Travelling Pattern and Preferences of the Arab Tourists in Malaysian Hotels

Zulkifli Ibrahim,Maimunah Sulaiman,Zulhan Othman,Mohd Salehuddin Zahari,Kamaruzaman Jusoff

doi:10.5539/ijbm.v4n7p3

Abstract

This study examined the travelling pattern of the Arab tourists in relation to their purpose and frequency of visit, duration of stay, travelling companions and activities engaged in during the vacation. The preferences of these tourists for hotel restaurant food and front office attributes while staying in selected five star hotels were also investigated. The result demonstrated that Arab tourists came to Malaysia mostly for a vacation with their spouse and children, and the majority of them were visiting for the first time. The major activities engaged in were sightseeing and visiting interesting places plus other activities such as shopping, visiting theme parks and beaches. The average length of stay was from 3-10 nights. The findings also revealed that besides other type of cuisines, home cooking (Arab cuisine) was preferred by the Arab tourists. Similarly, the Arab tourists preferred to have a fast check in, friendly and personalized service and courtesy by front office personnel upon arrival at the hotel. The ability to communicate in and understand the Arabic language among the front office personnel also had a profound effect on their fondness. In turn, a strong relationship among government, local authorities, private agencies and hotel operators should be fostered to capture a larger share of this market segment.

Highlights

The global impact from the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States in 2001 and the subsequent unforeseen terrorism has affected the world tourism industry (Hamarneh & Steiner, 2004)
As this study looked at the travelling patterns of the Arab tourists to Malaysia, the triangulation approach was used as it gives in depth information on issues investigated (Cavana and Dalahaye, 2001)
The reason for choosing five star hotels was based on the information obtained from the Malaysia Hotel Association (2004) and Tourism Malaysia (2004) that the majority of the Arab tourists were staying in these star rated hotels

Summary

Introduction

The global impact from the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States in 2001 and the subsequent unforeseen terrorism has affected the world tourism industry (Hamarneh & Steiner, 2004). These unexpected events have had a significant impact on the travelling mood of international tourists the Arabs from the Gulf region and Muslim communities. Over-reactions, ignorance and chauvinism in those countries have forced many Arabs tourists to look for new frontiers and change their traditional holiday destinations to other countries (Hamarneh & Steiner, 2004). Malaysia as a Muslim country shares a common Islamic culture and tradition and the Muslim Arabs feel safer in terms of security, food, shopping and religious obligation

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion