The Factors Influencing the Decision-making of Grade 12 – H.

E 2PM
SHS Students of the National Teachers College on Choosing the
Philippines as a Tourism Destinations
 CHAPTER 1: THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction

Tourism is a significant sector for the development of any country’s

economy. The UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organization) defines
tourism as a social, cultural and economic phenomenon which involves the
motion of people to countries or destinations outside their typical
surroundings for individual or business/occupational reasons (Tourism as…,
2010). An increasing number of destinations worldwide made tourism a key
driver of socio-economic progress through the creation of jobs and
enterprises, export revenues, and infrastructure development (UNWTO,
2015). Despite international tourism being highlighted mostly and the
development and research of domestic tourism rather neglected, the value
of domestic tourism expenditure is significantly larger than that of inbound
tourism (Huybers, 2003; Tourism as…, 2010; Pierret, 2011). The institutions
and companies responsible for the development and promotion of domestic
destination need to determine the factors influencing tourists’ destination
choices. It is recognized that destination is not only a tourism product,
offering an integrated experience to customers, but it is a perceptual
concept, which is interpreted subjectively by the consumers and is
dependent on a wide range of factors (Buhalis, 2000). Social, cultural,
personal and psychological factors, the number of tourists’ attractions,
available amenities, price, human resources and various types of tourism
destinations are examples of the elements which can be considered in
decision-making.

The Philippines is the third largest English speaking country in the

world. It has a rich history combining Asian, European, and American
influences. Prior to Spanish colonization in 1521, the Filipinos had a rich
culture and were trading with the Chinese and the Japanese. Spain's
colonization brought about the construction of Intramuros in 1571, a "Walled
City" comprised of European buildings and churches, replicated in different
parts of the archipelago. In 1898, after 350 years and 300 rebellions, the
Filipinos, with leaders like Jose Rizal and Emilio Aguinaldo, succeeded in
winning their independence.
 In 1898, the Philippines became the first and only colony of the United
States. Following the Philippine-American War, the United States brought
widespread education to the islands. Filipinos fought alongside Americans
during World War II, particularly at the famous battle of Bataan and
Corregidor which delayed Japanese advance and saved Australia. They then
waged a guerilla war against the Japanese from 1941 to 1945. The
Philippines regained its independence in 1946. Filipinos are a freedom-loving
people, having waged two peaceful, bloodless revolutions against what were
perceived as corrupt regimes. The Philippines is a vibrant democracy, as
evidenced by 12 English national newspapers, 7 national television stations,
hundreds of cable TV stations, and 2,000 radio stations. Filipinos are a fun-
loving people. Throughout the islands, there are fiestas celebrated every day
and foreign guests are always welcome to their homes.

Tourism destinations is one of the reasons why tourists visits the

country of the Philippines. Some tourist wants to know on how to be
respectful and flexible with other people, and some of them wants to
experience new things as well as to have knowledge about the history,
culture and traditions of the country that they wanted to visit.

However, even if the Philippines has a lot of destinations to offer, there

are still barriers for the tourism development of the Philippines in emerging
countries and one of the major barrier of it is the misperception that a
destination is unsafe to visit, other barriers also includes that an area is
unclean, lacks of attractions, accommodations are of poor quality or that the
local people aren’t welcoming to tourists. While reeducating people about the
reality of a destination can help to create a more accurate picture of the
location, it is not an easy task. This is because the public may not have
information provided to them for many destinations or it is of a negative
event that has captured the interest of the media. Even conflicts or events of
a small scale can have a considerable impact on the image of a destination
because of ease of communication and broadcasting. The media has the
ability to magnify negative events, and in turn, give them their own meaning
and interpretation (Hall, 2002). There are many variables that may be
skewed in the eyes of the tourists and therefore it is difficult to determine
which factors are the most distorted. Developing countries in general are
seen to have commonly accepted risks, such as being poor, insecure, and
underdeveloped, which creates a negative image of them (Martinez &
Alvarez, 2010). In addition, when there is animosity towards a country from
a previous event, the destination image is formed through affective
components, not cognitive (Alvarez & Campo, 2014). This means that
perceptions are formed based on emotions or feelings associated with the
destination, instead of tangible or physical characteristics.

