Does Islamic Attributes Matter to All Age Group of Muslim Tourists in Their Preferences of Destination?
Rohani Mohd1, Anizah Zainuddin2, Shereen Noranee3, Marziah Mokhtar4, Badrul Hisham Kamaruddin5
1Rohani Mohd, Universiti Teknologi MARA Selangor, Malaysia.
2Anizah Zainuddin, Universiti Teknologi MARA Shah Alam, Malaysia.
3Shereen Noranee, Universiti Teknologi MARA Shah Alam, Malaysia.
4Marziah Mokhtar, Universiti Teknologi MARA Dengkil, Malaysia.
5Badrul Hisham Kamaruddin, Universiti Teknologi MARA Selangor, Malaysia.
Manuscript received on 07 May 2019 | Revised Manuscript received on 19 May 2019 | Manuscript Published on 23 May 2019 | PP: 1020-1022 | Volume-7 Issue-6S5 April 2019 | Retrieval Number: F11750476S319/2019©BEIESP
Open Access | Editorial and Publishing Policies | Cite | Mendeley | Indexing and Abstracting
© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Abstract: Muslims make up one of the largest tourist markets in the world. Unfortunately, the literature reviews related to the Islamic perspective on tourism were limited. Therefore, the study’s main aim is to examine the moderating effect of age on the relationship between Islamic attributes and the Muslims’ preferences for tourist destination. 100 questionnaires were collected from 100 Muslim tourists in Klang Valley using convenient sampling technique from various age groups. The data was analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), SmartPLS 3.0. Three aspects of Islamic attributes identified were the concern on the availability of halal food, the halal certification logo, and the hotel accommodation facilities for Muslims. The findings showed that Islamic attributes were found to be positively and moderately related to preferences for Muslims’ choice of destination. Age was found to moderate the effect of Islamic attributes and preferences for destination of Muslim tourists, where older age group tourists showed more concern for Islamic matters than the younger ages in choosing their destination for tourism. The findings also revealed that age moderate the relationship moderately. Thus, tourism agencies should pay attention to age differences in terms of their concern on Islamic matters when choosing their destination.
Keywords: Muslim Tourists, Islamic Attributes, Age, Preferences.
Scope of the Article: Social Sciences