Predicting Muslim medical tourists' satisfaction with Malaysian Islamic friendly hospitals

This paper examines the factors affecting the Muslim medical tourists' satisfaction, and the role of their attitudes in shaping their clinical experience based on the expectation-disconfirmation paradigm. Data from a survey of 243 Muslim medical tourists who had received treatment from Malaysian Islamic friendly hospitals were analysed using the partial least squares technique. The findings provide evidence that Muslim medical tourists' satisfaction is dependent on the doctors' and hospitals' roles; whilst, the nurse's halal practice is not associated with it. The study also demonstrates that Muslim medical tourists' attitudes only play a mediator role between the hospital's halal practice and Muslim medical tourists' satisfaction. The research result provides useful information in understanding the critical halal practices and, more particularly, aims at helping Islamic hospitals offer quality healthcare services that suit the Muslim medical tourists' needs and, consequently, attracts the Islamic medical tourists.     

Sentiment analyses of multilingual tweets on halal tourism

Halal tourism is a fast-growing segment of the tourism market, thus a study of its trends is warranted. This paper examines halal tourism trends by analysing posts (known as ‘tweets’) on the social networking service Twitter. A total of 85,259 tweets were examined. Nineteen keywords (English and Bahasa Malaysia) were used in the extraction process. Using the extracted tweets, the study (1) examined the origins of tweets among the global population related to halal tourism, (2) identified the major populations around the world that are engaged in halal tourism tweets, (3) analysed the sentiment valence in relation to halal tourism, and (4) identified the popular destinations that appear in tweets. The findings showed that Japan is the most-tweeted-about halal tourist destination, followed by Malaysia and Indonesia. The findings can be used by the various halal tourism stakeholders to plan their future strategies in relation to halal tourism.     

Halal food,certification and halal tourism: Insights from Malaysia and Singapore

This paper discusses issues of halal food and its role in halal tourism with specific reference to Malaysia and Singapore which have majority and minority Muslim populations respectively. Sections devoted to the halal tourism market and the nature of halal food in general, incorporating matters of regulation, are followed by an account of conditions pertaining to halal food and certification in the two destinations. Attention given to the availability of halal food in tourism promotion of the countries is then considered, revealing a shared interest as well as some differences related to wider circumstances. Finally, directions for further research are suggested.     

The relationship between involvement with travelling to Islamic destinations and Islamic brand equity: a case of Muslim tourists in Malaysia

The growing number of Muslim tourists in the world has urged many destinations to embrace the concept of Islamic tourism. Malaysia as an Islamic country has been serious on establishing a halal hub for tourism products, however, activities such as drinking alcohol, wearing scanty clothing, sun bathing naked, and serving pork in restaurants are found in this country. Therefore, it is vital to explore on how Muslims who are involved with travelling to Islamic destinations evaluate the country’s Islamic brand equity. A number of 384 Middle Eastern tourists were surveyed in Malaysia. Using structural equation modelling, the relationships between Muslims’ involvement with travelling to Islamic destinations and dimensions of brand equity (awareness, image, quality, value, and loyalty) were explored. Results showed that involvement positively influences all five dimensions of brand equity. The strongest relationship was found between involvement and awareness followed by involvement-quality, involvement-image, involvement-value, and involvement-loyalty.     

Halal tourism,is it really Halal?

The study of religion has attracted interest and considerable attention from researchers and practitioners as a result of wanting to know more about religions (such as Islam) and religiosity. However, regardless of the importance of religious studies, religious tourism is still very much under-represented in the literature. In fact, it is distressing to find that little is known about religious tourism in many developed and developing economies. Meanwhile, Islamic tourism (or Halal tourism) is deeply rooted within the Islamic Shari'ah as every Muslim is required to travel for many reasons, some directly related to Islamic Shari'ah itself (e.g. Hajj and Umrah) while many travel for education, medical treatment, and knowledge acquisition, etc. This paper examines the concept of Halal tourism (as a subcategory of religious tourism), its roots, principles and most importantly answers the questions: is Halal tourism really Halal? Is Halal tourism only for Muslim families who abide by Islamic Shari'ah rules? Should it be Halal tourism or Islamic tourism? Is Halal tourism only about Islamic countries or it is also important for other countries? What are the impacts of non-compliance to Halal principles on hotels (and other tourism organisations) performance?     

The relationship between Islamic religiosity and residents’ perceptions of socio-cultural impacts of tourism in Iran: Case studies of Sare’in and Masooleh

Religion is known to influence people’s perception and behaviour. This study explores the influence of Islamic religiosity (measured on dimensions of ‘Islamic Belief’, ‘Islamic Practice’, and ‘Islamic Piety’) on the perceived socio-cultural impacts of tourism among residents in two tourist areas in Iran. The results showed that respondents both possessed a high level of Islamic Belief and perceived socio-cultural impacts of tourism positively. The propositions which stated that ‘Islamic Belief’ and ‘Islamic Practice’ have negative relationships with the perceptions of socio-cultural impacts of tourism are not supported. However levels of ‘Islamic Piety’ had statistically significant variations relating to potential changes in infrastructure, life quality and cultural practices that may be due to tourism. This paper also discusses the implications of its findings.     

What services do Muslim tourists want? Uncovering nonlinear relationships and unobserved heterogeneity

Halal tourism is a dynamic emerging market segment that is growing at a notable pace. Understanding the Muslim travelers' needs, interests and behaviors is a key priority for professionals. Therefore, the goals of this study are twofold: first, to examine the linear and nonlinear effects of Islamic physical and nonphysical hotel attributes on Muslim guests' visit intention and willingness to pay extra, and second, to employ an advanced segmentation method for revealing different types of Muslim travelers. Data were randomly collected from 559 Muslim in the United Arab Emirates. The study adopted the finite mixtures partial least squares technique to investigate the question of unobserved heterogeneity among Muslim travelers. The study results reveal important linear and nonlinear relationships and three new Muslim segments. The segment-specific findings offer distinctive insights for managers, policy makers and decision makers in developing long-term strategies for tapping into the Muslim travel market.     

Muslim world: A study of tourism & pilgrimage among OIC Member States

This study is concerned with tourism in general and pilgrimage in specific among Muslim countries. Reference is made to conditions in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Member States and their travel and tourism industry and the role of religion (Islam) in tourism and society. Selected literature, other relevant documents and data derived from previous studies and personal observations/experiences were examined to provide insights on the subject and to help achieve the objectives of study. Findings revealed that tourism and pilgrimage have great potential in most Muslim countries. However, in general, it constrained by several internal and external factors, which lead the industry's contribution to economic growth and unity among Muslim nations relatively limited.     

Holistic tourist experience in halal tourism evidence from Indonesian domestic tourists

This research explores the holistic experience in halal tourism and its consequence on tourist satisfactions and tourist intentions. The data for this study were obtained from 479 Muslim tourists in Indonesia. Exploratory factor analysis test identifies five dimensions of holistic halal tourist experiences, which can be classified into halal experience and recreation experience. Based on the partial least square estimation, this study reveals that the consequence of recreation experiences on tourist satisfaction, and tourist intention to revisit and endorse, overwhelms the effects of the halal experience.     

Halal tourism: Concepts,practises, challenges and future

Tourism recognizes the growing interest in Halal tourism from both the perspectives of industry and research. Halal tourism can be summarized by any object or action which is permissible to use or engage in tourism industry, according to Islamic teachings. Therefore, the success of developing and marketing Halal tourism destination must be guided by the adoption of Islamic teachings and principles in all aspects of tourism activities. This paper explores the concept of Halal tourism along with the components which constitute the industry. It provides worldwide examples of some of the current best practises. The opportunities and challenges in developing and marketing Halal tourism are also discussed.     

The tourism effect of President Trump's participation on Twitter

This research analyzes the effect of President Donald J. Trump's participation on Twitter on the performance of the United States as a tourism destination as reflected in the market value of tourism the country's tourism industry. Based on the effects that brand associations have on brand image and brand knowledge, this research proposes a conceptual model whereby a destination's association with a public figure might lead this personality's participation in social media to have an effect—derived from the resulting social media sentiment—on consumers' destination's brand knowledge and, consequently, on the incoming flow of travelers to the destination and on the tourism market value. The empirical application carried out on the tweets that the President of the United States posted over more than 150,000 trading minutes shows that the participation of public personalities in social media can have repercussions on the market value of their country's tourism industry.     

