Geopark is an important geological heritage area with a coherent management structure. The management department has formulated a sustainable economic development strategy. Currently established Global Geoparks usually create many employment opportunities for local residents and create economic benefits for them by developing sustainable tourism (Zhao and Zhao, 2009). The Geopark is a national protected area, containing many geological heritage of special importance, rarity or aesthetic appeal. Geoparks focus on geological heritage and geological landscape as part of a comprehensive concept of conservation, education and sustainable development.

Geoparks achieve their sustainable development goals through protection, education and tourism. They strive to protect important geological features, explore and display appropriate geoscience knowledge and methods. These goals are achieved through geological sites, museums, information centers, tour routes, tour guides, school classroom education, popular literature, maps, educational materials and exhibitions, and seminars. At the same time, Global Geoparks promote economic activities and sustainable development through geotourism. By attracting more and more tourists, they can promote tourism labels related to local natural heritage, promote local social and economic development. The construction of Global Geoparks encourages local enterprises and private owners to participate in the construction of geotourism and geological products. For example, the development and construction of Global Geoparks in Lesvos Petrochemical Forest Geopark in Greece, Beigua Geopark in Italy and Naturtejo Geopark in Portugal have involved a large number of local enterprises and individuals, and have achieved great success (Zhao and Zhao, 2003).

At present, the development of tourism has brought innovative and exciting tourism products. Geoparks are one of the key development area. Geoparks are specific geological heritage areas with international significance, rarity or aesthetic appeal. The establishment of Global Geopark has three main goals, namely protection, education and sustainable development. The concept of “Global Geopark” refers to a protected area consisting of several selected geological, ecological, archaeological, cultural or historical sites. Designate a Global Geopark, focusing on the following main components: 1) Protection; 2) Infrastructure development related to tourism; 3) Utilize sustainable regional development strategies for socio-economic development (Cao and Guo, 2007). The introduction of geoparks is a new strategy to achieve sustainable development and further improve socio-economic status through participation of local communities in sustainable activities of geoparks. The construction and development of geoparks can improve the awareness of local communities on the importance of geological environment protection. The concept of geopark is a new model for regional sustainable development in environmental protection areas, and also an important way for local governments to participate in tourism development. Therefore, in order to achieve the sustainable development of geotourism, local residents must actively participate in the transformation process.

The participation of local communities, stakeholders and enterprises in tourism industry is crucial in the decision-making process and in achieving geoparks’ sustainable development. Participation in the former usually authorizes local residents to determine their own development goals and negotiates with them to determine their hopes and visions for the tourism industry. The development of geoparks can provide employment opportunities, promote local products, improve community welfare and promote the improvement of local infrastructure to stimulate local economic growth. Up to now, UNESCO has confirmed that 87 geoparks from 27 different countries have joined the global geopark network. Among these countries, only five Asian geoparks are listed as Global Geopark by UNESCO, including China (26 geoparks), Japan (5 geoparks), South Korea (1 geopark), Malaysia (1 geopark) and Vietnam (1 geopark).

Although tourism is actually classified as a service industry, most scholars tend to describe tourism products as “products” rather than “services”. The term “service” is best used to describe product development within a specific service industry, however, tourism products and services are difficult to distinguish from each other. So far, there is no clear definition of tourism products. Tourism products can be defined as business activities carried out by individuals outside the familiar environment and services or processes to promote the tourism industry; In addition, tourism products may include natural and cultural resource management, facilities, infrastructure, accommodation and catering. From the marketing perspective, tourism products include any physical objects, services, places, organizations, or concepts that are open to the market and affect visitor satisfaction.

