Service Quality, Visitor Satisfaction and Sustainable Management Challenges in the “Tetra” Cave (Imereti, Georgia)

Abstract

The article discusses the tourist potential of the natural monument — the “Tetra” Cave — and its specific physical-geographical, speleotherapy and historical-archaeological characteristics. The paper pays special attention to the innovative enogastronomic concept of the facility, which involves wine tasting and tasting in the cave.

Within the framework of the mixed research design (Mixed Methods), 570 visitors were interviewed using the principle of probabilistic, random sampling. Based on empirical data, the socio-demographic profile of the respondents, travel motivation and service quality components (speed of service, guide professionalism, tourist infrastructure and ecological safety) were analyzed according to the Likert scale.

The study revealed a high level of visitor satisfaction and loyalty (77%), however, at the same time, it identified systemic challenges in the areas of infrastructure arrangement, ecological management and safety information briefing. At the end of the article, based on the obtained statistical analysis, practical recommendations are formulated for sustainable management of the cave and optimization of service quality.