Satisfaction with Experiential Balloon Flights in the Context of Gender Groups: The Case Study of the Czech Republic

Changes in visitor preferences and lifestyle are giving rise to new forms of tourism. Coming to the forefront are new, unique experiences, which significantly support the development of experiential tourism, including activities such as scenic hot air balloon flights. Balloon flying allows clients to create an emotional experience and also serves as an educational and entertaining element. Even in this segment there is significant competition, companies are forced to offer a product according to the requirements of the clientele, which differ significantly not only by age, but also by gender. The aim of the article was to define the level of experience and satisfaction with the services based on a web review analysis, which was determined through quantitative assessment (scoring), willingness to recommend, and qualitative content analysis of individual reviews conducted using NVIVO (14) software. The research focused on identifying differences between reviews and recommendations of women and men of Czech clientele (226 reviews). Overall, the participants of the balloon flight rated the experience as very positive, most clients associated it with the words great, wonderful or even romantic. A quarter of the participants further recommended this form of experience. As part of the statistical testing, the dependence between the gender of the reviewer and the scope of the review, recommendation, and satisfaction was not confirmed. On the contrary, the dependence between gender and the choice of place for publishing a customer review was confirmed.