The role of marketing mix and service quality on tourist satisfaction and loyalty at Samosir

This study aims to investigate the effect of the marketing mix and service quality on tourist satisfaction and loyalty. The data collection techniques used in this study included interviews and questionnaires to the relevant parties. The technique of data analysis in this study was descriptive and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The results showed that the marketing mix had a positive and significant effect on tourists satisfaction. The service quality had a positive and significant effect on tourists satisfaction in the region of Samosir. Marketing mix had a positive and significant effect on tourists loyalty. The service quality had a positive and significant effect on tourists loyalty. Tourist satisfaction had a positive and significant effect on tourists loyalty in the region of Samosir. And the marketing mix and the service quality had a significant effect on tourists in the Samosir Region through tourist satisfaction.


Introduction
Samosir is one of the largest lake in the world, and the largest and most popular in Indonesia. Samosir is located in North Sumatra area which is one of the valuable assets in the State/Local Government and is one of the important tourist destination after Bali and Lombok, so it is a pride for the region. The establishment of Samosir as one of the tourist destination, because the assumption of beautiful natural panorama (Sianturi, 2004). However, Samosir tourism activities are currently not experiencing developments, as seen from a decrease in the number of visitors so that tourism facilities are starting to be neglected (Buaton and Purwadio, 2015). In Samosir tourism area, there are not only Samosir tourism object but also 4 other tourism objects, namely Batu Gantung, Kera Huta Sibatu Loting Tourism Park, Bangun Dolok and camping ground and Dolok Simarbalatuk. These objects are in fact if developed properly can provide more value in Parapat tourism area, but the current conditions of these objects are role of marketing mix and service quality on tourist satisfaction and loyalty at Samosir. almost unknown to the public (Buaton and Purwadio, 2015). To manage the tourism industry properly and professionally, an in-depth study is needed including tourists as the source of income that must be served well to keep them happy and comfortable so that the residence time within the tours area will be longer. The tourism industry is a type of product which is mostly engaged in the service, for all aspects related to the economic orientation are services (Hidayat, 2010). The dynamics that occur in the tourism services sector can be seen from the development of various industries such as banking, insurance, telecommunications and others.
Marketing services intended to build expectations of tourists and make a promise to the tourist (Daryanto, 2013). The company strives to meet the expectations and promises to tourists so that tourists are satisfied. Consumer satisfaction is the level of one's feelings after comparing performance (results) that perceived with the expectation (Daryanto, 2013). Tourists experiencing various levels of satisfaction or dissatisfaction after experiencing each services in accordance with the extent to consumer expectations are met or exceeded. This is because satisfaction is the emotional state, the post-purchase reaction of tourists can be anger, dissatisfaction, irritation, neutrality, joy, or pleasure. Tourists who are angry or dissatisfied would cause problems because they can be moved to another company and spread the negative word of mouth (Lovelock and Wright, 2007). Many factors can affect tourist loyalty, including the marketing mix and service quality. It is supported by some research results of Azhar & Jufrizen (2017), and Gultom (2017), Setiawan and Sayuti (2017), Tefera & Govender (2017) stating that the service quality and marketing mix has a positive and significant effect on tourist loyalty. This study was made aiming to replicate the study, because of the marketing mix and service quality effect on tourist loyalty.