Many people tend to have a negative perception of developing

countries like Philippines, especially their safety, and therefore do not have
any desire to visit. Failure of a tourism destination can be caused by
negative misperceptions if they are not corrected. It is important for
developing countries to discover how they are being viewed by foreigners, so
that it can modify their image, which can subsequently attract more tourists
in order to increase its revenue and improve upon its development.

Previous studies on the perception of tourist destinations have found

multiple outcomes related to this research. The threat to safety is a strong
deterrent to taking a vacation, but this can change from one geographical
region to another (Jonas, Manseld, Paz, & Potsman, 2011; Kozak, Crotts, &
Law 2007; Lepp & Gibson, 2008). While the perception of risk is of high
importance in the choice process, previous travel experience also has a
strong influence on choosing a vacation destination (Sonmez & Graefe,
1998). These factors are important to build upon in continuing research and
this study will combine multiple ideas that have been separately tested in
past research.

Determining which factors are most commonly misperceived is

imperative to correcting this situation. This study can help advance
theoretical implications for the formation of decision-making toward tourism
destinations and have a better understanding of the decision making
process.
Statement of the Problem

This study is entitled “The Factors Influencing the Decision-making of

Grade 12 – H.E 2PM SHS Students of the National Teachers College on
Choosing the Philippines as a Tourism Destinations”. It specifically intends to
answer the following problems:

1. What are the factors influencing the Decision-making of Grade 12 – H.E

2PM SHS Students of the National Teachers College on Choosing the
Philippines as tourism destinations?

2. How does the environmental features of a destination influence the

Decision-making of Grade 12 – H.E 2PM SHS Students of the National
Teachers College on Choosing the Philippines as a Tourism Destinations?

3. How does the Behavior or Psychological factors influence the Decision-

making of Grade 12 – H.E 2PM SHS Students of the National Teachers
College on Choosing the Philippines as a Tourism Destinations?
Significance of the Study

This research will help other people to know on how does the Grade 12
– H.E 2pm SHS students in school year 2018 – 2019 of the National
Teachers College made a decisions regarding on how they choose the
Philippines as a tourism destination. This research will also help people on
knowing the factors that may influence the decision-making of the grade 12
SHS students towards the tourism destinations of the Philippines.

Grade 12 Students. This research will help the students to gain

knowledge about the different perceptions of their co-students about the
Tourism Destinations of the Philippines. This will also serve as a basis on
how to clarify the misperceptions of other people about the Philippines.

Parents. This will help parents on how to decide if they will allow their
children to travel on different countries and parents will also have a broader
knowledge about the perceptions of their children towards the Tourism
Destinations of the Philippines.

Teachers. This research will give extra knowledge and understanding

on the Perceptions of the students towards the Tourism Destinations of the
Philippines.

Researchers. This study is significant to the researchers to gain more

knowledge and information about the perceptions of the students towards
the Tourism Destinations of the Philippines. This study will contribute to the
researchers especially the idea and information on how to clarify the
misperceptions of the students towards the Tourism Destinations of the
Philippines.

Counselors/Psychologists. To give an updated study or statistics

about perceptions towards the Tourism Destination of the Philippines for
them to have additional information when handling cases that are related to
Tourism Destinations.

Government. This study has a significant impact to the Government

because this study will provide an advice to take different actions to
formulate policies in the attractions, to be aware on how to maintain the
facilities of the historical places and other attractions, and laws about the
safety and security of the tourists that will eliminate or smother this
problem. Also, this study stimulates the attention of the local government
unit to make actions to protect and to maintain the Tourism Destinations of
the Philippines and it can also help the society to be popular once again.

Scope and Delimitations

The limitation of the study is that the researchers will select the
participants in a specific school which is the National Teachers College,
Quiapo, Manila. The participants were the students of grade 12 - H.E 2pm
regardless of their ages.

