Abstract
The objective of this study was to investigate the difference between destination image and loyalty among first-time and repeat-visit tourists. The study was undertaken to examine aspects of underlying factors of destination image that influenced tourists’ willingness to recommend Malaysia to their friends and relatives as well as spread positive word-of-mouth to others. In addition, it was to ascertain the relationship between destination image and loyalty among first-time and repeat-visit tourists. The data was collected at Kuala Lumpur International Airport at the departure hall using self-administered questionnaires. 248 usable questionnaires were returned and analysed. The findings of the study revealed that both groups of tourists perceived Malaysia as providing a nature-based destination. The study also empirically proved that both first-time and repeat-visit tourists were willing to disseminate positive word-of-mouth and recommend Malaysia to their friends and relatives as a vacation destination to visit. However, there was a significant difference in destination loyalty between first-visit and repeat-visit tourists.
Highlights
Nowadays, the leading and single largest industry in the world is tourism and the importance of the industry is reflected through its economic contribution to the nation [1]
Empirical evidence from this study suggested that both first-time and repeat-visit tourists believed and formed impressions that Malaysia offers nature-based tourism
Efforts should be undertaken to ensure that tourism developments in Malaysia would comply to meeting the requirements of ecotourism that usually conveys a great concern on an environmentally friendly, relatively undisturbed natural areas and promotes conservations whilst providing beneficial social economic activities to the local pupulations
Summary
The leading and single largest industry in the world is tourism and the importance of the industry is reflected through its economic contribution to the nation [1]. The industry promotes economic growth especially through income generation, employment opportunities and foreignexchange earnings. Parallel to the global development in the sector, the tourism industry is one of the important sectors that generates Malaysia’s economic growth [2]. The 2013 Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) revealed that, among the ASEAN countries, Malaysia ranked second after Singapore, followed by Thailand, Indonesia, Brunei, Vietnam, the Philippines and Cambodia. In the tourism world ranking, Switzerland, Germany and Austria lead the world in terms of travel and tourism competitiveness, with Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Canada, Sweden and Singapore achieving the first top 10 countries visited by tourists
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