Understanding Malaysia leisure low cost airline passengers behavior: Promotional Price, Perceived Value, Customer Satisfaction and Repurchase Intention

This research explored price promotion, the meaning of perceived value, customer satisfaction and repurchase intention of Malaysian low cost airlines from the perspectives of their existing domestic customers. The Malaysian low cost airlines have been competing aggressively for passenger load. Frequent price promotional campaigns are launched by the Malaysian low cost airlines to induce forward booking of air tickets to lock-in customers for future sales. Literature indicated that as a market matures, perceived value and customer satisfaction supersedes price in inducing favourable repeat purchase intention. The qualitative research methodology was adopted for this study to explore the effect of continuous price promotion, the multiple meanings of perceived value and the definition of customer satisfaction of Malaysian low cost airlines. Findings of this research revealed that frequent price promotion is not significant in inducing favourable repurchase intention. In addition, perceived functional value in terms of lower price, perceived relative value and perceived "social connectedness" value are crucial in prompting favourable repeat purchase intention of low cost air travel. Another interesting finding of this research is lower airfare is viewed as a perceived benefit and not perceived monetary cost. Customers of Malaysian low cost airlines define customer satisfaction as having low expectations and their dissatisfaction is non durable

Seaside resort hotels in Sabah: current challenges, opportunities and threats

The research project is a pioneering investigation into seaside resorts located on the coastline of Sabah. It aims to broadly understand the challenges faced, and the sources and types of opportunities and threats affecting the growth and management of resort hotels in Sabah, as well as the resort operators' perceptions of Sabah as a tourist destination. A qualitative research approach is employed, and data collection involves the use of in-depth interviews via semi-structured questionnaires. Data analysis was carried out via a qualitative thematic analysis and informal quantification methods which involves simple frequency counts. The sample consists of all the seaside resort operators in Sabah; a total of 15 (ranging from small, budget and mid-sized) seaside resort establishments based on the list provided by Tourism Malaysia. The research has developed preliminary background information of seaside resort hotels which has significant implications on the growth of seaside resorts. The implication of this study is that threats and challenges in relation to the sustainable growth of seaside resort hotels need attention from the state government, in particular the Ministry of Tourism and other government organizations involved in strategic planning and long term development. This study also provides valuable information pertaining to seaside resort development for the potential investor and state government, and useful baseline information for further descriptive research into the seaside resort sector in Malaysia. Research findings highlight an urgent need for more in-depth research into the training aspects of human resource, marketing strategies and basic infrastructure which significantly affect performance as well as the promotion of seaside tourism as one of the potential tourism products for Sabah

Conceptualizing environmental literacy and factors affecting pro-environmental behavior

Environmental problems today are global in nature, requiring young and old alike to behave pro-environmentally in order to rectify environmental problems and prevent new problems from occurring. Environmentally literate individuals possess the knowledge and skills required to analyze environmental issues, which would enable the individual to behave pro-environmentally. The purpose of this study is to design a conceptual framework that links environmental literacy and factors affecting pro-environmental behaviour. Firstly, the development in formal and non-formal Environmental Education, within Malaysia and internationally are reviewed. This is followed by a review on Environmental Literacy over the past three decades, after which the concept of pro-environmental behaviour and relevant theories of behaviour are compared. The development of Environmental Education in Sabah and Malaysia, as well as the challenges faced between environmental sustainability and development in the tourism sector of Sabah, is then discussed. A conceptual framework that links environmental literacy and pro-environmental behaviour, for use among primary school students is proposed. This conceptual framework allows Environmental Education providers, curriculum developers and policy makers, to better understand the components within environmental literacy and the factors that need to be considered when providing and assessing current Environmental Education programs and interventions. Effective use of the framework will allow Environmental Education programs to be more effective in improving environmental literacy

Sustainable Rural Tourism Practices from the Local Tourism Stakeholders' Perspectives

