ANALYSING THE HOLIDAY PATTERN AND TRAVEL DEMAND OF REPEAT TRAVELLERS: THE CASE OF PENANG

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the travel characteristics as well as tourism attributes that are perceived as important amid repeat travellers in Penang, paying attention on comparison between first time and repeat travellers among international tourists. A comprehensive 55-item survey was developed that solicited data in four major areas: respondents’ demographics, travel behaviour, perceived activities of importance, as well as evaluation on the level of satisfaction. The establishment of holiday pattern will lead to possible demand among the samples of study. This information is regarded as valuable resource that could be used by those in tourism planning to better determine the most preferred activities of these repeat travellers and how destination managers and developers might better attract and accommodate them. Suggestion will be made based on the findings to identify the marketing strategies, resource allocation as well as operational changes that could be effectively implemented out of both first time and repeat travellers current holiday behaviour within the study areaTravel behaviour, travel demand, repeat travellers, international tourist, Penang

The role of social influence model in social media marketing / Saiful Bahri Mohd Kamal... [et al.]

Over the past few years, hotel businesses have acknowledged the huge role of social media in facilitating and assisting business growth due to its ease-of-use and speed of reach in nature, which essentially allow businesses to perform a role in social media marketing, where businesses can personally engage in advertising and promotion-related activities towards online customers. Nevertheless, hotel businesses are unable to effectively exploit social media marketing as they have a restricted knowledge on how to get potential customers to actively engage and become proactive as well as influence customers towards booking intention. The purpose of this conceptual paper is to propose a study that brings out an exploratory research which intends to analyze and determine the factors that lead to active participation and engagement among consumers within social media, paying attention towards three different processes of social influence: compliance, identification, and internalization that can foster individuals’ attitude and behavioral changes. The improvement of social media marketing will enhance positive electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) and consequently lead to intention to purchase, in addition to development of a robust, attractive image and product within online communities. Information within this study is regarded as valuable resource that could be used by online hotel marketers as well as related social media manager, as they can acknowledge and understand the actions and practices needed in social media to direct them towards business growth and positive online marketing practice

The Comparative Study of Muslim Friendly Homestay Programs in Indonesia and Malaysia: Social Legal Perspective

This paper aims to compare the implementation of the halal tourism concept in Indonesia and Malaysia, especially in the case of Muslim friendly homestays. The study methodology used is comparative normative juridical research. The study was conducted by taking an inventory of the laws and regulations regarding halal tourism that have been owned by several regions in Indonesia. Then compared with the implementation of halal tourism, especially in organizing Muslim friendly homestay on Lake Toba, North Sumatra with Malaysia. The results of the research show that Indonesia does not yet have a legal umbrella governing halal tourism, only a few cities and provinces have regional regulations. Regions with Halal Tourism Regulations Regimes that already have Halal Tourism Regulations include Regime No. 51 of 2015 issued by the governor of West Nusa Tenggara, Regime No 1 of 2020 issued by the province of West Sumatra, Regime No 19 of 2022 issued by the provincial governor of North Sumatra concerning regulations for implementing halal tourism regional regulations. Regime No 6 of 2020 issued by the regency of Bandung Regime No 9 of 2019 issued by the provincial government of South Sumatra concerning halal tourism, the data indicates that Indonesia lacks a legal framework for halal tourism. It stands in contrast with Malaysia, which achieved success in the halal tourist sector partly as a result of the creation of halal standards and the nationwide adoption of a systematic halal assurance system. Malaysia’s Islamic development department initiated a policy of standardizing halal food and standards such as Muslim Friendly Hospitality Services (MFHS), which contain three important components: the principle of providing accommodation, tour packages, and guide tours based on Islamic principles. Keywords: comparative study, Muslim friendly homestay, legal framewor

A conceptual model of online hotel booking: the role of online review and online trust towards online booking intention / Fadhlina Mahat... [ et al.]

A growing reliance on the Internet as an information source when making choices about hotel booking raises the need for more research into this issue. Within online hotel booking context, this study aims to investigate the influence of online review and online trust towards online booking intention. Furthermore, the mediating role of online trust will also have been examined. Based on review of past literature, six dimensions of online review construct are proposed namely, usefulness, reviewer expertise, timeliness, volume, valence and comprehension as predictors. The proposed model is supported by Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) model developed by Mehrabian and Rusell (1974). In the present study, online review is conceptualized as a second order construct. It is predicted that online review has positive effect on both online trust and online booking intention. Besides, online trust is predicted to has a positive effect on online booking intention. Finally, it is expected that the online trust mediates the relationship between online review and online booking intention. This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by examining the role of online trust as mediator

The effects of brand image, perceived trust and perceived risk on online booking intention: a conceptual model / Khairil Anuar Bahari... [et al.]

Over time, the use of the internet and technology has grown rapidly. Most businesses today use the internet as a means of communicating with their customers. This is because the internet has various interactive features and is always available for use. However, when there are too many interactive features to use, it can make the site more complex, less useful, and users find it difficult to use. Referring to an overview of past literature, the article generally proposes a conceptual framework with six propositions to understand the role of brand image, perceived trust and perceived risk of online buying intentions among hotel website users. As a basic theory, Stimulus Organizational Stimulation (SOR) has been used to support the proposed framework in this study. As a result, the researcher argues that brand image has an impact on the perceived risk and perceived trust of the hotel website. Consequently, hotel websites with higher perceived risk and perceived trust are more likely to influence online booking intentions

Entrepreneurial Orientation for Small and Medium Travel Agencies in Malaysia

AbstractNew tourism trend and products are fast emerging within travel industry. Nevertheless, small and medium travel agencies are unable to exploit these new business opportunities and venture into new travel product. The purpose of this conceptual paper is to propose a study that brings out an exploratory research which intends to evaluate and assess the entrepreneurs’ new product development capabilities as well as market responsiveness, paying attention on through the implementation of cooperation. The establishment of different intangible resources gained through cooperation could boost entrepreneurial capabilities (new product development and market responsiveness) that will lead to the provision of competitiveness and growth in performance. This information is regarded as valuable resource that could be used by travel agency entrepreneurs as well as related agencies to understand the enhanced resources and capabilities needed to direct them towards business growth and positive development