Evaluation of the satisfaction level experienced by tourists visiting Gorgan

Climatic and geographical features of Gorgan (e.g. lying in the vicinity of North - and Razavi-khorasan, Semnan, Tehran, and Mazandaran provinces) on the one hand and its cultural and historical attractions (e.g. Existence of Turkman people and their handicrafts) on the other, have rendered this city into a prominent tourist spot. This research, aims to evaluate the Gorgan - tourists’ satisfaction level and the principal factors affecting it. After distribution of 250 questionnaires, data were analyzed through descriptive and analytical statistics methods. Results indicate that four factors including service quality, environmental quality, host behavior quality, and services cost, can explain more than %54 of the variance of the variables. Also, a significant correlation is observed between the mentioned factors and the tourists’ satisfaction level. At the end, some suggestions are proposed for improving tourists’ satisfaction and tourism development in Gorgan.