedding gown, rings, souvenirs and the long list goes on. In order to successfully

meet consumer expectations, there are several choices to consider during the planning

process, beginning with choosing where to go for wedding photos. Destination

wedding is definitely part of the initial planning process. The choices made are highly

important since they co-relate to every other options in the wedding plan. Thus the

following study allows readers to understand the influencing factors behind

consumers’ decision and benefits to current and new entrance players in tourism

industry to find the right target segment.

1.2 Research Objectives

This study is a topic in applied marketing, in society subject area. The

purposes of this study is to understand driven of decision making motivations of

consumers, in order to benefit involved stakeholders in industry. And research

objectives are as follow:

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1) To understanding the complexity of consumer decision-making process

with various motivations associated towards selecting a destination

wedding

2) To determine the key drivers of consumer decision making as it pertains to

destination wedding

3) To segment consumers in wedding events industry through internal/external

motivations from exploratory research

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CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

2.1 News from the Tourism Authority of Thailand

Due to its cultural lure, natural beauty attracted several nationalities around the

world and Thai consumers to consume service in country. And wedding tourism is a

niche service under the tourism industry, with $80 billion (almost 30% of total global

expense on wedding events) coming from destination weddings around the world.

Thailand acquired these consumers through attracting various wedding ceremonies

and cooperation with luxury resorts and hotels, wedding planers, event organizers,

and professional photographers (The Tourism Authority of Thailand, 2016).

2.2 Blogs from Signature Wedding

Because of these reasons, Thailand is one of the world’s top six countries, and

already Asia’s top destination for couples from the Middle Eastern and African

countries (Thai destination wedding sector grows, 2017). In addition, estimated

revenue from the honeymoon and wedding segment in Thailand was $1.04 billion,

with more than one million trips have been made (Weddings a key niche market,

2013). Thus, it expressed the sense of growing trends and highlighting the importance

of wedding market to Thai economy.

2.3 World Travel and Tourism Council Report

The direct contributions of travel and tourism industry to Thai GDP was

THB1292bn, 9.2% of Total GDP in 2016, and average growth until 2027 was

forecasted by 6.7%, which contributed to employment of over 2.3 million jobs

directly to the service industry. The employment growth in 2027 was forecasted to

rise by 5% to over 4 million jobs, which will account for 10.4% of total employment.

Total contribution including its investment, supply chain and induced income was

about 2906bn in 2016, which is approximately 32% of Thai GDP. Majority of the

travel spending is from Leisure travel accounted for 88% (2096bn) with 9.6% growth

rate, while Business spending is only 12% (292bn) with 3.5% growth rate which main

contribution. Spending of these two sectors are mainly from foreign visitors over 79%

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that express the importance of tourism industry is one of the main contribution of Thai

export (World travel and tourism council, 2017).

2.4 Research Gate Report

The study interest on an event being a relevant motivator of wedding tourism

and figuring the enhancement of both the appeal and attractiveness of a destination.

The destination wedding is defined as a wedding ceremony that is cerebrated outside

of the bride and groom’s hometown (as cited in Daniels & Loveless, 2007; Shumann

& Amado, 2010). According to literature, there are many economic (expenditure,

number of visitors), social (couple’s image, local food, show case), environmental

(local heritage) and marketing impacts (wedding package, promotion campaign) and

benefits to host country. Motivations affected couple to select destination wedding

combined of various factors 1) escaping from social obligation; gay couple 2) cost

saving; small number of guests, wedding and honeymoon combination and lower cost

of living 3) wedding tourism product; restaurant and accommodation 4) local

institution; paper work procedure (ResearchGate, 2013).

2.5 Wedding in Thailand: Traditional and Business Article

Wedding business consists of multiple enterprises like caterers, wedding

consultants, dressers, various beauty suppliers (hair, makeup), photographers,

musicians and honeymoon planners. Thai consumers, especially the rich and famous,

prefer an extravagant and luxurious wedding ceremony as it reflects a high level of

social status amongst relatives and friends. The most popular month is September, as

the number nine is a lucky number for Thai consumers, which means that this

industry is quite seasonal based on auspicious time. Selecting wedding venues –

hotels, associations, convention center, restaurant and club – to hold the wedding is

directly related to budget and also the social status of the couple and their families.

The couples who are business entrepreneurs usually hold their wedding at the pricey

location in the city center, while the couples who draw fixed income tend to choose

the cheaper choice in the clubs or restaurants (Pongsiri, 2014).

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Budget of wedding depends on the social situation (job and living social

classes), their families and also set by how much the couple can afford. The overall

budget for the wedding can be separated into five groups. The first group expect to

pay less than 200,000 THB (this accounts for 20 percent). The second group sets the

budget between 200,001THB and 400,000 THB (this accounts for 46 percent). The

third group’s budget range from 400,001THB to 600,000 THB (this accounts for 14

percent). In the forth group, the couples decide the budget should be between 600,001

THB and 800,000 THB (this accounts for 3 percent). The last group expect to pay

more than 800,000 THB (this accounts for 17 percent). Further detail into the budget

will be five main portions - Venue (40%), Food and beverage (30%), Photography

(15%), Operation (5%) and others (10%) (Pongsiri, 2014).

2.6 A Model of Destination Branding: Integrating the Concepts of the Branding

and Destination Image

Before becoming a tourist destination, destination must be included in the

consumers’ evoked set first. However, consumers bombarded with various destination

choices that provide similar features such as quality accommodations, beautiful scenic

view, and/or friendly people. Hence, the destination needs to be identification and

differential to other places.

Identification involves physical offering, which contains various material -

historical sites, beaches and non-material elements - culture, customs, and history to

represent it. Determining a target market is crucial because some aspects of a

destination might be positive to one segment while ineffective to another.

Differentiation is to differentiate itself from competitors. It is more critical to

understand what associations of a destination are advantageous over competitors.

Points of difference help consumers positively evaluate and attach to the destinations.

The study shows three main components; Cognitive, Unique and Affective image

which affect overall destination images. These impact consumer intentions to revisit

and intentions to recommend (Hailin Qu, 2011).

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2.7 News from Thailand Once Again Named Best Wedding Destination by

Travel And Leisure India

Thailand has been voted as the best destination wedding by reader of

publication Travel and Leisure India and South Asia. Thailand’s top ranking reflects

the huge popularity of Thailand for Indian wedding planners and couples seeking a

romantic destination.

From the news, Mr. Yuthasak Supasorn, Governor of the Tourism Authority

of Thailand (TAT) said that Thailand has amazing and romantic wedding venue and

400 Indian weddings are held in Thailand at several locations such as Bangkok,

Pattaya, Hua Hin, Rayong, Phuket, Krabi, Khao Lak and Chiang Mai. Thailand is not

only the destination wedding but also for other types of celebrations which include

anniversaries, birthdays, family re-unions, bachelors and bachelorettes parties.

