Inbound Tourism In Malaysia: Unlocking the potential traveling experience of European and Oceanian Tourists

Abstract

This study explores the memorable traveling experience (MTE) of 143 tourists from Europe and Oceanian in Malaysia. The researchers conducted a survey to investigate the factors that influence their revisit intention to Malaysia as an attractive destination. Partial least square structural equation modeling (SEM-PLS) results indicated that tourist attitudes, destination images, electronic Word of Mouth (eWOM), and perceived quality have positive and significant influences on travel intention. However, the eWOM failed to mediate the tourists’ attitudes, perceived quality, and destination image towards their revisit intentions. Keywords: eWOM, Malaysia, Memorable Travelling Experience, Revisit Intentions eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2022. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA CE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., U.K. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians/Africans/Arabians), and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v7i21.3710

Unveiling the Drivers of Chinese Tourists’ Visit Intentions Regarding Malaysia

“…The dimensions of image, attractiveness, and competitiveness are fundamental in evaluating tourists' intentions to visit a location. Research by [16,19,21] highlights the significant reference value of these dimensions for understanding and predicting tourists' choice behavior. Ahmad et al, [23] emphasize the critical role of destination image in determining tourists' visit intentions, especially in the post-pandemic context.…”

“…Ahmad et al, [23] emphasize the critical role of destination image in determining tourists' visit intentions, especially in the post-pandemic context. Similarly, Saad et al, [16] regard tourism attractiveness as a core indicator for assessing tourists' preferences and satisfaction, directly influencing their visit intentions. Moreover, enhancing destination competitiveness is considered an effective strategy to boost visit intention, increasing tourism demand, supported by the findings of [17,19].…”

“…In the exploration of tourism intentions towards Malaysia, the existing literature primarily relies on survey methodologies for data collection, with Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) serving as the mainstream statistical tool for data analysis (e.g., [15][16][17]20]). Scholars have focused on single dimensions such as destination image (e.g., [15,21,22]), attractiveness (e.g., [16]), or competitiveness (e.g., [17][18][19][20]) to examine tourists' intentions to visit Malaysia from various perspectives. These perspectives include urban tourism [18], rural tourism [20], and coastal tourism [19], as well as tourism projects such as sports tourism [21] and cultural tourism [22].…”

“…In terms of research subjects, scholars have limited their sample collection to tourists from Southeast Asia and the Middle East [17], Europe and Oceania [16], or domestic residents [20], with relatively little focus on Chinese tourists. Moreover, although surveys are widely used for data collection, they have limitations in exploring tourists' deeper emotions, as highlighted by refs.…”

“…Secondly, although Crouch and Ritchie [14] have highlighted that tourism image, attractiveness, and competitiveness significantly influence visit intention, the existing literature often focuses on analyzing a single dimension (e.g., [15][16][17]). This narrow focus may not fully capture the multifaceted nature of visit intention, which is influenced by multiple factors, thus preventing a deeper understanding of tourist choice behavior.…”