A study of tourism awareness among undergraduate students at the University of Jordan
Abstract
Source: Researcher's work, relying on SPSS software
The questionnaire was distributed to a randomly selected sample of 25 questionnaires representing the students of the University of Jordan, in order to determine the suitability of the questionnaire and its fulfilment of the objectives of the study, and then modified in order to determine the sample size. (422) questionnaires were analysed on the software; (9) questionnaires were excluded because they did not meet the necessary conditions for analysis.
Source: Prepared by the researchers using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software.
Study hypotheses:
The following study hypothesis was built based on the study issue and its different elements to achieve the objectives of the study:
- There are no statistically significant differences in the means of recognising tourist sites in Jordan due to the variables of gender and nationality.
Approaches and methods used in the study
The study relied on several approaches and methods to achieve its objectives, which can be summarised as follows:
Firstly: The descriptive statistical method to study the economic and social characteristics of the study population.
Secondly: The statistical analytical approach using SPSS software to process the data.
Theoretical framework and previous studies:
The concept of tourism awareness and its importance:
(Latifa and Warda, 2018) defined tourism awareness: It is the perception based on feeling and interest in tourist sites and their economic, social and cultural importance, and recognising the issues facing tourism.
(Al-Azzazi, 2016) defined tourism awareness: It is the familiarity of tourists with many social, cultural and emotional aspects of tourism.
Tourism awareness has been defined by (Bouabid, 2022) as one of the branches of social awareness, which is essential knowledge about tourism, tourist sites and positive interaction with tourists.
The researcher defined tourism awareness: It is the tourist's access to comprehensive tourist information about tourist sites, and mental perceptions of the sites in order to enjoy the tourist trip.
The importance of tourism awareness:
The importance of tourism awareness can be highlighted by the following: (Al-Azzazi, 2016, p.12):
- The high level of tourism awareness supports local community members in their dealings with tourists.
- The tourist who leaves the country he visited will have taken the impression, whether negative or positive.
- Tourism awareness makes the host country present and attractive to tourists and aware of their value.
- Promoting the values of understanding, brotherhood and peace among peoples.
Previous studies
Several previous studies addressed the study topic of tourism awareness, which were reviewed by the researcher, and can be reviewed as follows:
The study (Ajlouni, 2016) aimed to identify the availability of tourism awareness among students of Jordanian private universities (Jadara University and Irbid University), where the researcher relied in his study on the questionnaire to collect data and achieve his objectives, and the study concluded that it is necessary to introduce a curriculum for university students concerned with defining tourism, tourism awareness and the most important tourist sites in Jordan in particular and the Arab world in general, and the interest in spreading tourism awareness among members of the local community.
The study (Al-Dosari, 2023) came to know the effectiveness of a multimedia-based awareness programme to develop tourism awareness among second grade primary students, and the researcher used a quasi-experimental approach by relying on the study tool (questionnaire) to collect data, and the study showed that there were statistically significant differences between the average scores of the control and experimental groups on the test of the degree of acquisition of the second grade primary students of tourism awareness concepts in the dimensional measurement and in favour of the experimental group with a large effect size, which indicates the effectiveness of multimedia-based awareness programmes in raising the level of tourism awareness among students of the grade 2.
The study (Ibrahim and Shujaa, 2022) aimed to identify the importance of raising tourism awareness among young people in the stages of basic education, and the importance of qualifying and training teachers on tourism education and raising awareness and tourism culture for them, and the researcher used the descriptive and analytical approach in their study based on the study tool, the questionnaire to achieve the objectives of the study, and the study concluded that tourism is one of the main sources on which the ideas and content of school trips depend and is not limited to entertainment.
(Al-Azzazi, 2022) proposed to study the role of the university in developing tourism awareness among its students: A case study of Suez Canal University, and the researcher relied on the descriptive and analytical approach through the use of the study tool, the questionnaire to achieve its objectives, and the study found that there is a lack of the role of faculty members in working to develop tourism awareness among the students of Suez Canal University; where we found that the role of faculty members exists, but to a very weak degree, in addition to the lack of some cultural courses that contribute to highlighting the importance of tourism to society.
The study (Al-Mamari, Al-Hadabi, 2022) aimed to reveal the level of sustainable tourism awareness among ninth grade female students in the Sultanate of Oman, and the results indicated that there is a level of sustainable tourism awareness among ninth grade female students, as the total sustainable tourism awareness of the scale reached (87%), which is a high percentage.