Loyalty
Loyalty is the willingness of tourists to continue the purchase on a company in a long period of time and use the product or service repeatedly, as well as recommend it to friends and other companies in voluntary (Oliver, 2002). While according to Griffin (2005) consumer loyalty is a concept of loyalty that leads more to behavior than attitude and a loyal consumer will show a purchase behavior which is defined as a regular purchaser and shown over times by some decision-making units. Loyalty is important concept in marketing because loyalty is one MUHAMMAD, E.A., JUFRIZEN, PRAYOGI, M. A., SARI, M of the factors to be able to determine the market share of a company. Consumer loyalty is a behavioral drive to make purchases repeatedly and to build consumer loyalty to a product/service that is produced by a company that takes a long time through a repetitive purchasing process (Olson, 1993). Loyalty does not only mean the existence of consumer wishes to buy back the same brand in later time, but also the consumer has a psychological commitment or attitude towards the brand. And the loyal tourists are not only buying the brand but also refused to switch to other brands even though other brands offer something more than the brands they use (Wells et al. 2003). Loyal Consumers are not sensitive to price, deliver a positive recommendation regarding the brand and willing to spend more money on these brandproducing company (Uncles, et.al, 2003). Loyalty can also refer to the preference of tourists to purchase a particular brand of a product category. This occurs because tourists feel that a brand is able to offer the product features, product image or product quality level which matches to the price. Basically, the first-time tourists will experiment in the purchase of a product, after they try the product and feel satisfied, they will make it a habit and will continue to purchase the same product because they feel the product is more secure and known (Giddens, 2002). Johnson and Fornell (1991) stated that consumer satisfaction is the result of a thorough evaluation of the top performing consumer products which they consume. Yi (1991) identified two different concepts of customer satisfaction, namely transaction-specific satisfaction and overall satisfaction. Transaction-specific satisfaction is a concept that refers to the assessment of customer satisfaction after purchasing products or brands. While overall satisfaction is a concept that measures the satisfaction (dissatisfaction) of tourists towards products or brands as a whole based on the entire experience in consuming these products or brands. Thus, overall satisfaction could be viewed as a function of all transaction-specific satisfaction that occurred before. In this study, the concept of customer satisfaction that used is overall customer satisfaction. By knowing the measurement results in consumer satisfaction, the company can prepare strategies that will be implemented in order to create consumer loyalty (Hadiyati, 2012). Consumer satisfaction according to Kotler and Armstrong (2009) is the level of consumer feelings after comparing performance (or results) that the consumer perceive than their expectations. According to Hasan (2009)  good response of products or services that has been consumed. In general satisfaction can be defined as a comparison between results received or services in consumer expectations, results received or services at least must be equal with consumer expectations, or even beyond it.  revealed that satisfaction is as feelings of like or dislike someone for a product after he/she compared a product performance with his/her expectations. Simamora (2008) argues that customer satisfaction is the result of experience in the product. This is a consumer feeling after compare between expectations (prepurchase expectation) and actual performance.

Marketing Mix
Marketing mix is the set of controlled tactical marketing tools (products, prices, places and promotions) that combined company to produce the desired response in the target markets (Kotler and Armstrong, 2008). Daryanto (2013), the marketing mix is the tactical marketing tools that can controlled and combined by the company to produce the desired response in the target markets. Marketing mix is the variables to be monitored by the company to satisfy the groups targeted (Cannon, et al, 2008). Marketing mix consists of a product, is offered at a certain price, with some kind of promotion to tell prospective tourists about these products, and a way to reach consumer's place (Cannon, et al, 2001). Marketing mix consists of all the things that a company can do to influence the demand for its products (Kotler and Armstrong, 2008).
Effective marketing program combines all the elements of the marketing mix into an integrated marketing program designed to achieve the company's marketing goals by delivering value for tourists. Marketing mix is the company's tactical advice to determine a strong positioning in the target markets (Kotler and Armstrong, 2008).

Service Quality
Service quality is the evaluation of tourists' long-term observations in the service delivery of a company (Lovelock and Wright, 2007). The definition of service quality is the magnitude of the difference between expectations or desires of tourists with their level perception (Like,2008). According to Kotler and Keller (2009) how far the difference between reality and consumer expectations for services received/retrieved. While the Yamit (2010) stated that in general, service quality can be seen from the comparison between consumer expectations and service performances. The best service to customers and the level of quality can be achieved consistently by improving services and paying special attention to good service standard performance both in internal service standard or external service standard. Before the consumer buys a service, tourists have expectations about the service quality that is based on personal needs, experiences, word of mouth recommendations, and ad service providers. After buying and using these services, tourists compare the expected quality with what is truly received (Lovelock and Wright, 2007).