In 2016, Thailand has welcomed a total of 895,880 travelers from India, an

increase of 13 percent over the previous year. The average length of stay of Indian

tourists is 8 days and average spending per person per day is 5,645 Baht (TAT

Newsroom, 2016), which is 45,160 Baht per person per time.

2.8 Blog from The Beginner’s Guide to Destination Weddings

The preferred destination wedding has become popular in recent years, and it

is estimated that about 15% of all weddings are now destination weddings. In this

source, destination wedding is defined as an event where the bride and groom plan

away from home wedding, invite their closest family members and friends to an ideal

location and make the event a semi-vacation. Advantages of destination wedding are

great location, relaxed place and relatively less expensive for the couple, because

accommodations, travel costs and the venue charges have to be set within budget.

And the average cost is about THB 750,000, which a bit lower than their traditional

wedding at THB 880,000 (Bridgebox wedding albums, 2014).

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2.9 Report from World Travel & Tourism Council

Hospitality trend, both business event; Meeting, Incentive, Convention &

Exhibition – MICE and private events; wedding and honeymoon events, anniversary

events, in Thailand were increasing significantly among foreign consumers, especially

Indian consumers were emerging few years ago and there were few private companies

in Thailand that can serve to their sophisticated requirements (World travel & tourism

council, 2017). Because of the booming demand from aboard; Indian, Japanese,

Koreans, and Europeans, government come into play in the industry as facilitators of

pulling and supporting private sector to enhance its visibility and efficiency to fulfil

the demand (Roxas, 2016)

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CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Research Methodology

The objective of this study is to investigate wedding tourism influence on

selecting Thailand as a destination wedding. To answer these questions, qualitative

research was conducted to describe the relative influences behind decision making,

while quantitative research was used to collect limited information after collecting

information from qualitative to generalize research result.

3.1.1 Exploratory Research

3.1.1.1 Secondary Data

Secondary data is the method that is used to obtain already published

information and relevant statistical data from reliable sources. Presently, gathering

information from several secondary sources is used frequently, whereby the main

informative sources are from The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), The

Thailand Conference and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), Thailand International

Corporation Agency (TICA), Destination Wedding Planners (DWP) and other related

sources, which all of these are reliable and can be used as a representative of the

overall industry and the importance to Thailand. More insightful information have

been done by doing literature review from related academic researches and industrial

articles and also other related website such as tripadvisor.com that collect consumers

review about wedding venue experienced, which all sources can be used as a

guideline establishing in-depth interview questions and questionnaire (collecting

factors that influencing/motivating consumer to select destination wedding).

3.1.1.2 In-depth interviews

The in-depth interviews will be conducted semi-structured interviews

with wedding event organizers and couples that already and/or intended to married to

gain insights about individual cognitive, affection and attitudes towards their decision

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on selecting destination wedding. And objectives of gathering information from in-

depth interview will be as follow:

(1) Wedding Event Organizers;

● To gather knowledge about wedding tourism importance

and its company efforts among their other competitors

● To understand relation between how marketing package

offering and destination selected by consumers

(2) Marriage Couple;

● To understand basic influences (both internal and

external influences) that affected to their decision when

they considered to choose destination wedding

● To gathering elements or expectation (intended to

married)/perception (already married) of their ideal

destination wedding

3.1.2 Descriptive research

3.1.2.1 Questionnaire

The questionnaire will comprise of 1) Information related to decision

making on wedding and internal/ external motivations of selecting destination

wedding with its important level of each motivation 2) wedding characteristics and

perception of respondents toward Thailand as destination wedding and 3)

respondents’ demographic information. All data will be collected and used to

investigate correlation between demographic and other influences.

The target population of this study was both international and

domestic consumers, who already married and/or intended to married in Thailand or

other city (outside their hometown) in Thailand. The questionnaire will be conducted

using an online platform with convenience sampling of a total of 100 eligible

respondents at the 95% confidence level. This method will help answering the

following objectives:

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(1) To understand consumers decision making process of

selecting destination wedding and other element for their

wedding

(2) To investigate related influences/ motivations that affect to

their selection on destination wedding

(3) To determine Thailand’s point of difference, to create

competitive edge to compete with other destination

weddings

3.2 Data Analysis

This study contains both internal and external variables that related to

consumers’ intention in terms of selecting destination wedding. An independent

variable (IVs) has the important role that is changed or controlled in an experiment to

test the effects on the dependent variable (DVs). And a major concern is the way to

measuring actual level of internal motivations (IVs) such as consumer preference and

consumer attitude when selecting destination wedding. Because the complexity that

these variables are difficult to measure since methods of collecting this type of data

should carefully design to determine the real value of these variables.

3.2.1 Qualitative data

The analysis of qualitative research involves aiming to uncover and/or

understand the big picture - by using the data to describe the phenomenon in the

business. Responses from an unstructured qualitative interview can be used to be

coded, counted and analyzed. Content analysis will be used for categorizing of verbal

or text data, for purposes of classification and summarization of information. The

content can be analyzed on basic level, which descriptive account of the data and later

used as guideline for creating questionnaire.

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3.2.2 Quantitative data

The analysis method in this part involved with summarizing mass data

that has been collected some exploratory data from qualitative approach. The analysis

of quantitative research involves the analysis of any of the following:

(1) Frequencies of variables

(2) Bivariate statistics: Means, Correlation (bivariate)

(3) Prediction for numerical outcomes: Linear regression

(4) Statistical tests will be used to estimate the significance of each

independent variable

(5) Custom table, to summarize Statistics data, and help learning

tendency each variables and respondent character.

(6) The factor analysis, this tool used to analyze and reduce high

correlated factors

(7) Cluster analysis will be used to identify structures within the

data, to segment respondents into groups. To be able to be more

specifically set strategy to the right group

3.3 Sample Size and Qualifications

Totally collected of 133 questionnaires from respondents who have marriage

intention or married couples, which consisted of eligible 91 respondents that

applicable to this study. Due to scarcity of eligible 91 data sets, researcher have to

weight on by 3, in order to adjust a sample's composition to be reflective of the

population's composition from a certain group. From now on all analysis presented in

this report will be informed in terms of weighted number, which totally accounted 273

respondents. The questionnaires will be distributed online through wedding planners

in Thailand that have foreigner couples in their customer list, and also distributed

online directly from researcher and using Facebook advertisement which targeted

through interest of wedding. Lead time of distribution through channel was as

follows:

Table 3.1: Questionnaires Distribution Timeline

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3.4 Limitation

Because this research is only given 3 months after proposal, I chose not to do

observation research and that might cause information inadequacy. Because of

collecting 100 questionnaires from both Thai (celebrated outside hometown) and

foreigners (celebrated outside country), the questionnaires have to be collected via

online platform, which the main concern might be low response rate.