The study will focus on particular respondents in senior high school

students under the Home Economics Strand in The National Teachers
College. The researchers believe that these respondents has the qualities to
answer honestly in this study as their major subject is all about travel
services and that they will fill out our hoped answer in this study.
 Conceptual Framework

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

Decision-making of Factors influencing The Factors influencing

Grade 12 – H.E 2pm the Decision-making the Decision-making of
SHS Students of of Grade 12 – H.E Grade 12 – H.E 2PM SHS
NTC on Choosing 2pm SHS Students of Students of NTC on
the Philippines as a NTC on choosing a Choosing the Philippines
Tourism Tourism Destination: as a Tourism Destinations
Destinations
 Environmental
features.
 Behavior or
Psychological
factor.

The figures illustrated above are the different variables in the study. In this
study, the independent variable or the input which will use as the basis of
what action should be done, the dependent variable or the process which is
the series of activities that will be done and the output or the result of the
process.

As input, The Decision-making of Grade 12 – H.E 2pm SHS Students of

NTC on Choosing the Philippines as a Tourism Destinations.

The process includes factors influencing the Decision-making of Grade

12 – H.E 2pm SHS Students of NTC on Choosing the Philippines as a Tourism
Destination, which are the Environmental features of destinations and
Behavior or Psychological factors.
 And lastly the output, The Factors influencing the Decision-making of
Grade 12 – H.E 2PM SHS Students of NTC on Choosing the Philippines as a
Tourism Destinations.

Theoretical Framework

Social exchange theory was developed by Richard M. Emerson in 1978

and has been applied to various research contexts. The principle of social
exchange theory suggests that exchanges will occur if the process creates
valued rewards as well as offering more benefits than cost. He applied social
exchange theory to explain the changes in a host destination in response to
tourism. The theory involves the exchange of resources between individuals
or groups when interacting; for instance, there is the exchange during the
processes of interaction between host residents and visitors. The theory
explains the variability in response to tourism by individuals and various
groups in the social exchange process which engage at the individual and
community stage. The theory suggests that individuals or groups decide
exchanges after weighing benefits and costs. Individuals’ attitudes depend
on the perceptions of exchange they are making. Subsequently, individuals
who evaluate and perceive beneficial rewards in the exchange, have
different perceptions from those who perceive the exchange as harmful. In
the tourism prospect, these principles suggest that residents are willing to
enter into an exchange with tourists if they can collect some benefits without
incurring unacceptable cost. If local residents theoretically believe tourism is
a valuable source, and the costs they gain do not exceed the benefits, the
exchange will support tourism development. Social exchange theory is
supported by plenty of research evidences that suggest the exchange
system is useful for the evaluation of tourism impacts. It also suggests that
if a deeper investigation takes place, a more complex relationship is
apparent. Consequently, there are numerous reports that residents who
perceive benefits from tourism are more likely to support tourism.
Nevertheless, there are also several studies that report these residents have
a more negative attitude towards tourism than others. This means those
residents who benefit from tourism have positive perceptions of the tourism
impacts; but with some reservations of the impacts of tourism. However,
previous application has not involved culture change processes that might be
associated with social exchange where cultural expressions are the basis of
the exchange. In addition, this theory is tested by many scholars but nobody
takes cultural background of host residents in to an account in term of the
application. Avoidance of confrontation deeply embeds in Thai culture in
order to maintain harmony in the society; therefore, Thai resident attitudes
towards socio-cultural impacts of tourism development might be different
from previous studies from Western perspective.

Operational Definition of Terms

The following are the words that have been used in this research:

Decision-making - is the procedure of recognizing and choosing from among

available solutions of a problem according to the demands of the circumstance.

Destination - The place to which someone or something is going or being

sent. Destinations are well-defined geographical areas.

Factor – Something that helps produce or influence a result: one of the

things that cause something to happen.

Influencing – The power to change or affect someone or something: the

power to cause changes without directly forcing them to happen.

Perception - The ability to see, hear, or become aware of something

through the senses.

Psychological factor (Personality traits) - Refer to thoughts, feelings

and other cognitive characteristics that affect the attitude, behavior and
functions of the human mind. These factors can influence how a person
thinks and later affect his decisions and relations in his daily life.

Tourism - The commercial organization and operation of vacations and

visits to places of interest. Significant sector for the development of any
country’s economy.

UNWTO – United Nations World Tourism Organization.