Research methods
The location of the study was carried out in the tourism destinations of Samosir Region, North Sumatra, located in seven districts namely Simalungun Regency, Toba Samosir Regency, Samosir Regency, North Tapanuli Regency, Humbang Hasundutan Regency, Karo Regency, Dairi Regency. The population in this study were all tourists who visiting the Samosir Region.
The sample used non probability sampling, allowing the opportunity for someone to be a respondent was not known. Sampling of tourists in this study was determined by quota sampling as many as 200 respondents either male or female. In this study, the sampling technique was accidental sampling, which was how to obtain samples based on tourists who was found when conducting the study, which was taken from the research site without distinguishing the origin of the tourists. Data collection techniques used in this study includes interviews and questionnaires to the relevant parties. The technique of data analysis in this study is descriptive and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM)

Structural Model Analysis
After calculating and analyzing the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), it can be measured latent score for each latent variable. Analysis of the structural model includes several things, namely: Overall Model Match Test

Causal Relationships Analysis
After analyzing the result of goodness of fit research model, the next analysis is to do an analysis of the causal relationships in the model. Statistical testing for causal relationships of structural model is made with a significance level of 5% so that critical value from t-value is ± 1.96. The estimation results of all causal relationships of the study can be seen in the results.  As explained in the previous chapter, there are 5 hypotheses in this study. Hypothesis testing analysis is carried out with a significance level of 5%, resulting in a critical t-value of ± 1.96. The hypothesis is accepted if the t-value obtained ≥ 1.96, while hypothesis is not supported if the t-value obtained < 1.96. The following is a table of hypothesis testing to answer the overall questions of the study: Based on table 2 above which contains the conclusion of the hypothesis model results, it can be concluded as follows:

Marketing Mix has a positive effect on Tourist Satisfactions
Based on data processing results of structural model, the output of t-value is 3.78. The result of t-value shown is greater than 1.96, then it can be concluded that the variable of marketing mix has a positive effect on tourist satisfactions significantly. Thus, the hypothesis 1 can be accepted, and it can be concluded that the higher marketing mix perceived, then it will be higher tourist satisfactions.

Service Quality has a positive effect on Tourist Satisfactions
Based on data processing results of structural model, the output of t-value is 5.94. The result of t-value shown is greater than 1.96, then it can be concluded that the variable of service quality has a positive effect on tourist satisfactions significantly. Thus, it can be concluded that the higher marketing mix perceived, then it will be higher tourist satisfactions.

Marketing Mix has a positive effect on Tourists Loyality
Based on data processing results of structural model, the output of t-value is 4.19. The result of t-value shown is greater than 1.96, then it can be concluded that the variable of marketing mix has a positive effect on tourists loyalty significantly. Thus, it can be concluded that the higher marketing mix perceived, then it will be higher tourists loyalty.

Service Quality has a positive effect on Tourists Loyalty
Based on data processing results of structural model, the output of t-value is 3.23. The result of t-value shown is greater than 1.96, then it can be concluded that the variable of service quality has a positive effect on tourists loyalty significantly. Thus, it can be concluded that the higher service quality perceived, then it will be higher tourists loyalty.

Satisfactions has a positive effect on Tourists Loyalty
Based on data processing results of structural model, the output of t-value is 3.16. The result of t-value shown is greater than 1.96, then it can be concluded that the variable of satisfactions has a positive effect on tourists loyalty significantly. Thus, it can be concluded that the higher satisfactions perceived, then it will be higher tourists loyalty.

Hypothesis Testing of Mediation (Indirect Effects)
As explained in the previous chapter, in this study there are two moderation hypotheses by Tourist Satisfaction variables. Hypothesis testing analysis is carried out with a significance level of 5%, resulting in a critical t-value of ± Based on the results of the LISREL output above, the data from the structural model, obtained the output of t-value (line 3), in the result showed that the variables of tourists satisfaction can mediate the effect between the variable of marketing mix and service quality that has an indirect effect on tourists loyalty. This can be seen from t-count value is greater than 1.96 i.e. 2.50 and 3.00.

Discussion
Based on the results of factor analysis that has been presented in the previous chapter obtained that the variable which effect on tourists loyalty of Samosir Region in this study is the marketing mix, service quality and tourist satisfactions. The following is the linkages between variables, namely:

Marketing Mix Effects on Tourist Satisfactions
Based on the results of the study showed that marketing mix has a positive and significant effect on tourist satisfactions in Samosir Region. The results of this study means that if the better implementation of marketing mix, it will increase tourist satisfactions. Conversely, if the weak implementation of marketing mix, the tourists will be dissatisfied. Empirically, the findings of this study supporting the study that was conducted by Rasyid et.al, (2017), Teviana et.al (2017), Ismail et.al (2015 and Gultom (2017) which showed that marketing mix had an effect on tourist satisfactions. Meanwhile, the results of the study by Al Muala & Al Qurneh (2012) concluded that products had a significant effect on tourist satisfactions, while prices, people and processes had no significant effect on tourist satisfactions. The results of the study by Megatef (2015) concluded that all elements of the marketing mix had a very strong effect on tourist satisfactions.