A fundamental feature of tourism products is that their quality should be measured to determine their price. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the quality of the products and provide suitable products that are relatively fixed in price; After all, quality is related to visitor satisfaction with tourism products (Feng and Wu, 2010). The quality of tourism products can only be determined by evaluating whether they meet visitors’ expectations. Different visitors expect different expectations, usually based on their previous experience and the price of the services provided. Tourist satisfaction is defined as a comprehensive assessment of the performance of the products or services provided, which involves certain characteristics of products or services in tourism related industries. In the process of providing the best service to visitors, service providers are constantly under pressure from visitors to provide personalized services that meet their expectations. With the continuous growth of tourism experience, tourists gradually realize that they have the right to define a meaningful experience process during their holiday based on their prior knowledge and experience learned in advance. Therefore, tourism service providers need to identify and understand the visitors’ needs. Tourism products must comply with the specifications and requirements previously formulated by visitors to ensure that they provided a meaningful experiences and meet visitors’ expectations. This aspect should be carefully considered, as the tourism market is not only a product based on nature, but also includes experience and visitor satisfaction.

Tourists will encounter a variety of tourism products at different destinations they visit, and the various products offered at different tourism destinations help provide different types of visitors with unforgettable experiences. Tourism product management is a system of management skills and activities, which is used to arrange and systematize tourism for specific tourism destinations. Related to this, tourism product management must involve scenic spots, convenience facilities, accessibility facilities, images and prices of products and services.

Different tourists have their own perceptions, needs, preferences, motivations and desires. Therefore, each tourist has his own preference for the tourism products they want. The three key factors of tourist preferences are desire, motivation and image (Liang, 2013). Generally speaking, tourists enjoy three types of tourism, namely adventure, culture and eco-related tourism. The literature on tourism categorizes several common characteristics of tourist preferences as follows: destination, companion, transportation, accommodation, entertainment, price, service, activity (adventurer or risk averse tourists) and tourism style (independent or group tourists). When measuring tourist preferences, the following criteria should also be considered: perceived risk, tourist experience, climate, quality, pricing, tourists’ familiarity with geographical location, destination area, time, money, health, novelty and stay time.

The factors that affect tourist preferences can be divided into two categories, namely internal factors (i.e. psychological, physical, social communication and exploration) and external factors (i.e. tangible factors-accommodation, local people’s attitude, security, price of activities or services provided, culture and historical resources; intangible factors-destination image and interests/expectations). Situational variables will affect tourist preferences, so the factors related to tourists’ characteristics also include the following aspects, namely age, income, gender, personality, education, cost, distance, nationality, risk, motivation, location, residence and time (Liu, 2014). In particular, tourist preferences are affected by the size of the tour group, the purpose of the tour, the duration of stay, location and type of accommodation, and the activities carried out during the tour.

Tourists’ perception of specific products usually depends on individual needs, preferences, expectations and motivations. Preference lies between motivation and behavior. Therefore, tourist preference is defined as the behavior of choosing the most desired product from a series of choices, which is affected by individual motivation. Tourist preferences are usually related to personal decision-making, where it is a complex process with multiple interrelated factors (Zhao et al., 2016). Tourist preferences contribute to local economy growth. Therefore, obtaining more information about tourist preferences can provide useful insights for improving local infrastructure and amenities, as well as strengthening destination marketing (Zheng et al., 2017). The research explores the different tourist preferences for the activities and services provided by Cangshan Geopark, the research analyzes and understands the different preferences of tourists for ecotourism activities, as well as their satisfaction of tourists with the services and activities provided by Cangshan Geopark.

The questionnaire uses the Likert scale to measure tourists’ satisfaction with the activities and services provided by Cangshan Geopark (1=extremely dissatisfied, 2=dissatisfied, 3=unbiased satisfied, 4=satisfied, 5=very satisfied) (Yang et al., 2007). The data collected from the completed questionnaire was analyzed using the Social Science Statistics Package SPSS 20. Descriptive statistical analysis and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to describe the demographic characteristics of tourists and measure their satisfaction (Yi and Fang, 2014). The satisfaction level of each project is determined by the average score and standard deviation of each project. The higher the average score, the higher the satisfaction.

