Behavioral Intention Towards “Halal Hotels”: Religiosity or Ethnicity?

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study is to empirically examine and compare the effects of religiosity and ethnicity in influencing behavioral intention towards halal hotels concept. Is it the religion or ethnic values that really matters in selecting an Islamic concept of hotel such as the halal hotel? This study involving 492 respondents randomly selected among travelers at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport used SEM as the main method to test the hypotheses. Underpinned by the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), the findings of this study revealed that religiosity (represented by the construct of religious commitment) significantly influence behavioral intention towards halal hotels via attitude while ethnicity (represented by ethnic identity) has no significant influence on intention to patronage a halal hotel. Theoretically, this present study help extends the TRA model by incorporating religiosity factor in the context of Islamic tourism. With regard to practical implications, the findings provide inputs to the hoteliers particularly in the hotel's positioning theme development as well as marketing communication strategies.

Moderation of Religiosity and Factors that Influence Tourists' Intentions to Visit Halal Tourism Destinations on Lombok Island

“…Based on the research's outcomes, it can be inferred that the subjective norms of Muslims regarding their willingness to visit halal tourism sites on Lombok Island would increase proportionally with their level of religiosity. Research conducted by (Ithnan & Ariffin, 2020) illustrates that a Muslim's subjective norms escalate in tandem with their level of religiosity, a notion reinforced by the results of this investigation. These outcomes are consistent with prior research indicating that religion substantially impacts a Muslim's inclination to patronize environmentally friendly hotels through subjective standards (Agag & Colmekcioglu, 2020).…”

Does environmental knowledge and performance engender environmental behavior at airports? A moderated mediation effect

“…Even though previous studies adopted TRA in the airport sector (e.g. Chawannuch Wungrotjanarut1 2020; Ithnan and Ariffin, 2020; Vongtharawat et al ., 2019), there was no focus on individual behaviors. In addition, studies that extended the applicability of TRA-focused variables, such as environmental attitudes, knowledge, advertising and behaviors (e.g.…”

Is halal tourism taking off in OIC and non-OIC countries? A systematic study of published research

“…Since then, the main topics of the articles have usually diverged between standardization of related terms such as halal tourism and Islamic tourism (Aji et al , 2020; Ithnan and Ariffin, 2020), halal certification in hotels and restaurants, and the trust that tourists place in these certifications (Katuk et al , 2020; Razalli, 2018), the role of halal products, halal certification and halal logo in promoting halal tourism (Henderson, 2016), the characteristics of OIC or non-OIC destinations that attract more tourists (Azali et al , 2021) and the overall tourism satisfaction (Isa et al , 2018), or which attributes are required for accommodation to meet their basic needs based on questionnaires and interviews (Jia and Chaozhi, 2020; Musa et al , 2019; Pamukcu and Sariisik, 2020).…”