Data availability in qualitative data collection, conducting interviews will be

concentrated only those who live in Bangkok area only (from secondary data shown

that Thailand popular destination wedding located on various areas; Pattaya, Hua Hin,

Rayong, Phuket, Krabi, Khao Lak and Chiang Mai.), while collected data result have

to be used to represents the view-point of interviewees in several cities/countries.

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CHAPTER 4

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

According to three research objectives, key findings had been separated into

four parts including 1) Factor analysis – to understand various motivations associated

towards selecting a destination wedding and determine the key drivers of consumer

decision-making as it pertains to destination wedding, 2) Cluster analysis - to segment

consumers in wedding events industry through motivations, 3) Analysis between

clusters towards their behavior along decision-making process and 4) Analysis

between clusters and respondent demographic by using various statistical tools.

4.1 Result of Analysis Using Factor Analysis

In this study, researcher used 22 variables to test respondents’ consideration

towards their decision-making on selecting destination wedding. Paired sample tests

were used to compare between respondents’ perception (couples who selected

Thailand as destination wedding) and expectations (factors for consideration when

they prepare to arrange wedding). Gaps between these comparisons identified

improvement gap for Thailand as destination wedding and these were further

described below.

Three pairs with significant value differences between perception and

expectation were cultural events/festivals, high number of tourist attractions and high

popularity in weddings variable which these variables supported by Thailand identity

- attractions of natural beauty, amazing unseen Thailand. These three variables have

the highest points (perception score higher than expectation score) among 22

variables, which showed positive perspective of Thailand in these aspects. While

Short distance and Easy to access variables went up to second place, turning positive,

because majority of the respondents were Thai which led to the increase of these two

variables.

Good infrastructure/ facilities and Good Wedding Coordination/ organization

had the least score difference. Thus, improvements in macro infrastructure should be

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encouraged by Thai government to enhance stakeholders’ performance, which can

attract more couples to consider Thailand as the destination wedding.

Table 4.1: Regression analysis between factors to be considered and

satisfaction

Model

Sum of

Squares df Mean Square F Sig.

1 Regression 4.528 22 .206 3.515 .000b

Residual 6.381 109 .059

Total 10.909 131

Table 4.2: Paired Samples analysis between expectation and satisfaction

Paired Differences

t df

Sig. (2-

tailed) Mean

Std.

Deviation

Std.

Error

Mean

95% CI of the

Difference

Lower Upper

Pair 1 Easy access to

the area .66667 1.68819 .18758 .29338 1.03996 3.554 80 .001

Pair 2 Short distance

from country of

origin

.88889 1.50831 .16759 .55537 1.22240 5.304 80 .000

Pair 3 Good

scenery/natural

wonders

.22222 1.96214 .21802 -.21164 .65609 1.019 80 .311

Pair 4 Good weather .29630 1.44434 .16048 -.02307 .61567 1.846 80 .069

Pair 5 Clean/unspoiled

environmentมี .25926 1.27257 .14140 -.02213 .54065 1.834 80 .070

Pair 6 Wide variety of

outdoor activities .29630 1.39144 .15460 -.01138 .60397 1.916 80 .059

Pair 7 Lots of tourist

attractions 1.00000 1.50000 .16667 .66832 1.33168 6.000 80 .000

Pair 8 High popularity

in weddings .92593 1.54740 .17193 .58377 1.26808 5.385 80 .000

Pair 9 Friendly local

people .48148 1.26601 .14067 .20154 .76142 3.423 80 .001

Pair 10 Local cuisine .59259 1.40337 .15593 .28228 .90290 3.800 80 .000

Pair 11 Cultural

events/festivals 1.11111 1.40535 .15615 .80036 1.42186 7.116 80 .000

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Pair 12 Special Wedding

Offers/Packages .37037 1.10050 .12228 .12703 .61371 3.029 80 .003

Pair 13 Good Wedding

Coordination/

organization

.07407 1.25277 .13920 -.20294 .35109 .532 80 .596

Pair 14 The reasonable

cost associated

with wedding

.18519 1.16309 .12923 -.07200 .44237 1.433 80 .156

Pair 15 Availability of

associated

services

.18519 1.28560 .14284 -.09909 .46946 1.296 80 .199

Pair 16 Good

infrastructure/

facilities

.25926 1.11555 .12395 .01259 .50593 2.092 80 .040

Pair 17 Availability of

travel

information

.44444 1.14018 .12669 .19233 .69656 3.508 80 .001

Pair 18 Ease of paper

work from local

office

.55556 1.26491 .14055 .27586 .83525 3.953 80 .000

Pair 19 Safe and secure

environment .48148 1.17379 .13042 .22194 .74103 3.692 80 .000

Pair 20 Personal

preference 0.00000 1.31339 .14593 -.29041 .29041 0.000 80 1.000

Pair 21 Good self-image .29630 1.12299 .12478 .04798 .54461 2.375 80 .020

Pair 22 Sense of

belonging .51852 1.10805 .12312 .27351 .76353 4.212 80 .000

Based on 22 variables that couples consider when making a decision on

selecting destination wedding, Factor analysis classified them into 7 factors to explain

82.19% of original statements. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin score is 0.874 and it is

significantly different using Bartlett’s test. The table below showed groups of

variables, and described main variables of each factor as follows:

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Table 4.3: Results of Factor Analysis of factors to be considered COMPONENT