The validation factors include the following dimensions: 1) the records of domestic tourists visiting Cangshan for the first time indicate that the results of “experiencing natural scenery” are the highest (n=95) and “mountaineering activities” are the lowest (n=79); 2) International tourists who first time visit Cangshan are mainly for the purpose of “experience the unspoiled nature” and “National Park” (n= 124), the lowest is to “experience service” (n=112); 3) Domestic repeat visitors mostly choose to “unique” and “mountaineering activities”(n=42 and n=31 respectively) and 4) most international repeat visitors choose to “experience the wilderness”(n=16), while “experience the undisturbed nature” has the least number of repeat visitors, and the variables of “experience service” and “mountaineering activities”(both n=13).

The chi-square test analysis shows that except for “natural scenery”, all other variables cannot meet the needs of the respondents [agree=survey result n(169)/expected N(68.2), very agree=survey result n(98)/expected N(68.2)] (Table 3). The comparison between variables indicates that since there is no “highly disagree” category, visitors are more likely to accept the “experience nature” variable (although the N values of other variables of the survey results are relatively small). Although the regression analysis indicated that the interpretation rate of the variable was less than 50% (the highest value was 45.2%), it was significant when the assumed variable was P=0.05 (excluding “cultural experience”). That is to say, the remaining 54.8% is explained by other factors. However, considering the predictive relationship between variables, the probability values between the three related variables indicate that other factors are affecting the variable relationship (54.8%). This also indicates that these variables should be further tested by a new model (composed of existing and new variables) in order to establish a more accurate conclusion.

The homogeneity of unspoiled natural environment, natural experience and cultural experience variables’ variance and mean value indicates that visitors have strong views on Cangshan’s ability to protect and develop its natural environment and cultural values (Guo et al., 2020). From the survey results, the probability value of the ‘natural scenery’ variable indicates an urgent need for pragmatic solutions and future development suggestions to improve the tourist satisfaction level. This will help to maintain the tourists’ loyalty, which in turn can drive the economic development around Cangshan Geopark (Zhao, 2011). From the perspective of economic interests, the service industry should not only focus on environmental issues and increase the tourists’ number, but also consider how to retain tourists.

Cangshan’s eco-tourism activities (Ximatan cableway, Qilongnvchi cableway, Gantong cableway, Cangshan western slope, Jizhaoan nunnery, huadianba dam, Yudai Road hiking) have attracted: 1) Domestic and international first-time visitors aged 21-30 years old; 2) Domestic repeat visitors aged 21-30 years old; and 3) International repeat visitors aged 31-40 years old. The first-time visitors tend to prefer the variables of Ximatan cableway (90 domestic visitors, 141 international visitors) and Qilongnvchi’s pool cableway (87 domestic visitors, 129 international visitors) rather than the online popular attractions: Jizhaoan nunnery (65 domestic visitors, 92 international visitors) and Huadianba (64 domestic visitors, 58 international visitors). In addition, the dissatisfaction of repeat visitors with all variables presents a normal distribution pattern. However, the research variables only explained 4.5% of the changes in the number of visits to Cangshan. This indicates that these attractions cannot be used as an attractive factor to maintain visitor loyalty (Qiu, 2012).

The variable of Ximatan cableway indicates 61.2% participation tendency in the activities that tourists can experience. In addition, the participation tendency values of Jizhaoan nunnery and Yudai Road hiking variables exceeded 50%. Interestingly, Qilongnvchi’s pool cableway activity recorded a positive correlation of over 64% of all variables’ propensity to participate.

