TOURIST SATISFACTION AND ITS SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC ANTECEDENTS: A CASE STUDY OF THE TURDA SALT MINE IN ROMANIA
István EGRESI1*, Mihaela Gabriela CHIRICHEŞ1
1 Faculty of Geography, Center for Research on Settlements and Urbanism, Babeş-Bolyai University, 5-7 Clinicilor Street, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
1 Faculty of Geography, Babeş-Bolyai University, 5-7 Clinicilor Street, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, e-mail: mihaela.chiriches@stud.ubbcluj.ro
* Corresponding author: istvan.egresi@ubbcluj.ro
ABSTRACT. – Tourist Satisfaction and Its Socio-demographic Antecedents: A Case Study of the Turda Salt Mine in Romania. Customer satisfaction is a cornerstone of tourism, with extensive literature confirming its direct link to loyalty through repeat visits and positive word-of-mouth. Despite this established importance, a notable research gap exists concerning visitor satisfaction within industrial tourism, particularly at saltmine attractions. Furthermore, the influence of sociodemographic factors on these satisfaction levels remains underexplored. This study aims to address this dual gap by evaluating tourist satisfaction at a historic salt mine and determining if significant differences exist across various socio-demographic groups. Using the Turda Salt Mine in Romania as a case study, this research employed a self-administered questionnaire for data collection. The data were analyzed using SPSS (v26), beginning with descriptive statistics to profile the sample and initial responses. To refine the satisfactionmeasurement, the 18 experience statements were subjected to Principal Component Analysis (PCA), reducing theminto core dimensions. These dimensions were then analyzed using t-tests and ANOVA to identify statistically significant differences across socio-demographic groups. The findings indicate that visitors reported high overall satisfaction, demonstrating a strong likelihood to return and recommend the attraction.While feedback on specific attributes was generally positive, neutral ratings for several items revealed tangible opportunities for enhancement. The analysis also confirmed several statistically significant differences in satisfaction based on socio-demographic characteristics, although their overall influence was less pronounced than anticipated. The paper concludes by discussing the implications, practical applications, and limitations of the study.
Keywords: visitor satisfaction, salt mines, Turda Salt Mine, Romania, socio-demographic variables.