Authors : Noor Raihan Ab Hamid, Munira Saaidin, Siti Nor Bayaah Ahmad and Roslan Mohd Rose
Abstract: Due to an increase in the number of Muslim tourists world-wide, both the academia and industry players have begun to show interests in understanding traveling behaviour of the market segment. The study aims to explore the behaviour of traveling to non-Muslim country destinations among Muslim tourists. In particular, this research seeks to investigate how and why Muslim tourists make selection of their travel destinations. Many studies in the past have empirically investigated the attributes that influence consumer’s selection of travel destinations. However, the understanding of specific reasons explaining why a destination is preferred from a Muslim tourist’s perspective is limited. Focus groups were conducted in two states of Malaysia to gain deeper insights of the subject being studied. The findings of this study suggest that leisure travelers prefer a travel destination due to several reasons. We developed research propositions which may be useful for future empirical studies. We discuss the implications for managers as well as the limitations of study and future directions of research.
Noor Raihan Ab Hamid, Munira Saaidin, Siti Nor Bayaah Ahmad and Roslan Mohd Rose, 2017. An Exploratory Study on Consumer Preferences of Travel Destinations. The Social Sciences, 12: 144-150.