Purpose: The paper presents empirical evidence of sustainable practices adopted by rural tourism stakeholders. It explores the concept and meaning of sustainable practices and what motivates rural tourism stakeholders to adopt sustainable tourism practices as well as recommendations to enhance sustainable rural tourism practices. Design/methodology/approach: This paper describes an exploratory qualitative research project designed to investigate sustainable tourism practices of the rural tourism stakeholders. An inductive approach was adopted to address the research objectives. Specifically, this paper focuses on individuals' subjectivity and understanding of sustainable tourism practices in terms of meaning, motivations, and areas of improvement. The respondents' opinions were collected through semi-structured interviews. A total of 29 rural tourism operators participated in the data collection from the two rural tourism associations in Sabah, Malaysia. The data collection was held at Kota Marudu and Kuala Penyu from April to May 2022. Findings: The findings revealed that sustainable tourism practices relate to conservation and preservation, economic benefits, collaboration and protection, environmental impact, future growth, awareness, knowledge, and improvement. Interestingly, the meaning of sustainable tourism practices is strongly connected to the term "fairness," to competitive products and quality attractions, and to meeting tourists' needs. This implies the meaning of sustainable tourism practices is not limited to economic, environmental, and sociocultural impacts; it also relates to quality tourism products and the needs of tourists. Key drivers for sustainability practices include economic, social, environmental, and government support. Relevant approaches for improving sustainable rural tourism practices include greater participation and collaboration among rural tourism operators, conservation and preservation, destination uniqueness, long-term growth, and 3Rs practices (reduce, reuse, and recycle). Research limitations/implications: Findings implicate sustainable rural tourism destination management and the rural tourism stakeholders to adopt and enhance the sustainability of the rural sites and destination. It also extends the scope of existing literature on the meaning, motivation and sustainability practices of rural tourist destinations. Originality/value: This study focuses on the importance of sustainability in rural tourism in Sabah, Malaysia, an area on which limited empirical research has been done. The study provides an in-depth understanding of the meaning and drivers of sustainable practices from the rural tourism operators' perspectives. Additionally, it proposes sound strategies for sustainable rural tourism practices. Such practices and development are attributed to an individual's understanding of the concept of and motives for adopting sustainable development practices, government support, and core infrastructure. Finally, this study offers practical implications for sustainable development of rural tourism

Economic valuation of coral reef resources in Semporna-valuation of potential tourism

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Visitor satisfaction with a key wildlife tourism destination within the context of a damaged landscape

Wildlife tourism is a growing industry globally and visitor satisfaction is vital to ensure its long-term sustainability. The Lower Kinabatangan River is a premier wildlife tourism destination that is affected by surrounding land uses and needs careful management to ensure it continues to provide positive wildlife tourism experiences. As little is known about the motivations and satisfaction of tourists with this experience, a visitor survey was conducted along the Lower Kinabatangan River with 346 surveys completed. The attribute ‘Interest in viewing wildlife’ had the highest mean level of importance and satisfaction (mean = 4.54 and 4.1, respectively, on a 5-point scale). Respondents were very satisfied with their wildlife tour experience (85%) and would recommend the experience to their friends (87%). However, almost half of respondents (47%) felt more needed to be done to protect the Kinabatangan River and wildlife. Although respondents were satisfied overall with their experience, they also expressed concerns over the number of boats and the protection of the River. Comments focused on the presence of rubbish in the River, intrusion of oil palm and the loss of forest. Many issues are beyond the management realms of tour operators but will impact on the future of the industry

Conceptualizing a research framework for tour operators' motivation and practices in responsible rural tourism development

Sustainability is widely discussed by researchers and also by tourism stakeholders for nearly three decades. This paper reviews the motivations of tour operators and their practices in responsible rural tourism development as well as the challenges and barriers faced. The paper also proposes a conceptual framework based on push and pull forces factors and organizational benefits as motivators to trigger the practice of responsible tourism development amongst tour operators in rural tourism destinations, while minimizing negative environmental, social and economic impacts