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 EASY ACCESS TO THE AREA

.133 .284 .177 .116 .827 .043 -.040

SHORT DISTANCE FROM COUNTRY OF ORIGIN

.036 .096 .047 .093 .918 .070 .112

GOOD SCENERY/NATURAL WONDERS

.316 .062 .398 .703 .255 .170 -.090

GOOD WEATHER .218 .335 .159 .816 .093 .064 .052 CLEAN/UNSPOILED ENVIRONMENT

.130 .733 .031 .554 .121 -.075 -.014

WIDE VARIETY OF OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES

.524 .192 .153 .455 .085 .343 .317

LOTS OF TOURIST ATTRACTIONS

.813 .063 .146 .296 -.023 .191 -.036

HIGH POPULARITY IN WEDDINGS

.767 .114 .374 -.240 .165 -.009 -.118

FRIENDLY LOCAL PEOPLE

.748 .266 .061 .282 .051 .006 .328

LOCAL CUISINE .622 .167 .025 .332 .073 .418 .292

CULTURAL EVENTS/FESTIVALS

.861 .145 .146 .117 .118 -.003 .058

SPECIAL WEDDING OFFERS/PACKAGES

.211 .427 .222 .097 .129 .726 .023

GOOD WEDDING COORDINATION/ ORGANIZATION

.199 .667 .418 .146 .221 .302 .026

THE REASONABLE COST ASSOCIATED WITH WEDDING

.159 .837 .231 .064 .117 .221 -.024

AVAILABILITY OF ASSOCIATED SERVICES

.220 .305 .725 .221 .143 .214 .014

GOOD INFRASTRUCTURE/ FACILITIES

.070 .664 .447 .180 .200 .307 .147

AVAILABILITY OF TRAVEL INFORMATION

.589 .053 .264 .368 -.032 .327 .361

EASE OF PAPER WORK FROM LOCAL OFFICE

.380 .265 .446 -.093 .166 .071 .611

SAFE AND SECURE ENVIRONMENT

.161 .847 .244 .110 .140 .000 .240

PERSONAL .087 .494 .677 .100 .109 .123 .141

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PREFERENCE

GOOD SELF-IMAGE .229 .474 .637 .119 .073 .238 .073

SENSE OF BELONGING .363 .140 .636 .312 .036 -.214 .238

Factor 1 named “Location attraction”, which consists of 1) Wide variety of

outdoor activities 2) Lots of tourist attractions 3) High popularity in weddings 4)

Friendly local people 5) Local cuisine and 6) Cultural events/festivals. As described

in literature review, in order to differentiate destination wedding from competitors,

Points of Difference (POD) helped consumers positively evaluated and perceived

towards Thailand. This factor demonstrated the importance of heritage and

endowment of destination, which can be used to distinguish itself from elsewhere as

well as the difficulty to be copied by other places.

Factor 2 named “Readiness of relevant parties in host (host country/

city)”, which consists of 1) Good wedding Coordination/ organization 2) The

reasonable cost associated with wedding 4) Good infrastructure/ facilities and 5) Safe

and secure environment. Based on qualitative research, readiness of involved

organizations with wedding in host country was the key driver after location

attractiveness, due to its once in a lifetime event, the best organized and relevant

parties were necessary.

Factor 3 named “Internal motivation”, which contains 1) Personal

preference –means couples like/ love destination due to their past experience 2) Good

self-image – destination wedding enhanced couple’s image in the eyes of their guests

and 3) Sense of belonging – couples had some relationship/ attachment/ bonding with

that destination.

Factor 4 named “Location scenery”, which consists of 1) Good

scenery/natural wonders and 2) Good weather. This factor is quite similar to the first

factor in which both discourage copycats from other places.

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Factor 5 named “Convenience of transportation”, which contains 1) Easy

access to the area and 2) Short distance from country of origin.

Factor 6 named “Marketing”, which means that related parties in host

country offered Special Wedding Packages to couples. Marketing ranked third place

of importance among seven factors as this factor is more related to price of relevant

wedding package, demonstrated in terms of value of money spent to arrange wedding.

Factor 7 named “Legal paperwork”, some couples chose to arrange

wedding outside of their own country because legal procedure were easier.

4.2 Result of Analysis Using Cluster analysis

Based on seven factors from Factor analysis, total respondents were divided

by Two-Step Cluster method using Schwarz’s Bayesian Criterion (BIC) into four

homogenous groups. Each segment has significant difference in terms of considering

factors. Location attraction, Readiness of relevant parties and Marketing factors had

the most impact to decision making of couples. Either Internal motivation or Location

scenery is inferior to the first three factors mentioned. However, these five factors

drive distinction among four clusters as explained below, since these five factors have

p-value less than 0.05 which was significantly different with 95% confidential

interval.

Cluster 1: Marketing-oriented segment, accounted for 23.1% (N=63)

This segment is concerned the most about marketing related factors.

Marketing factor dominated this segment and readiness of relevant parties were also

concerned. Since majority of this segment are Thai couples, location related factors

did not have much impact on this segment. In order to capture this segment, tempting

wedding package with value for money is necessary.

Cluster 2: Convenience-oriented, accounted for 15.4% (N=42)

This segment unusually arranged wedding on their own and wedding

planners/assistants were essential. Location attraction and scenery for wedding event

were not perceived as main factors but convenience of transportation for their guests

are critical. Moreover, convenience of wedding arrangement is also important. Thus,

capturing this group can be achieved by providing easy to access destination and

service with reasonable price.

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Cluster 3: Self-reliance, accounted for 13.2% (N=36)

This segment had low consideration in every factor, especially readiness of

relevant parties and internal motivation so these groups were classified as self-

reliance segment. Most couples in this segment arranged “wedding with no guest”

since they have low consideration on self-image. All respondents in this segment are

Thai and arrangement all things for wedding are possible for them. Therefore, the

budget range of this segment is quite low, compared with other segments. However,

some couples who were married in their hometown have concerns on their family-

image so they still need professional assistant to manage their wedding.

Cluster 4: Location-oriented, accounted for 48.4% (N=132)

This segment was the biggest group among four, they considered the most in

“location factors” – location attraction and location scenery, which dominated all

seven factors. One-third of this segment is foreign couples, which was statistically the

biggest pool of foreigner couples among four segments who selected/ considered

Thailand as their consideration set. Uniqueness of Thailand location comes into play

as the main factor that have the most impact on their decision making.

Figure 4.1: Results of Cluster Analysis Based on Factors to be considered

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4.3 Result of Analysis between Clusters towards their Behavior

4.3.1 Pre - purchase stage

Table 4.4: Results of Source that Used the Most to Search for Related

Information by Clusters

TwoStep Cluster Number

Total

Marketing-

oriented

Convenien

ce-oriented

Self-

reliance

Location-

oriented

Source you

used the most

to search

Website 27 6 6 39 78

Blog 9 6 3 3 21

Social media 15 12 18 66 111

Asking from friends 12 18 9 24 63

Total 63 42 36 132 273

Chi-Square Tests

Value df

Asymptotic

Significance (2-

sided)

Pearson Chi-Square 38.829a 9 .000

Likelihood Ratio 39.357 9 .000

Linear-by-Linear Association 1.664 1 .197

N of Valid Cases 273

Cross-tabulation was used to see different searching behavior among four

groups. Self-reliance segment and Location-oriented segment have similar behavior

for searching related information to wedding, which most couples used social media

platform to search. As self-reliance segment preferred direct contact with several

parties on their own, easy access and high interactive communication channel would

fit in their lifestyle. While Location-oriented segment took advantage of UGC; User-

Generated Content, this segment focused on sincerity of the content e.g. real scenario

of location, other opinion about that location. Convenience-oriented segment

preferred easiness and convenience, hence asking their friends (WOM) is critical to

their decision making, since they did not want to waste their time on searching

information. Normally, this group would ask their friends about reliable wedding

planners, because their convenience lifestyle encouraged them to find credible sources

from their internal network e.g. their friends or relatives. For the last segment,

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Marketing-oriented, related wedding company websites were used the most since they

love to search for attractive offers and most wedding companies promote their sales

package on their own website.