Globally, the study (Hassan AL-hazmia &) aimed to research and identify the obstacles to tourists' awareness of tourism services in hotels in the city of Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia, where a sample of 500 tourists was taken to identify the quality of these services as well as the quality of tourism services is a key pillar of the competitiveness of the tourism establishment under the conditions of the market economy. It is not possible to know whether these services need to be improved without identifying and defining the quality levels and customer evaluation. The study came up with a set of findings; the most important of which is that there is no relationship between customer awareness of tourism service and tourist awareness of tourism service, and the lack of tangibility of services or types of advertising messages.
The study by Andriansyah et al. (2020) provided input on government policies in building tourism-aware areas based on local government in Indonesia. The study found that the things that need to be improved are dissatisfaction, security, safety, and service as well as promoting local and creative industries to build awareness for tourists with entrepreneurial characteristics.
Baños et al. (2023) measured university students' awareness of sustainability in a sample of future graduates in physical activity and sports science in Spain. The study found that habitual place of residence and physical activity in the natural environment were associated with the overall behaviour of university students. He concluded that being in active contact with the natural environment allows us to have a higher level of consciousness.
Nugroho et al. (2023) explored the feasibility of tourism as a strategy development for remote fishing communities in the Philippines, showing that tourism awareness exists in two remote areas, and coastal communities in the Philippines were minimal, indicating the limited potential for effective, meaningful and participatory involvement of local people in tourism development planning as advocated through CBT strategy.
As Jarkko (2010) stood in his study of community perspectives and local tourism awareness in two case study communities in Namibia: Katutura, Windhoek, and King Nahal Reserve. She found that by educating local communities, tourism can help them become agents of tourism development, rather than objects that are still often the case in peripheral and marginalised rural and urban communities in Southern Africa.
Mathilda & Melville's (2013) study aimed to explore tourism for secondary school students in Africa because tourism motivates students and has an impact on their parents, the results revealed that the introduction of tourism as a subject in secondary school leads to the creation of tourism awareness, the results also indicated that students who studied tourism at the secondary school level have a significant role in the tourism industry, the results also indicated that students who studied tourism at secondary school level have a significant role in the tourism industry.
Indra's study (Indra, 2023) came to analyse the performance of the tourism awareness group in Siburui village, and the results of this study indicate that the performance of the tourism awareness group in Siburui village is fairly good through the vision, mission and objectives of the tourism awareness group.
Presentation and discussion of results
First: Demographic characteristics of the study sample:
It is clear from Table 2 that the majority of the study sample are females (86.1%). This is due to the fact that most of the students at the University of Jordan are females, as the Department of Admission and Registration at the University of Jordan indicated that the majority of students at the University of Jordan are females, and the study agreed with the study (Mathilda & Melville, 2013) which indicated that the percentage of males exceeds the percentage of females in their study (Mathilda & Melville, 2013). As for the variable (nationality), the percentage of the Jordanian nationality category reached about (81.5%), and this is due, from the researcher's point of view, to the fact that the nature and most of the students of the University of Jordan are those who hold Jordanian nationality. With regard to the variable of the academic year, students who are in the fourth year level are the largest level according to the members of the study sample (44.9%), and Table (1) also indicates that the variable of the place of residence, the capital Amman formed the most Jordanian governorates in terms of the number of students of the University of Jordan, with a percentage (34.1%), and this is because it is one of the most populous Jordanian governorates according to the statistics of the population census for (2015), and in terms of geographical location it is located in the capital, Amman.
Table (2): Demographic characteristics of the study sample:
Variable
Category
Frequency
Percentage
Gender
Male
59
13.9
Female
363
86.1
Nationality
Jordanian
344
81.5
Non-Jordanian
78
18.5
Academic year
Year 1
44
10.4
Year 2
90
21.3
Year 3
99
23.4
Year 4
189
44.9
Place of Residence
Amman
144
34.1
Zarqa’
55
13.3
Balqa’
45
10.6
Madaba
28
6.6
Karak
22
5.2
Tafila
20
4.7
Aqaba
18
4.2
Ma’an
10
2.3
Irbid
20
4.7
Jarash
44
10.4
Mafraq
7
1.6
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