TUTORIAL ACTIVITY

Last week our group has been asked to develop a series of 10 questions for a questionnaire about visitor motivations for chosen destination. As this blog is about my country I have decided to prepare a questions regarding my home city - Gdansk.


THE QUESTIONNAIRE
Visitor motivations.

1. Have you visited Gdansk before?
 Yes
 No

2. How did you find out about Gdansk?
 Internet
 TV/Radio
 Family/friends
 Travel agency
 Guidebook
 Brochures
 Newspapers
 Other ______________________

3. Do you think Gdansk is a popular choice for visit?
 Yes
 No

4. Whom are you going to spend visit in Gdansk with?
 Alone
 With partner
 With family
 With friends
 Other ______________________

5. What is the main motive of visiting Gdansk?
 Vacation
 Work
 Therapeutic
 Visiting family and friends
 Religion
 Education
 Sport
 Other ______________________


6. Which 3 factors made you choose Gdansk?
 Location
 Advertisement
 Date and length of stay
 Brand name
 Price
 Services offered (food, insurance, optional trips etc.)
 Quality
 Comfort of purchasing
 Other ______________________

7. What do you expect from visit in Gdansk?

Strongly agree / Agree / Neutral / Disagree / Strongly disagree

 Extend a knowledge
 Experience new culture
 Relax in a new place
 See attractive location
 Get away from work
 Meet new people
 Spend time with family/partner
 Learn something new

8. Which sources are you going to use to get around the location?
 Family/friends
 Information points
 Internet
 Local brochures
 Tour guides
 TV/radio
 Guidebooks
 Other ______________________

9. How are you going to spend time while visiting Gdansk?
 Going to restaurants, coffee houses
 Reading
 Visiting sacred sites
 Visiting parks, wildlife reserves
 Improving shape
 Staying away from people
 Listening to radio/watching TV
 Walking around
 Visiting monuments
 Clubbing
 Visiting spa
 Learning new language
 Other ______________________

10. How important are the factors related with tourist attractions and cultural sites?

Very important / Important / Neutral / Unimportant / Very unimportant

Noticeboards
Brochures
Interactive boards
Audio guides
Tour guides
Souvenirs
Access for disabled

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER

So, here it is ... my first blog written in English. I was supposed to set it up in a previous term, however due to some circumstances I have done it just now. A handbook for Critical Research Methods says that blogs are a useful tool for research so I hope it will inspire me to choose appropriate topic for my dissertation.

My previous dissertation (for Bachelor degree) was about creating a strategy for tourism development in Pomorskie Voivodeship. Criteria and whole structure of dissertation are completely different in Poland. Generally students in Poland are not required to do research. They just choose a topic and then with help of literature, journals etc. they must write an essay (at least 40 - 50 pages long). After submitting my dissertation (in a hard copy) I was required to defend it orally.

I am a part time student at University of Greenwich. I have started studies in September 2008 therefore I feel secure in terms of referencing, writing an essays etc. Still I feel uncertain about research. I do not know where to start from and I am not sure about topic. I have some ideas :
- tourism in Pomorskie Voivodeship
- visitor motivations (for specific location)
- wildlife tourism somewhere in Africa (very wide subject)

I do not want to start a dissertation and then stop somewhere in the middle because of lack of ideas or appropriate knowledge ...