Table 4.5: Results of First Hear Source about wedding destination by

Clusters


Total

Marketing-

oriented

Convenience

-oriented Self-reliance

Location-

oriented

How did you

first hear

about

wedding

destination

you

selected?

Wedding fair 12 3 9 9 33

Tourism Organization

office in your country 3 0 12 3 18

Travel agent or tour

operator catalogues 0 0 3 0 3

Advertisements 12 3 6 51 72

Personal experienced 18 12 6 33 69

Word of mouth 18 24 0 36 78

Total 63 42 36 132 273

Chi-Square Tests

Value df

Asymptotic

Significance

(2-sided)



Linear-by-Linear Association .064 1 .800


Most of Marketing-oriented segment first heard about wedding destination

from Wedding fair, where many providers offer attractive wedding packages, so this

group was lured by tempting wedding packages. Location-oriented segment were

attracted to advertisements from companies, as we accounted for their search behavior

and the high usage of social media. Therefore, advertising through their most used

social media would have the most benefits.

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Table 4.6: Results of Method of Booking Wedding Event by Clusters


Total

Marketing-

oriented

Convenience


Location-

oriented

Method of

booking

wedding

event

Through a travel

agent 0 0 0 6 6

Through a tour

operator 0 0 12 6 18

Through a wedding

planner based in

host country

33 18 12 84 147

Directly through

the municipality in

host country

30 24 12 36 102

Total 63 42 36 132 273

Chi-Square Tests

Value df

Asymptotic

Significance

(2-sided)



Linear-by-Linear

Association 16.491 1 .000


Location-oriented segment dominantly booked their wedding through wedding

planner in the host country. As one-third of this segment were foreign couples,

dealing directly with municipality is difficult for them due to language differences and

unfamiliar context in host country.

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4.3.2 Purchase stage

Table 4.7: Results of ANOVA Analysis, Factors to be considered and

Clusters

N Mean Std. Dev.

Std.

Error

95% CI for Mean

Min Max

Lower

Bound

Upper

Bound

Location

attraction

Marketing-

oriented 63 14.4762 4.64153 .5847 13.3072 15.6451 8.00 23.00

Convenien

ce-oriented 42 14.5000 5.1855 .80015 12.8841 16.1159 8.00 25.00

Self-

reliance 36 13.5833 6.3262 1.05437 11.4428 15.7238 7.00 27.00

Location-

oriented 132 27.0227 4.4506 .38738 26.2564 27.7891 18.00 35.00

Total 273 20.4286 8.0368 .48641 19.4710 21.3862 7.00 35.00

Readiness of

relevant parties

Marketing-

oriented 63 21.7619 3.6265 .45691 20.8486 22.6752 10.00 25.00

Convenien

ce-oriented 42 21.6429 3.0509 .47077 20.6921 22.5936 16.00 25.00

Self-

reliance 36 9.4167 3.8050 .63418 8.1292 10.7041 5.00 16.00

Location-

oriented 132 22.9773 2.2495 .19580 22.5899 23.3646 17.00 25.00

Total 273 20.7033 5.3354 .32291 20.0676 21.3390 5.00 25.00

Internal

motivation

Marketing-

oriented 63 15.0952 3.2013 .40334 14.2890 15.9015 8.00 20.00

Convenien

ce-oriented 42 14.7857 3.8669 .59668 13.5807 15.9907 4.00 20.00

Self-

reliance 36 8.0000 3.5375 .58959 6.8031 9.1969 4.00 12.00

Location-

oriented 132 17.2045 2.4173 .21040 16.7883 17.6208 12.00 20.00

Total 273 15.1319 4.2249 .25571 14.6285 15.6353 4.00 20.00

Location

scenery

Marketing-

oriented 63 6.9048 2.3050 .29041 6.3242 7.4853 2.00 10.00

Convenien

ce-oriented 42 6.4286 2.6146 .40344 5.6138 7.2433 2.00 10.00

Ref. code: 25605902040509ZWT

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Self-

reliance 36 4.4167 2.5000 .41667 3.5708 5.2625 2.00 10.00

Location-

oriented 132 9.1591 1.1904 .10362 8.9541 9.3641 5.00 10.00

Total 273 7.5934 2.563 .15517 7.2879 7.8989 2.00 10.00

Convenience of

transportation

Marketing-

oriented 63 6.3810 2.4192 .30479 5.7717 6.9902 2.00 10.00

Convenien

ce-oriented 42 7.6429 2.9534 .45573 6.7225 8.5632 2.00 10.00

Self-

reliance 36 3.8333 2.1044 .35074 3.1213 4.5454 2.00 10.00

Location-

oriented 132 7.3636 2.1303 .18543 6.9968 7.7305 2.00 10.00

Total 273 6.7143 2.6204 .15859 6.4021 7.0265 2.00 10.00

Marketing Marketing-

oriented 63 4.0952 .8174 .10299 3.8894 4.3011 3.00 5.00

Convenien

ce-oriented 42 2.4286 1.2521 .19321 2.0384 2.8188 1.00 5.00

Self-

reliance 36 2.1667 1.2305 .20509 1.7503 2.5830 1.00 5.00

Location-

oriented 132 4.1136 .9134 .07950 3.9564 4.2709 2.00 5.00

Total 273 3.5934 1.2860 .07784 3.4402 3.7466 1.00 5.00

Legal

paperwork

Marketing-

oriented 63 3.0476 1.5701 .19782 2.6522 3.4431 1.00 5.00

Convenien

ce-oriented 42 3.5714 1.4166 .21860 3.1300 4.0129 1.00 5.00

Self-

reliance 36 2.2500 1.4417 .24029 1.7622 2.7378 1.00 5.00

Location-

oriented 132 4.0227 .9202 .08010 3.8643 4.1812 2.00 5.00

Total 273 3.4945 1.3882 .08402 3.3291 3.6599 1.00 5.00

Ref. code: 25605902040509ZWT

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ANOVA

Sum of

Squares df

Mean

Square F Sig.

