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Abstract

The tourism and hospitality industry is an important growth area for Malaysia, with emphasis as one of the National Key Economic Areas for Malaysia under the Economic Transformation Program and total earnings increasing from $4.9 billion in 2003 to $15.2 billion in 2013 (Tourism Malaysia, 2015). This industry includes services in accommodation, shopping, and recreational activities. In Malaysia, small medium enterprises (SMEs) in the services sector are defined as those with sales turnover that does not exceed $6.5 million or does not exceed 75 employees (SME Corporation Malaysia, 2013). While there have been studies in tourism and small hotels (