Table 4 indicates the one-way ANOVA results of different tourist preferences based on tourism activities. It can be seen that all products provided by Cangshan Geopark (except the western slope of Mount Cangshan) have reached a significant level of P<0.01. This finding indicates that different tourists have different preferences for these activities. According to the average scores in Table 7, Western tourists have the highest enjoyment of all tourism activities provided by Cangshan Geopark, followed by Asian and domestic tourists. The highest average score of Western tourists is Yudai Road hiking (3.20), followed by Jizhaoan nunnery (2.98); The lowest is the western slope of Cangshan (2.75). For Asian tourists, the highest score is Jizhaoan nunnery (2.84), followed by Tianlong Babu hiking and Yudai Road hiking (2.77), and the lowest score is Gantong cableway (2.46). Similarly, domestic tourists give similar ratings for each activity provided. However, Yudai Road hiking has the highest score (2.55), while Qilongnvchi cableway and Ximatan cableway have the lowest score (2.32) (Cableways are often unavailable due to weather).

Table 5 indicates the ANOVA results of different tourist preferences related to the provided tourism activities. The results indicate that different tourists have different preferences for all activities (except adequate safety facilities and willingness to assist tourists), with significant differences (P<0.01).

The observation indicates four similar satisfaction level patterns. The first pattern includes: 1) International and domestic first-time visitors aged 21-30 years old; and 2) Internatio- nal repeat visitors aged 31-40 years old and domestic repeat visitors aged 21-30 years old. There are 11 variables (adeq- uate safety facilities, cheap entertainment activities, reasona- ble price, uncrowded and unspoiled environment, visual attraction, attractive and good conditions, provide accurate information, provide timely services for tourists, willing to assist tourists, willingness to assist tourists and understand the special needs of tourists) (Farsani et al., 2011). The second pattern is different from the first pattern because there are two groups of international repeat visitors (neat appearance of staff, timely provision of services, answer questions from tourists, provide more information about Cangshan Geopark and convenient operation time) (Gao, 2007). The third pattern involves domestic repeat visitors aged 21-30 years old who are dissatisfied with all variables except visual attractiveness and reasonable price (Peng and Li, 2008). Apart from visitors aged 21-30 years old, domestic repeat visitors aged 41 years old and over also refuse to accept visual attraction and reasonable price variables. The last pattern is related to the dissatisfaction of unrecorded non-domestic repeat visitors with all research variables.

The small probability values of “adequate safety facilities” and “reasonable price” variables can be regarded as the advantages and potential development factors of Cangshan. The variable “adequate safety facilities” recorded the highest survey result n (160) in the “satisfactory” category, while the variable “cheap entertainment activities” recorded the lowest survey result n (109) in the “most satisfactory” category. As can be seen from Table 6, the satisfaction of international visitors is higher than that of domestic visitors. The database indicates that preferences tend to choose 2 (satisfactory) for the following variables, namely 1) Adequate safety facilities; 2) Cheap entertainment activities; and 3) Reasonable price. In addition, similar satisfaction trends were observed for the remaining three variables; However, preference tends to choose 3 (most satisfactory). Despite the debate about the dependence of attitude on cultural background, the significant small percentage change recorded in the variables of visual attraction and neat appearance of staff (Ramsay, 2017) (Table 7) indicate that Cangshan is unable to achieve its concept, which in turn will affect the development expectations of the “tourist attraction engine”.

According to calculations, each additional unit of “visual attraction” and “neat appearance of staff” variables will increase the number of predicted visits to Cangshan Geopark by 0.234 and 0.309 units. In addition, adding one unit of variables for “cheap entertainment activities” and “neat appearance of staff” will increase the estimated time schedule of 0.287 and 0.170 units in the Geopark. Although the probability value of the observation results is very low, it has been proven that strengthening Cangshan Geopark staff’s performance and management will help to improve tourists’ perception, decision-making of visiting Cangshan, and spend more time in Cangshan Geopark. Due to the fact that the tourism industry operates mainly through social networks and social interactions, this discovery directly translates into the necessity of providing comprehensive and balanced tourism services (Xu et al., 2011).