Location attraction Between Groups 155.045 3 51.682 118.870 .000

Within Groups 116.955 269 .435

Total 272.000 272

Readiness of

relevant parties

Between Groups 148.272 3 49.424 107.454 .000


Total 272.000 272

Internal motivation Between Groups 29.137 3 9.712 10.757 .000


Total 272.000 272

Location scenery Between Groups 36.152 3 12.051 13.745 .000


Total 272.000 272

Convenience of

transportation

Between Groups 21.769 3 7.256 7.801 .000


Total 272.000 272

Marketing Between Groups 124.828 3 41.609 76.053 .000


Total 272.000 272

Legal paperwork Between Groups 6.159 3 2.053 2.077 .104


Total 272.000 272

From ANOVA analysis, Location attraction and Location scenery factors were

statistically most considered by Location-oriented segment among all segments.

Readiness of relevant party and internal motivation factors were the least important

for Self-reliance segment. Convenience of transportation factor was the main driven

of decision making for Convenience-oriented segment. Marketing-oriented segment

had the least consideration on location, but most considered attractive wedding

offering.

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4.3.3 Post-purchase stage

Table 4.8: Satisfaction towards host country by Clusters


Marketing-

oriented

Convenienc

e-oriented

Self-

reliance

Location-

oriented

Satisfaction towards host

country 4.86 4.60 3.00 4.54

Comparisons of Column Means


Outlier

Cluster

Marketing-

oriented

Convenienc

e-oriented

Self-

reliance

Location-

oriented

(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Satisfaction towards

host country . D D D

Table 4.9: Frequency of Recommend Behavior by Clusters


Marketing-

oriented

Convenience-

oriented Self-reliance

Location-

oriented

Recommend that host

country to friends for their

wedding

Yes 68 23 23 104

No 0 32 0 23

Pearson Chi-Square Tests

TwoStep Cluster

Number

Recommend that host country

to friends for their wedding

Chi-square 23.496

df 3

Sig. .000*,b

Table 4.10: Frequency of Re-purchase Behavior by Clusters


Marketing-

oriented

Convenience-

oriented

Self-

reliance

Location-

oriented

Re-purchase that host

country for anniversary

Yes 50 32 23 113

No 22 21 0 12

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TwoStep Cluster

Number

Re-purchase that host

country for anniversary

Chi-square 10.387

df 3

Sig. .016*,b

Comparing with other segments, Self-reliance segment had the least

satisfaction score towards Thailand as destination wedding. However, linear

regression analysis was run to see the relationship between satisfaction and behavior

(recommendation and re-purchase), result was not statistically significant on these

two variables. Thus, even if Self-reliance segment had lower satisfaction among four

segments, recommendation to friends and purchase behavior still happened.

4.4 Result of Analysis between Clusters and Nationality towards their wedding

type Table 4.11: Frequency of wedding venue type selected by Clusters


Marketing-

oriented

Convenience-

oriented

Self-

reliance

Location-

oriented

Type of wedding

venue

Other 0 0 0 0

Town hall 15 3 3 3

Hotel 15 9 3 30

Gardens 12 6 12 21

Beach 9 3 0 21

Villa 3 6 0 33


TwoStep Cluster

Number

Type of wedding

venue

Chi-square 54.431

df 12

Sig. .000*,b

Ref. code: 25605902040509ZWT

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Marketing-oriented, Convenience-oriented and Location-oriented segments

favor selecting hotel as their wedding place. Marketing-oriented were especially

inclined to choose hotel and town hall, due to their huge guest list invitation to their

wedding. On the other hand, Location-oriented segment’s preference distinguished

itself from others, by selecting villa as destination since the majority are foreigners

who aspire for more privacy and personal touch feeling in wedding event. While Self-

reliance segment prefer informal ceremony, selected garden as destination was

outstanding.

Table 4.12: Frequency of guest invitation by Clusters

Marketing-

oriented

Convenience-


Location-

oriented

Number of

guests in event

No guest 9 15 18 24

Less than 50 guests 0 3 0 30

50-100 guests 12 6 0 30

100-300 guests 24 12 12 48

Over 300 guests 18 6 6 0

Chi-Square Tests

Value df

Asymptotic

Significance (2-sided)




Marketing-oriented segment have big number of guests, so they prioritized and

considered attractive wedding offer that is worth for their money, while Self-reliance

segment arranged wedding with no guests, thus some couples in this segment

managed their own wedding.

Table 4.13: Frequency of Budget Spending For Wedding by Clusters


Total

Marketing-

oriented

Convenience-


Location-

oriented

Approximate

destination

Less than $6,400 9 6 12 39 66

$6,401 - $15,000 9 9 0 15 33

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wedding

budget

$15,001 - $25,000 15 3 3 18 39

$25,001 - $40,000 12 3 3 9 27

$40,001 - $50,000 6 3 0 15 24

$50,001 - $65,000 0 3 0 6 9

$65,001 - $100,000 3 0 0 3 6

$100,001- $130,000 0 0 0 3 3

Total 54 27 18 108 207

Chi-Square Tests

Value df

Asymptotic




Linear-by-Linear

Association .652 1 .419


Location-oriented segment consists of Thai and foreign couples, whereby

different types of wedding and sizes of guest varies which led to a wide range of

wedding budget. Their willingness to pay was higher if the wedding location can

fulfill their requirement. Self-reliance segment had the smallest budget spending,

because their wedding had smaller number of guests or some couples arranged

wedding with no guests. Even if Marketing-oriented segment had big amount of

guest, their budget was not that high, since they always searched for good deals.

Table 4.14: Frequency of Budget Spending For Wedding by Nationality

Country of residence

Total

Other

country Thailand

Approximate

destination wedding

budget

Less than $6,400 0 66 66

$6,401 - $15,000 0 33 33

$15,001 - $25,000 9 30 39

$25,001 - $40,000 6 21 27

$40,001 - $50,000 9 15 24

$50,001 - $65,000 3 6 9

$65,001 - $100,000 3 3 6

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$100,001 - $130,000 3 0 3

Total 33 174 207

Chi-Square Tests

Value df

Asymptotic




Linear-by-Linear

Association 45.207 1 .000


Comparing between nationalities, the money which Thai couples spent on

their wedding has a wider range than foreign couples while the minimum spending of

foreign couples has a higher amount. The lowest amount spent by foreigner was about

15,000 USD, and the highest spending was over 100,000 USD. One-third of Thai

couples spent on their wedding with a budget of less than 6,400 USD. Results

between the two groups were statistically significant, which can conclude that foreign

couples have a tendency to have higher spending than Thai couples.

Table 4.15: Result of ANOVA Analysis of Night Spent by Clusters

N Mean

Std.

Deviation

Std.