China's outbound tourism – Stages,policies and choices

China's outbound tourism has developed rapidly in recent years. This development has been accompanied by a continuous and expanding deficit in the tourism balance of trade, triggering debate among government officials and academia about whether China's outbound tourism development has outgrown general economic development. Understanding China's growth in outbound tourism and its impact has therefore become more than an academic issue; it also affects the future orientation of China's tourism policy. This paper provides a detailed analysis of the tourists, spatial flow, market size, and expenditure. Despite the above concerns, it is suggested that China's outbound tourism is still in a preliminary stage of development and furthermore complies fully with national policies. Therefore, orderly guidance and discretionary market policies are proposed to further facilitate the growth of the outbound tourism market in China.     

'Staying Within the Fence': Lifestyle Entrepreneurship in Tourism

Lifestyle, non-economic motives have been recognised as significant stimuli for tourism entrepreneurship and growth of the small-business sector. Tourism research, to date, has focused on the conceptualisation of entrepreneurship informed largely by economic analysis. In this context, the long-term survival of lifestyle entrepreneurs in tourism has been addressed as a constraint within regional economic development. Our research of an emerging cohort of lifestyle entrepreneurs in New Zealand tourism, focusing on the motivating values of these entrepreneurs, reveals that their often conscious rejection of economic and business growth opportunities is an expression of their sociopolitical ideology. Coincidentally, this rejection of an overtly profit-driven orientation does not necessarily result in financial suicide or developmental stagnation but rather provides opportunities to engage with 'niche' market consumers informed by values common to themselves within rapidly segmenting markets. Moreover, the research indicates that these lifestyle entrepreneurs are often instrumental in the creation and introduction of innovative products to the wider industry which are not only capable of articulating values common to the sustainability debate with respect to a sense of place and community, but also stimulate regional development and reproduction of niche market products.     

居民出游决策行为与家庭结构的关系探讨--以宁夏回族自治区为例

出游市场是旅游市场的细分市场之一，从家庭结构角度探讨居民出游决策行为的论文在我国目前为数不多。本文以宁夏居民的5000份抽样调查问卷结果为例，分析了居民出游行为与家庭结构的关系。这里的家庭结构包括三代同堂家庭、两代同堂家庭、夫妻二人家庭及单身家庭4种情形。本文从不同家庭的出游时间、出游计划、出游方式、出游心理、对旅游资源的偏好等方面整体性地分析了不同家庭的出游特征，进而通过对宁夏居民区外、区内出游行为空间的分析，得出不同家庭结构出游的行为规律。最后指出这一分析在旅游产品开发、旅游市场营销、旅游市场开发等方面的重要意义。     

The Tourism Market's Response to the 2009 Black Saturday Bushfires: The Case of Gippsland

One of the key roles of a destination marketing organization (DMO) is to portray their destination in such a way that it is both appealing and inviting to their existing and potential tourism market. A challenge faced by a DMO in the regional Victorian destination of Gippsland in Australia, is the fact that they also have to manage unanticipated sudden changes in market perceptions that may occur in response to a disastrous event. The reoccurring natural disasters of this region (fires, floods and drought)—the most recent being the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires, deemed Australia's worst natural disaster in history—make it imperative that DMOs can respond effectively. This article presents the findings of an exploratory research project designed to investigate the tourism market's response to this particular disastrous event. The primary aim of the research was to better understand how a large-scale disaster impacts upon the tourist's destination image and visitation intentions, and the role of the media in these deliberations. Focus group research reveals the post-disaster media interpretations, images, and visitation intentions of intrastate and interstate, regional and metropolitan tourists. Differences are observed in relation to the participants' geographic location and distance from the fires and their understandings of the event, including their reflections on media coverage. Varying perceptions among the participants of the impact of the fires, the travel risk, and subsequent travel intentions are discussed. Managerial implications relating to media management and the refinement of future disaster management strategies are also presented.     