The interaction between service providers and tourists is to “capture the personality of the visiting environment”. Except for the variable of “willingness to assist tourists” (probability value is 0.171), the tourism related reception services in Cangshan have no significant impact on tourists. The low probability value is because 167 of 341 visitors believe that the service provided meets their satisfaction. Surprisingly, the satisfaction of international visitors tends to choose 3 (most satisfactory). In contrast, domestic visitors believe that Cangshan’s tourism related tourism services can hardly meet their needs, especially in providing personal attention (the upper limit is 2.55). Regression analysis indicates that the model can better explain the variable of “tourist problem response”. From the perspective of model, this can be regarded as the main basis for the study of independent variables (IVS) (Qiao, 2015). In short, the high probability value (82.3%) explained the significant relationship between each variable; Therefore, the model / data collection of visitor satisfaction and Cangshan reception was determined. In other words, the research results and models can be used in other studies related to tourist satisfaction.

The preferences of respondents in value and quality can be discussed from the perspective of specific situational characteristics, including “image and physical quality, brand, service and environmental perception”. Considering the significant relationship between visitors and the visits number, this may play an important role in influencing the research variables (excluding the variable of giving personal attention) (Zheng et al., 2017), because visitors may have a full understanding of Cangshan and its activities/events. The focus should be on the variables of “Information center providing park related information” (the highest survey satisfaction n=148, the lowest survey satisfaction n=126) and “neat appearance of staff” (the lowest survey satisfaction n=126). Although there is no correlation between “Information center providing park related information” and “gender”, it is observed that male visitors are more satisfied with tour services (Satisfactory≤40, most satisfactory≥50) than female visitors (Satisfactory≥50, most satisfactory≤50). It is emphasized that the provision of hospitality services adopts a non-gender biased method (as indicaten in Table 8).

Table 8 indicates the results of one-way ANOVA of services provided by Cangshan Geopark. The services provided by Cangshan Geopark were significantly different (P<0.05). However, in terms of safety facilities and willingness to assist tourists, there was no significant difference, which did not reach the level of P<0.05.

The research adopts the method of questionnaire survey to collect data in order to obtain new feedback from tourists who have experienced activities and services. The purpose of this survey is to measure the tourists’ satisfaction based on their experience after enjoying the activities or services provided by Cangshan Geopark (Li, 2007).

According to the descriptive analysis of Cangshan Geopark service satisfaction, Yudai Road has the highest average score, making it considered to be the most satisfactory activity. The research has indicaten that there is a significant positive correlation between tourists’ satisfaction with the tourism products of Cangshan Geopark and their purchase intention. Satisfied tourists are most likely to provide positive feedback and are most likely to become regular visitors. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure to all relevant parties that the best quality existing activities and services are provided to tourists to continuously meet their needs. This guarantee will further affect the loyalty of tourists and ultimately have a positive impact on the tourism destination (Tan et al., 2011). Satisfied visitors tend to publicize the destination and the available activities or services which they have experienced before to potential contacts. This experience sharing reflects the positive image of tourism destination, while also enhancing their marketability by promoting them with other potential visitors (Luo and Hu, 2012). A tourist destination is a collection of personal products and experiences, that come together to form a comprehensive and meaningful experience in the region to further meet the needs of tourists. Some characteristics of tourism products can affect visitors’ judgment on whether to purchase the product.

The results confirm the relationship between tourist preference and tourists’ background. It is found that the demographic characteristics of tourists directly affect tourist preferences. The results also confirm the results of other similar studies—the demographic profile of tourists seems to be related to tourist preferences. Each tourist has his own unique preference, and each individual is different in essence and upbringing. Tourist preference for a specific product usually depends on personal needs, preferences, expectations and motivation.

The tourism industry is constantly developing worldwide, especially in domestic. The research referred to previous research results and tourism literature, defined tourism products, and examined the relationship between tourists’ satisfaction with activities and services provided by Cangshan Geopark. Descriptive analysis and one-way ANOVA found that there were significant differences in gender and satisfaction of the respondents. Therefore, there is a certain relationship between tourists’ satisfaction with the tourism activities of Cangshan Geopark and their purchasing tendencies.