Error

95% CI for Mean

Min Max

Lower

Bound

Upper

Bound

Number

of nights

for the

couple

Marketing-

oriented 54 2.2778 3.06173 .41665 1.4421 3.1135 1.00 14.00

Convenience

-oriented 27 1.5556 1.28103 .24653 1.0488 2.0623 1.00 5.00

Self-reliance 18 1.1667 .38348 .09039 .9760 1.3574 1.00 2.00

Location-

oriented 108 5.1111 7.97699 .76759 3.5895 6.6328 1.00 40.00

Total 207 3.5652 6.19696 .43072 2.7160 4.4144 1.00 40.00

Ref. code: 25605902040509ZWT

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ANOVA

Sum of

Squares df

Mean

Square F Sig.

Number of nights

for the couple

Between Groups 560.203 3 186.734 5.157 .002

Within Groups 7350.667 203 36.210

Total 7910.870 206

Location-oriented segment spent the longest time on their wedding of about

five days, while other segments spent a few days for their wedding ceremony. In

Location-oriented segment consisting of Thai and foreigners, its mean value was

lessen by Thai couples - spent time about four days, while foreigner couples spent

their time in Thailand for almost ten days. Due to this reason, spending time together

in a beautiful location is the most important factor for this segment.

Table 4.16: Compare Means of Number of Guests by Clusters


Marketing-

oriented

Convenience


Location-

oriented

Number of guests that traveled to

your wedding 256 230 283 101

Comparisons of Column Meansa


Outlier

Cluster

Marketing

-oriented

Convenience

-oriented

Self-

reliance

Location

-oriented

(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Number of guests that traveled to

your wedding . E E E

Comparing number of guests between clusters, Location-oriented segment

have significantly smaller number of guests. Because the forth cluster has the largest

pool of foreigners, the size of the guests was the smallest.

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Table 4.17: Compare Means of Number of Guests by Nationality


Other country Thailand

Number of guests that traveled to your

wedding 63 195

Comparisons of Column Meansa


Other country Thailand

(A) (B)

Number of guests that traveled to your

wedding A

The number of guests invited to Thai weddings was larger than foreign

couples wedding due to shorter travel distance and cheaper transportation cost, which

is correlated to number of wedding guests.

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CHAPTER 5

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS This chapter recommends methods to acquire and convert customers and it

facilitates readers to see how customers might go through the purchasing funnel.

5.1 Factors that predict satisfaction of target sample

Figure 5.1: Study’s framework of factors that predict customers’ satisfaction

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From 22 variables, Regression analysis was run and can be described factors,

which compel to couples’ satisfaction towards destination wedding in figure above.

Some variables can use to predict couples’ satisfaction, which are Good

scenery/natural wonders, Clean/unspoiled environment, Lots of tourist attractions,

Local cuisine, Cultural events/festivals, Good Wedding Coordination/ organization,

Availability of associated services, Availability of travel information, Sense of

belonging, while some variables cannot use to predict level of satisfaction. However,

remaining variables that have not mentioned also be considered when deciding on

selecting destination wedding anyway.

5.2 Recommendation on segments and its behavior

5.2.1 Marketing-oriented segment

Companies can acquire this segment through referral (WOM) and take

advantage of their personal experience. To retain this group, value for money wedding

packages are necessary because they have a huge guest list. To avoid over-budgeting,

they will search for good deals on company websites e.g. wedding planner website.

Marketing related factor is what was concerned the most - special

wedding package, and another factor is readiness of relevant parties – not only good

wedding service provider, but also good infrastructure of host country. Location

related factors did not impact their decision making towards selecting destination.

Since majority of this segment are Thai couples, capturing this segment by using

attractive wedding package with value for money is most beneficial.

5.2.2 Convenience-oriented segment

Word of mouth (WOM) is the main method to acquire this segment.

People rarely waste their time on searching wedding information. Acquisition cost for

this segment is not high, if you can satisfy your ex-customers to a certain-point, they

will easily be attracted as if they heard it from their personal network. After they find

good wedding service providers, activating customers by signing up customers and

remarketing to that target would be really helpful. Spending lots of money to advertise

might not work with this segment, but allocating your money to please them might be

Ref. code: 25605902040509ZWT

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work better, since they have high expectations in terms of services related to entire

wedding process.

Readiness of relevant parties, Convenience of transportation and Ease of

paper works are keys success attracted this segment. Marketing factor is the least

important to them, which means that their consideration is largely based on services

provided, wedding arrangements and official legal paper work. Location attraction

and beautiful scenery are not considered by this segment, while providing easy to

access area with short distance from country/ city of origin and best preparation of

facilities in wedding place can fulfil their demand.

5.2.3 Self-reliance segment

Wedding fair and Tourism organization office commonly acquire

attention from this segment because they like to visit related event in order to search

for ideas to arrange their wedding. Self-reliance segment has the least satisfaction and

expectation, since some couples of this segment arrange their wedding themselves.

However, some couples will rather hire assistants because they need someone

specialized in handling wedding due to their family-image.

This segment had low consideration in Readiness of relevant parties,

which means that they are not concerned on availability of wedding services that

much, and Internal motivation is also lowly considered. Most couples in this segment

have low consideration on self-image, hence arranging “wedding with no guests”

usually matches their need. Therefore, the budget range of this segment is quite low as

compared to other segments. However, some couples who marry in their hometown

have to be concerned with their family-image thus they still need a professional

planner to manage their wedding.

5.2.4 Location-oriented segment

Advertising through media is most suitable to capture this segment.

Advertisements can create useful content and spread easily through paid search or

Facebook ads. This group of people has the highest buying power, as they are

concerned about beautiful and fascinating locations and spend their time on long

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vacation together. To impress their wedding guests, they are willing to pay more

money for good view and scenery.

The size of this segment is the biggest. They are considered the most in

“location factors” – location attraction including variety of activity, local culture,

local cuisine and local people. Moreover, location scenery in host country is critical.

This segment contains the largest group of foreign couples, hence the uniqueness of

Thailand heritage and popularity of Thailand as wedding destination come into play

as main factors that have the most impact on their decision- making.

In conclusion, this study focuses on identifying factors that affect to

couples’ decision making towards selecting Thailand as their destination wedding.

Moreover, segmentation was studied to classify customers in the wedding industry.

However, implication in terms of marketing is inadequate to further elaborate since

researcher wants to highlight macro view – factor identification and segmentation,

further research is needed for marketing perspective.

Ref. code: 25605902040509ZWT

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REFERENCES

Bridgebox wedding albums. (2014, July 24). The Beginner's Guide To Destination

Weddings. Retrieved from http://www.bridebox.com/blog/beginners-guide-

destination-weddings-book/ Hailin Qu, L. H. (2011). A model of destination branding: Integrating the concepts of

the branding and destination image. Tourism Management, ScienceDirect,

465-476.