Service Quality Effects on Tourist Satisfactions
Based on the results of the study showed that service quality has a positive and significant effect on tourist satisfactions in Samosir Region. The results of this study mean that if the better implementation of service quality, it will increase tourist satisfactions. Conversely, if the weak implementation of service quality, the tourists will be dissatisfied. Empirically, the findings of this study supporting the study that was conducted by Rasyid et.al, (2017) concluded that service quality had a significant effect on tourist satisfactions. The results of this study also reinforce the results of previous study conducted by Setiawan and Sayuti (2017), Adinegara et.al (2017), Tefera & Govender (2017) who concluded that service quality influenced tourist satisfactions.

Marketing Mix Effects on Tourists Loyalty
Based on the results of the study showed that marketing mix has a positive and significant effect on tourists loyalty in Samosir Region. The results of this study means that if the better implementation of marketing mix, it will increase tourists loyalty. Conversely, if the weak implementation of marketing mix, the tourists will be not loyal. Empirically, the findings of this study supporting the study that was conducted by Azhar & Jufrizen (2017), and Gultom (2017)  effect on tourists loyalty, while prices, people and processes had no significant effect on tourists loyalty. Esmaili et.al (2017) who concluded that prices, physical evidence and distribution had an effect on tourist loyalty.

Service Quality Effects on Tourists Loyalty
Based on the results of the study showed that service quality has a positive and significant effect on tourists loyalty in Samosir Region. The results of this study means that if the better implementation of service quality, it will increase tourists loyalty. Conversely, if the weak implementation of service quality, the tourists will be not loyal. The results of this study reinforce the results of previous study conducted by Setiawan and Sayuti (2017), Azhar and Jufrizen (2017), Tefera & Govender (2017) who concluded that service quality had an effect on tourists loyalty.

Satisfaction Effects on Tourist Loyality
Based on the results of the study showed that satisfactions had a positive and significant effect on tourists loyalty in Samosir Region. The results of this study means that if the better implementation of satisfactions, it will increase tourists loyalty. Conversely, if the weak implementation of satisfactions, the tourists will be not loyal. The results of this study reinforce the results of previous study conducted by Setiawan and Sayuti (2017)

Conclusion
Based on data analysis and discussion, it can be concluded as follows: marketing mix had a positive and significant effect on tourist satisfactions in Samosir Region. Thus, the better implementation of marketing mix, then tourist satisfactions will be increased. Service quality had a positive and significant effect on tourist satisfactions of tourists in Samosir Region. Thus, the better service quality which perceived by tourists, then tourist satisfactions will be increased. Marketing mix had a positive and significant effect on tourists loyalty in Samosir Region. Thus, the better implementation of marketing mix, then tourists loyalty will be higher.
Service quality had a positive and significant effect on tourists loyalty in Samosir Region.
Thus, the better service quality which perceived by tourists, then tourist loyalty will be higher. Tourist satisfactions had a positive and significant effect on tourists loyalty in Samosir Region.
Thus, the higher satisfactions which perceived by tourists, then their loyalties will be higher.
Marketing mix and service quality had a significant effect on tourists loyalty in Samosir Region through the tourist satisfaction.
It was suggested to the tourism agents in Samosir Region to continue to maintain tourist satisfaction because it could provide benefits including reducing marketing costs, transaction costs, customer turnover costs, it could be increased cross selling so that the customer share becomes greater, reporting from mouth to mouth is more positive. It is suggested to the related institutions to improve the service in the form of providing adequate public facilities so that tourists loyalty had more loyal in visiting tourism objects and the expected number of visitors would be increased. The next indicator could be expanded especially related to the marketing mix variables and service quality so it had better fit in the concept used. .