Tourism products extend to the services and activities provided by tourists during the tourism destination. The results indicate that most tourists prefer hiking on the Yudai Road (average score=2.80), because it achieved the highest satisfaction compared with other types of activities. Regarding tourists’ satisfaction with the services provided, they seem to be most satisfied with the visual attraction and attractiveness of the natural scenic spot services provided during the travel period, as it achieved the highest average score (average score=2.66). The demographic characteristics, experiences, expectations and emotions of tourists in the process of ordering tourism products have a positive impact on their satisfaction.

It should be noted that: 1) Cangshan scenic area cannot further maintain the loyalty of visitors, especially those who have visited Cangshan more than three times; 2) Male visitors are more likely to be satisfied with the scenic spots and services provided by Mount Cangshan.

In view of this, a practical public relations method is becoming increasingly urgent, and more attention should be paid to: 1) The marketing environment and marketing functional departments of scenic area. The future development should emphasize the image of information center, and pay special attention to searching, collecting and analyzing information about the organization’s external environment, the protection and development of Mount Cangshan; 2) Integrating and analyzing geographic information of scenic spots using surveying and mapping technology; 3) The business strategy for implementing comprehensive development of various activities includes Ximatan Cableway, Qilongnvchi Cableway, Gantong Cableway, Cangshan western slope, Jizhaoan nunnery, Huadianba, and Yudai Road hiking; 4) Effectively monitoring natural environmental data management; 5) Adopt solutions/methods related to tourists’ psychological activities.

Therefore, it is necessary to further evaluate the tourism development of Cangshan Scenic Area from the perspectives of framework planning (subdivision, planning and positioning), public relations and internal marketing (demand, pricing and sales). More importantly, Cangshan’s development strategy should be based on three general strategies: cost, differentiation and focus. This method can be further improved by using the budget system. The industry also advocates participatory budgeting for profitability and cost control (Zhao et al., 2016).

According to the empirical analysis results of tourist satisfaction, the research suggests that the Geopark tourism development plan should be properly adjusted and implemented step by step:

(1) In the medium and long-term development, the management department of the geological park needs to further improve the tourism infrastructure construction of Cangshan Geopark, making it be a truly Global Geopark. In the medium-and long-term development, we will carry out in-depth construction to make it be a first-class Global Geopark in China and a world-famous Global Geopark, and achieve sustainable development.

(2) By conducting geoscience tourism, the industrial structure in the park should be adjusted reasonably, which needs to control the visitor flows, production, and living range in the park. The protection awareness of community residents needs to be improved, and the management department needs to actively support and encourage community residents to participate in the development and construction of the park to improve the living standards of the local community and drive the economic development of the community (Jiang, 2004).

(3) The management department needs to control the tourism development activities in the geological heritage tourist area in the park, dismantle the buildings and facilities that are not in harmony with the landscape, and pay attention to maintaining the original artistic conception and style; Restrict activities that are not conducive to the protection of geological heritage landscape.

(4) The growth of tourist numbers should be controlled within the allowable range of environmental capacity to form a Global Geopark with beautiful scenery and pleasant environment. The growth mode of tourism revenue should shift from the scale efficiency of the growth of tourist number growth to the improvement of unit economic efficiency. It should be realized by increasing tourism projects, enriching tourism content, increasing tourist stay time and promoting tourism consumption. Make geopark tourism be an important economic pillar industry in the local area.

(5) Geological park scenic areas need to provide various forms of education and interpretation, so that tourists can fully understand and appreciate the value and cultural connotation of the park landscape resources.

(6) Scenic areas need to accelerate the development of Bai culture and ecological sightseeing tourism products to enrich tourism content.

(7) Scenic areas need to establish a geopark management system where the government and enterprises mutually restrict, promote each other, and strengthen the construction of infrastructure and safety protection facilities.