Pongsiri, K. (2014). Wedding in Thailand: Traditional and Business. World Academy

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perspectives. Marketing places and spaces - shifting tourist flows (pp. 412-

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dreams-indian-couples-choosing-thailand-wedding-day/

TAT Newsroom. (2016, December 1). Thailand once again named Best Wedding

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leisure-india/

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Thailand.

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APPENDICES

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APPENDIX A: QUESTIONNAIRE

Screening questions

1. Have you been married or planning for the wedding in a near future? (For all

respondents)

a. Yes, I already married or planned to married in a near future

b. No, I haven’t married nor plan to married in a near future (submit)

2. Where was/will your wedding take place?

a. Inside your hometown (submit)

b. Outside your hometown, but in home country

c. Outside your hometown and also other country

3. Where was/will your destination wedding take place? (For eligible respondents)

a. United states (skip to no.5)

b. Caribbean (skip to no.5)

c. Italy (skip to no.5)

d. Ireland (skip to no.5)

e. France (skip to no.5)

f. Australia (skip to no.5)

g. New Zealand (skip to no.5)

h. Thailand

i. Mexico (skip to no.5)

j. Vietnam (skip to no.5)

k. Others;________ (skip to no.5)

4. What city that wedding event take place (Thailand)?

a. Pattaya

b. Hua Hin

c. Rayong

d. Phuket

e. Krabi

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f. Chiang Mai

g. Others;__________

Part I: Information related to decision making on wedding (For married couple

and prospective marriage)

5. On which source you used the most to search for related information on your

wedding event?

a. Website e.g. TheKnot.com

b. Blog

c. Social media platform e.g. Pinterest, Facebook

d. Asking from friends

e. Others;__________

6. How did you first hear about wedding destination you selected?

a. Wedding fair

b. Tourism Organization office in your country

c. Travel agent or tour operator catalogues

d. Advertisements

e. Word of mouth

f. Others;_________

7. How did you book the wedding?

a. Through a travel agent

b. Through a tour operator

c. Through a wedding planner based in host country

d. Directly through the municipality in host country

e. Others;___________

8. In the following statements, select the degree of consideration of the following

factors affecting to your decision on selecting destination wedding from 1

(Strongly Non-Consider) to 5 (Strongly Consider)

Geographical location

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Easy access to the area

Short distance from country of origin

Good scenery/natural wonders

Good weather

Clean/unspoiled environment

Wide variety of outdoor activities

Lots of tourist attractions

High popularity in weddings

Local heritage

Friendly local people

Local cuisine

Cultural events/festivals

Marketing

Special Wedding Offers/Packages

Good Wedding Coordination/ organization

The reasonable cost associated with wedding

Availability of associated services

Local institution

Good infrastructure/ facilities

Availability of associated information

Ease of paper work from local office

Safe and secure environment

Internal factors

Personal preference

Good self-image

Sense of belonging

9. In which year did/do your wedding take place?

Drop down; _________

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*If Year 2018, will be classified as “prospective marriage” – skip to part 3, apart from

2018 will be classified as married couple – continue on part 2

Part II: perception of respondents toward host country as destination wedding

(For married couple only)

10. Please rate how much you agree with the following statements when you

think of selecting that host country as destination wedding, from 1 (Strongly

Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree)

Geographical location

Easy access to the area

Short distance from country of origin

Good scenery/natural wonders

Good weather

Clean/unspoiled environment

Wide variety of outdoor activities

Lots of tourist attractions

High popularity in weddings

Local heritage

Friendly local people

Local cuisine

Cultural events/festivals

Marketing

Special Wedding Offers/Packages

Good Wedding Coordination/ organization

The reasonable cost associated with wedding

Availability of associated services

Local institution

Good infrastructure/ facilities

Availability of travel information

Ease of paper work from local office

Safe and secure environment

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Internal factors

Personal preference

Good self-image

Sense of belonging

11. How likely are you satisfied with that host country as your destination

wedding?

a. Very dissatisfied

b. Somewhat dissatisfied

c. Somewhat satisfied

d. Very satisfied

12. Would you choose that host country as the destination for any of your

anniversaries?

a. Yes

b. No

13. Would you recommend that host country to friends and relatives for their

wedding and honeymoon?

a. Yes

b. No

Part III: Wedding characteristics and respondents’ socio-demographic details

(For married couple and prospective marriage)

14. What type of wedding venue where you choose?

a. Town hall

b. Hotel

c. Gardens

d. Beach

e. Villa

f. Others;___________

15. What are your Travel Interests? (multiple answer possible)

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a. Adventure

b. Beach and Ocean

c. Safari

d. Spa/Massage

e. All-Inclusive

f. Visiting Sites and Attractions

g. Art and Architecture

h. Spending Quiet Time with each other

i. Shopping

j. Others;__________

16. In which month did your wedding take place?

a. January

b. February

c. March

d. April

e. May

f. June

g. July

h. August

i. September

j. October

k. November

l. December

17. Approximate destination wedding budget for the two of you (exclude

honeymoon budget)?

a. Less than $6,400

b. $6,401 - $15,000

c. $15,001 - $25,000

d. $25,001 - $40,000

e. $40,001 - $50,000

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f. $50,001 - $65,000

g. $65,001 - $100,000

h. $100,001 - $130,000

i. $130,001 - $160,000

j. More than $160,001

18. Please specify the number of guests that traveled to your wedding.

Fill in; ____________ guests

19. Please indicate the number of nights spent in that country for the couple and

your guests.

Number of nights for the couple____________

Number of nights for the guests____________

20. Please indicate your age

a. Under 22 years old

b. 22 to 30 years old

c. 31 to 35 years old

d. 36 to 40 years old

e. 41 to 45 years old

f. Over 45 years old

21. What is your nationality?

Drop down; ___________

22. What is your country of residence?

Drop down; ___________

23. What is your religion?

a. Buddhism

b. Christianity

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c. Hinduism

d. Islam

e. Judaism

f. Others; _________

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APPENDIX B: BAR CHART REPRESENTED RESPONDENTS’

BEHAVIOR

Figure 1: Source that used the most to search for related wedding information

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Figure 2: Source that respondents first hear about wedding destination

Figure 3: Method that used to book the wedding

Figure 4: Month when respondents set up wedding

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BIOGRAPHY

Name Miss Nattaporn Suthatartrakul

Date of Birth July 23, 1993

Educational Attainment 2018-2016: Master’s Degree Program in

Marketing (MIM) Thammasat University

2015-2011: Bachelor of Business Administration

in International business, logistics and

transportation, Thammasat University

Work Experiences 2018 – present: Associated Key Account Manager,

FMCG category, aCommerce Co., Ltd.

2017-2015: Consultant, Thammasat Consulting

Networking and Coaching Center (CONC)

influences on the consumer decision making process in

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