A Study on the KBS TV Drama Winter Sonata and its Impact on Korea's Hallyu Tourism Development

The purpose of this paper is to examine the ties between the success of a TV drama Winter Sonata, produced by the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS), and the flow of tourism into Korea. By deconstructing the Hallyu phenomenon, started in part by Winter Sonata, the study tries to determine possibilities for Korean tourism expansion. Literature reviews, tourism data, interviews with specialists, and actual pieces of feedback from Winter Sonata's Egyptian audience are referred to draw conclusions on the subject matter. Results show promising markets far beyond just Asia, touched by Hallyu, but not the opportunity to tour Korea yet. Suggestions are then made on how to help sustain Hallyu tourism and increase access to potential new travel markets, especially those in diverse Islamic regions around the world.     

Issues in measuring success in community-based Indigenous tourism: elites,kin groups,social capital,gender dynamics and income flows

Tourism development is a key feature of the neoliberal economic development model. Through a mix of state and private investment, Indigenous communities in Mexico are encouraged to transform local cultural and environmental resources into tourist consumption sites. The process results in a shift toward reliance on tourism, in place of farming, leaving households with few alternative earning strategies amidst fluctuating tourist arrivals and income, confounding the relationship between tourism and sustainability and questioning the utility of tourism as a sustainable tool for development. This article analyses a community-based Indigenous tourism project in a rural Maya village in Mexico's Yucatan, and discusses strategies employed at household level to navigate the arrival of tourism. Funding agencies assessed this project based on a triple bottom line metric that accounts for ecological health, financial sustainability, and its relationship to local social capital; however, these fail to account for differences between local and non-local conceptions of authenticity, indigeneity, and success. From a social perspective, the project has exacerbated existing tensions and has arguably widened the gap between the politically and economically powerful and less powerful, marginalized families in the community. Questions about policy, governance systems, and elite domination and kin group control are raised.     

Residents’ perceptions of airport construction impacts: A negativity bias approach

Airports have significant implications for regional and local tourism development, so their impacts need to be assessed. Based on in-depth interviews with local residents, this study examined the effects of an airport development project in Mexico. Negativity bias theory was adopted as a theoretical framework to gain a fuller understanding of host communities' perceptions. In accordance with this theory, even though the economic impacts of the airport's construction are recognised as positive, its environmental and social effects on locals' everyday lives are perceived more negatively. As a result, most locals interviewed do not support the airport project. This is because, in line with negativity bias theory, when perceived negative impacts outweigh positive ones, a holistic evaluation that integrates negative and positive events will ultimately be unfavourable. Practical implications in terms of public consultation, perceived impacts and tourism development are discussed.     

Influential factors in agrarian households' engagement in rural tourism development

To understand the most significant factors that influence agricultural households' decision whether or not to work in rural tourism in China, this study applies Elinor Ostrom's Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) extension model. It also constructs a model of influence consisting of five key variables: land consolidation, market characteristics, institutional arrangements, farming household's understanding of tourism, and household information. Based on a binary logistic regression model, the results indicate that market characteristics and cognition have direct positive influences, and the source of household income has a negative influence, on farmers' willingness to be involved in providing tourism services. Results also indicate that there is no difference between farmers who work in tourism and those who do not in terms of risk assessment, but there are significant differences among other factors. Finally, some implications are provided to optimize rural tourism development.     

Trade facilitation promoted the inbound tourism efficiency in Japan

This study explores the intrinsic correlation between trade facilitation and the inbound tourism efficiency in Japan based on the data from 2011 to 2019. According to the data from JNTO, Japan's inbound tourism showed a strong dependence on the Asian market, the growth rate of inbound tourists in Europe, America and Oceania increased in recent years. The COVID-19 seriously hindered the Japan's inbound tourism development. The fixed-effect regression indicates that trade facilitation promoted inbound tourism efficiency in markets of different types. The positive effect of trade facilitation on sightseeing market was most significant in Asia. While in Europe, America and Oceania, the inbound business market benefited most from trade facilitation. Trade facilitation amplified the positive effect of Japan's air transportation capacity, international tourism income and visa-free policy on the inbound tourism efficiency, and effectively buffered the negative impact of natural disasters. With regard to the estimated results of sub-indicators of trade facilitation, the improvement of infrastructure, government efficiency, customs environment and technological level all contributed to the increase in Japan's inbound tourism efficiency.