Review of Related Literature and Studies

These reviews consist of books, articles, documents that focus on the

same matter of other concept of the study.

Literature. The researchers made an meticulous research for the

existing literature with a view of links with findings. The researchers had
focused on one aspect that is directly related to the present study of the
factors influencing the decision-making of tourist on choosing tourism
destinations.

Local

According to Rowena Abat in her “Ecotourism in the Philippines,

Philippines is a gifted nation, Its biodiversed flora and fauna serves as virtual
canvass to a lot of picturesque sceneries spread out in its 7,107 islands.
People all over the world are not only attracted to the bounties of the
country but also fall in love, literally, with almost all the islands they visit,
enjoying nature at its best. As the destinations and activities become more
multifaceted, the Philippine tourism industry was seen to increasingly play a
significant role in the country’s economic development. According to the
United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), three dimensions are
necessary to guarantee the long-term sustainability of tourism. Throughout
the last century, the Philippines had been struggled as a developing nation.
High levels of poverty, low levels of education and care and widespread
corruption contributed to the erosion of Philippine society. To rebuild the
economy and improve the welfare of the local people, ecotourism became a
nationwide effort. (Abat, 2014)

In the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Travel and Tourism

Competitiveness Index 2017, the Philippines slid five places to 79th spot out
of 136 countries. The country got an overall score of 3.6 and of the 14 pillars
considered, it was on safety and security that the Philippines got its lowest
rank. The Philippines landed at the 126th place, the bottom end of the
spectrum. The Philippines lagging behind all the other Asean countries when
in the safety and security aspect, scoring way below the regional average for
that pillar. “A handful of countries in [Southeast Asia] continue to have
declining security perceptions resulting from political developments in recent
years, leaving tourists with a sense of unpredictability,” the report added.
This report was released before the clash between government troops and
the Maute group in Marawi and President Duterte’s declaration of martial law
in Mindanao. (World Economic Forum, 2017)

Foreign

Traditionally, destinations are well-defined geographical areas

(Buhalis, 2000; Hsu et al., 2009; Blasco et al., 2016). There is another
understanding about destination as a product or a brand (Hsu et al., 2009;
Smallman and Moore, 2010; Blasco et al., 2016), and the authors accepting
this view state that destination is a uniquely complex product or even a
portfolio of products and services comprising an area’s climate,
infrastructure and superstructure as well as natural and cultural attributes.
In customer-oriented studies, destination is a service environment
facilitating the experience (Blasco et al., 2016). Holloway et al. (2009) use
destination as a synonym for attraction, however acknowledging that the
term of tourist attraction is not clear: any site which addresses to people
reasonably to stimulate them to travel and visit it should be evaluated as a
tourist attraction. Though it is hard to define the boundaries of destination
(Blasco et al., 2016), it could be defined as a place where a tourist can rest,
walk, spend his time in nature, see historical monuments, attend festivals,
events, taste local cuisine and be part of unique features of a destination.
Tourism destination should be considered as a whole, and all its features and
parts should be examined and proposed according to tourists’ needs.
Destination contains a number of key elements that attract visitors and meet
their needs upon arrival. These elements are defined and categorised by
many authors (Jansen-Verbeke, 1986; Mill and Morrison, 1992; Buhalis,
2000; Ritchie and Crouch, 2003; Holloway, et al., 2009). M. Jansen-Verbeke
(1986) categorises elements of tourism destination into: primary (activities,
physical settings and social/cultural attributes), secondary (catering and
shopping), and additional elements (accessibility and touristic information).
According to R. C. Mill and A. M. Morrison (1992), destinations are composed
of many parts: attractions, facilities, infrastructure, transportation and
hospitality. D. Buhalis (2000) suggests six important components of a
destination, which include: attractions, accessibility, amenities, available
packages, activities and ancillary services. However, C. Holloway et al.
(2009) state that there are only three core elements in a successful
destination which achievement in attracting tourists will rely on upon the
quality of those crucial advantages that they offer them: attractions,
amenities and accessibility. According to L. Moutinho (2005), these elements
are: cost, attractions, amenities, travel opportunities, travel arrangements
and travel information. All of these elements and attributes have the same
purposes, but in a slightly different manner, which is to make destination
suitable and available for tourists. Types of tourism destinations attract
tourists to leave their country of residence. These sources and gravitational
forces are explaining why travellers choose any particular destination among
others (Vareiro and Ribeiro, 2005). According to C. Holloway, et al. (2009),
tourism destinations could be categorized into cultural, religious, shopping,
gastronomic, other attractions, events, sports tourism and dark tourism. V.
L. Smith (1989) identifies five different forms of tourism which can be
related to five various types of tourism destination: ethnic, cultural,
historical, environmental and recreational tourism destinations. Moreover,
visitors have various purposes and reasons to travel to a destination and
they divide destination into different types, which relate to a geographical
location, environment and nature or man-made structures of the tourism
destination. D. Buhalis (2000), in accordance with the main features of
attractiveness, classified destinations into several categories: urban,
seaside, alpine and rural destinations. The above mentioned two categories
made by V. L. Smith (1989) and D. Buhalis (2000) have common features in
sections and divisions among each destination type, like ethnic tourism
destination with rural and alpine destinations, recreational tourism
destination with seaside destinations and others, which separates
destinations by different purposes, forms and groups. Despite this
generalisation, both of the definitions vary and ought to be categorised from
each other. V. L. Smith’s (1989) categorization of tourism destination is
based on the wide understanding of purposes, needs and reasons of
tourists; on the other hand, D. Buhalis (2000) parted destinations according
to their geographical location, environment and nature or man-made
structures.

Different authors state that the understanding of tourist behavior and

travel motivation is important for tourism companies in order to create a
demand and help tourists in decision-making (Djeri et al., 2007; Hsu et al.,
2009; Van Vuuren and Slabbert, 2011; Decrop and Kozak, 2014; Blasco et
al., 2016). Consumer behavior is a difficult research topic, particularly in the
tourism field, where emotional factors are significant (Swarbrooke and
Horner, 2007). A consumer’s attitude, decisions, activities, ideas or
experiences in using, purchasing, evaluating and searching of products and
services that satisfy the needs is described as the consumer behaviour (Van
Vuuren and Slabbert, 2011; Schiffman et al., 2014; Cohen et al., 2014).
Consumer behavior concentrates on how people formulate decisions to
spend their accessible assets (time, money, effort) on buying things. Many
researchers acknowledge that the tourist decision process is a very complex,
multi-faceted course that includes different interrelated stages or sub-
decisions, elements and concepts (Hsu et al., 2009; Smallman and Moore,
2010; Cohen et al., 2014). C. Van Vuuren and E. Slabbert (2011) state that
tourist behaviour is the direct result of the interaction between certain
personal and environmental variables on a continuous basis. Decision-
making is the procedure of recognising and choosing from among available
solutions of a problem according to the demands of the circumstance (Al-
Tarawneh, 116 2012). Choice set approach has been used to explain how
this process happens (Sirakaya and Woodside, 2005), as the key problem of
consumer behaviour is choice. Therefore, decision-making presupposes
making a choice between two, or more than two options (Djeri et al., 2007).
Choice deals with the change of motivation into buying process and it is the
major stage directly related with activity (Moutinho, 1987). A decision
happens when a solution to a problem is chosen for realisation. Generally,
tourists follow a funnelling process of choices among different destinations.

The process of tourist decision-making when selecting a destination is

influenced by different changeable factors, depending to the influence of
tourist needs and habits, as well as of the influence of external factors (Djeri
et al., 2007). Internal factors influencing decision-making include desire for
escape, rest, relaxation, prestige, health and fitness, adventure, and social
interaction, while external factors are based on attractiveness of the
destination, including tangible resources, and tourist’s perceptions and
expectations (Hsu et al., 2009). As P. Kotler et al. (2006) state, consumer
purchasing processes remain highly influenced by social, cultural, personal,
and psychological factors. Basically, these factors cannot be controlled by
marketers, yet should be considered. Factors affecting consumer behaviour
help identify what products and services on which situations are consumed
by individuals. Cultural factors combine within themselves elements of
culture, sub-culture and social class. Social factors refer to groups, family,
roles and status. Age and life-cycle, occupation, economic situations,
lifestyle and personality are used in formulating personal factors, and
psychological factors could be divided into the categories of motivation,
perception, learning, beliefs and attitudes.

Tourists are pushed by different their needs to travel and pulled by

different attributes of destination (Cohen et al., 2014). Tourists with a high
level of satisfaction may recommend a certain destination to friends, visit
again and leave positive feedback about the experience. However,
dissatisfied tourists, apart from being displeased with the choice and not
recommending it to others, may also criticize it (Chen and Chen, 2010).

Synthesis

Through the summary and review of related literature about the

factors affecting the decision-making of tourist on choosing a destinations.
Analysis of the essence of tourist behavior showed that it concentrates on
how people formulate decisions. A tourist’s decision-making process is a
complex, multi-faceted course influenced by different internal and external
factors. Factors affecting tourist behavior help identify what products and
services on which situations are consumed by individuals. Mostly four main
elements influencing consumer behaviour: cultural, social factors, personal
and psychological factors are analyzed.

Tourism destinations with certain attributes (attractions, amenities,

accessibility, image, price, and human resources) make them appropriate
and available for tourists. The types of tourism destinations (ethnic, cultural,
historical, environmental and recreational tourism destinations) serve the
goal to meet tourists’ needs and purposes according to geographical
location, environment and nature or man-made structures (urban, seaside,
alpine and rural destinations).
 CHAPTER 2

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

This chapter includes the method and the design of the study. The
researchers includes and outline the research design methods of data
collection the selection of sampling techniques, the respondents of the study
and the research instruments in this study, data gathering procedure. In this
study, methodologies have been used to diagnose and examine
“The……………………………………………”.

The researchers used the descriptive method as a research design.

According to Merriam Webster, Descriptive define as giving information
about how something or someone looks, sounds, etc. Descriptive is also
define as providing facts about how a language is actually used rather than
rules that tell people how it should be used.

RESPONDENTS OF THE STUDY

The researcher’s respondents of the study are with a total of thirty

(30) Grade 12 students of H.E Strand section 2PM of The National Teachers
College, Senior High School Department for the School Year 2018-2019. All
of the respondents have enough knowledge to answer the researchers’
questions.

INSTRUMENT OF THE STUDY

The researchers used the survey questionnaire to determine “the

……………………..” the researchers will also provide the survey questionnaires
which will be containing the questions necessary to the study.

Survey questionnaires is used to collect demographic data about

people’s behavior, practices, intentions, beliefs, attitudes, opinions,
judgements, interests, perceptions, and the like and such data are
analyzed, organized, and interpreted. It enables the researchers to provide
and gather relevant information for its useful usage as a basis of information
for the research.
 DATA GATHERING PROCEDURE

The data collected for this research
literature and studies found in libraries
also conduct surveys from respondents
that will provide and create suitable
questions formed by the researchers.
were collected from various related
and internet. The researchers will
at The National Teachers College
answers and response from the

STATISTICAL TREATMENT

The following are the statistical treatment used by the respondents to

determine “….”.

The researchers used the percentage and the likert scale chart to
determine the “………”

Formula:

𝑓
𝑃 = x 100
𝑛

Where:

P – Percentage

F - Frequency

N – Total number of Respondents

 WEIGHTED AVERAGE

In questionnaire, the numbers 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 was used to represent

the answers that were scaled from Very Poor to Excellent according to the

respondents.

Formula:

𝑓𝑤𝐴
∑=
𝑁

Where:

F- Frequency

WA - Weighted Average

N- Total number of Respondents

 For the purpose of statistical analysis, the following scale descriptions

were given equivalent value:

Scale Interpretation

4.00 – 5. 00 Excellent

3.01 – 4.00 Satisfactory

2.01 – 3.00 Good

1.01 – 2.00 Fair

0.00 – 1.00 Poor

PAGRARANGGO

Based on scaling, 5.00 is the highest which means Excellent and 1.00

is the lowest which means Poor. This scaling was used to determine which

one is the highest and lowest based on the overall result of the study.
 CHAPTER 3

PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS, AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA