Melaka City Research Articles

Sustainability of Buildings in Historic City of Malacca

The paper discusses the sustainability of the buildings on the western side of the Historic City of Malacca with the help of the implementation of conservation policies. It covers the historical background, the role of the local government and the responses of the local residents. The methodology includes site observation, building study, literature review and interview. The findings of the research suggest that the buildings within the area are well-sustained but some local residents gave negative responses. Some strategies are needed to ensure the continuous use and sustainability of the buildings.

Brand Extension of Fast Moving Consumer Goods to Customers’ Perception

The cost of launching a totally new product or brand is usually very high accompanied by the risk of failure in an overcrowded market. Therefore, brand extension strategy is used due to its built in advantages. This research examined in depth, the factors in a brand extension which influence to customer perception about the existing brand in fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector. Four variables such as brand fit, perceived quality, brand familiarity and customer innovativeness, were used to establish the relationship with the customers’ perception. A questionnaire was developed and distributed to 200 respondents from hypermarket FMCG products’ consumers in Melaka city. It was found that in the context of personal hygiene products, only brand fit and perceived quality have a strong influence on the customer perception. Marketer should, however, carefully to evaluate their extension especially for local brand since not all factors in this extension significantly influence the customer perception.

THE IMPACT OF GENTRIFICATION ON LOCAL URBAN HERITAGE IDENTITY IN OLD QUARTER, MELAKA HERITAGE CITY

Gentrification represents a new trend of development towards the new forms of socio-spatial divisions of the city centre. It also restores the quality of urban development and life of the local community. However, there are various issues arising from this developmental process. These issues have been identified as the demand for physical development, economic worth and sociological evaluation of the community, which have an effect on the local identity of the study area. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to identify the impact of gentrification on the local urban heritage identity in the heritage city of Melaka. The study takes a quantitative research approach. This study also shows the positive and negative impacts to the local communities, and these effects may differ with other cities. The study evaluates the impact on the socio-culture and spatial structure in this area. Hence, recommendations of this paper place emphasis on the involvement of the local community in determining the direction of development. Apart from that, safeguarding the local intangible cultural heritage value in the urban development process should also be emphasised as it is intended to respect and protect the rights of the local community while creating a balanced development without compromising quality of cultural heritage assets of the historic city.

THE IMPACT OF GENTRIFICATION ON LOCAL URBAN HERITAGE IDENTITY IN OLD QUARTER, MELAKA HERITAGE CITY

Gentrification represents a new trend of development towards the new forms of socio-spatial divisions of the city centre. It also restores the quality of urban development and life of the local community. However, there are various issues arising from this developmental process. These issues have been identified as the demand for physical development, economic worth and sociological evaluation of the community, which have an effect on the local identity of the study area. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to identify the impact of gentrification on the local urban heritage identity in the heritage city of Melaka. The study takes a quantitative research approach. This study also shows the positive and negative impacts to the local communities, and these effects may differ with other cities. The study evaluates the impact on the socio-culture and spatial structure in this area. Hence, recommendations of this paper place emphasis on the involvement of the local community in determining the direction of development. Apart from that, safeguarding the local intangible cultural heritage value in the urban development process should also be emphasised as it is intended to respect and protect the rights of the local community while creating a balanced development without compromising quality of cultural heritage assets of the historic city.

Investigating the effect of urban configurations on the variation of air temperature

Abstract High temperatures in urban areas affect the health and wellbeing of urban dwellers. Malacca City has undergone a tremendous growth during the last decades, particularly after its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008. As a result of urban development, two dominant urban configurations were formed in Malacca: the heritage site and contemporary urban areas. This study examines the effects of aspect ratio (H/W) on air temperature in two urban configurations in Malacca. The three-dimensional microclimatic modelling system ENVI-met (version 3.1) was used to simulate the summer time air temperature variation in the typical urban setting of a heritage site and contemporary urban area. Aspect ratio was found to have a considerable influence on the air temperature distribution in both areas. The daytime air temperatures decreased with increasing aspect ratio. The simulation results showed that during the daytime, the heritage site (aspect ratio of 2.6) was warmer than the contemporary urban area (average value of H/W = 1.6), and that cooling occurred more quickly in the latter. The results of this study provide useful information for planning, building and modifying urban structures.

Socio-Demographic Variation on Tourism Expenditure in Melaka UNESCO World Heritage Area

Melaka City has been designated as UNESCO World Heritage site since 2008 that offers authentic heritage and cultural attractions to tourists worldwide. The study explores the domestic and inbound tourists spending pattern and its socio-demographic effects to the expenditure pattern in the Melaka Heritage area. 1000 diary record surveys were collected from domestic and inbound tourists and the analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test the research hypothesis. Socio-demographic characteristics including age, marital status, occupation, education level, first-time and repeat visit were found to significantly affect domestic tourism expenditure while only age, marital status and purpose of visit were found to significantly affect inbound tourism expenditure. © 2017 American Scientific Publishers. All rights reserved

Users' Perceptions of Shopping Activities in the Historic City of Malacca

The intent of this paper is to discuss the survival of the shophouses in the historic city of Malacca based on the research on the perceptions of the users, site observation and available documents. The findings of the research suggested that the shophouses were the most visited places. The users had both positive and negative perceptions of the shophouses in terms of comfort, circulation and other aspects that relate to shopping activities. The information can be used as a guide to ensure the continued use of the shophouses as the setting for current and future activities.

Humor dan Komunikasi Dalam Industri Pelancongan di Malaysia (Humour and Communication in the Tourism Industry in Malaysia)

This study was conducted to observe the pattern and function of humour used by Malaysian tour guides during their guided tour sessions. The guided tour sessions were done in Japanese with Japanese tourists who were visiting Malaysia. Data was collected employing systematic observation methods using audiovisual records and on-site observation notes on their interactions. The interactions between the tour guides and tourists were observed and their conversation were recorded during their 8 tour sessions around Kuala Lumpur and Malacca City. For data analysis, the audio records were transcribed verbatim, while the visual records and observation notes were used as references for certain contexts that were unclear in the audio records. The result shows that humour was applied during the tour sessions in the form of jokes to make participants laugh. In addition to attract the interests of the Japanese tourists for them to focus more on the explanations by the tour guides, it also functioned to build good relationships between the tourists and the tour guides. The good relationships built between them have made the tour sessions to be more relaxed and friendly. This study has shown the importance of using humour by tour guides during their guided tours for tourists visiting Malaysia. The findings of this study could also give a clearer picture on the basic factors of effective communication for guided tour sessions in Malaysia.

Green Maintenance for Heritage Buildings: Low Carbon Repair Appraisal Approach on Laterite Stones

Sustainability is commonly encapsulated economic, environmental and societal domains. Low carbon repair for heritage buildings also conforms to these broad domains, without exception. Recently, there is emergence of environmental consideration in low carbon repair appraisal for heritage buildings that become increasingly important and this paper supports this growing area. Primarily, this paper gives insight on how ‘Green Maintenance’ concept and methodology practically determine and ultimately substantiate on appraisal on low carbon repair for laterite stone of heritage buildings located at historical city of Melaka, Malaysia. Subsequently, this paper also provides highlights on common techniques and material for laterite stone repair of the selected heritage buildings. It is discovered that the replacement is considered as the most sustainable repair technique based on relationship between high longevity and low embodied carbon expenditure, in terms of generated Environmental Maintenance Impact (EMI) of ‘Green Maintenance’ modeling. More importantly, the model gives preference towards repair technique of laterite stone that has the highest longevity of repair, with the lowest maintenance intervention i.e. low carbon repair. Significantly, the quantification of EMI will allow an appraisal on low carbon repair approach based on the value of true CO2 emissions. This can be achieved mainly through the quantification of embodied carbon expenditure expended in repair within ‘cradle-to-site’ boundary of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), using formulaic expression and calculation procedures of ‘Green Maintenance’ Model.

Thermal functions of internal courtyards in traditional Chinese shophouses in the hot-humid climate of Malaysia

The main purpose of this study was to identify the thermal functions of internal courtyards in traditional Chinese shophouses (CSHs) located in the hot-humid climate of Malaysia with the aim of providing useful passive cooling strategies for modern urban houses. The CSHs are deep-plan brick row houses that are located in relatively dense urban areas. First, this paper empirically analyses the effects of courtyard forms on their indoor thermal environments based on the results of field experiments conducted in 16 CSHs in the city of Malacca in 2011 and 2014. Second, this paper investigates the detailed thermal environments of the selected two traditional CSHs with different courtyard types to discuss the thermal functions of courtyards. It was determined that air temperatures in internal courtyards can be explained using the sky view factor, the height of the courtyard and the difference in the heights of the building and walls that form the courtyard. The courtyard forms that characterized their thermal environments were classified into five types and the different types of courtyards performed different functions with respect to improving the indoor thermal comfort in the CSHs. It was suggested that closed, cross ventilated courtyards be embedded to achieve indoor thermal comfort and avoid excessive humidity in hot-humid climates. Meanwhile, it was also recommended that a staggered form courtyard with V-shaped roofs should be designed as a nocturnal cooling source.

Local Economic Benefit in Shopping and Transportation: A study on Tourists’ Expenditure in Melaka, Malaysia

This study investigated the tourists’ expenditure pattern in Melaka city and its contribution to the local economy. Chi-square Automatic Interaction Detection (CHAID) was chosen to model the interaction for domestic and inbound tourists in transportation and shopping sectors and subsequently identify the local economic benefits. Results revealed that the tourists exhibited low expenditure levels (RM18.50 and below) in the transportation sector, contributing less benefits to the local economy as most tourists chose to walk. The tourists also demonstrated low levels of expenditure (RM75 and below) in the shopping sector, but contributed to the local economy by shopping in Jonker Street.

Evaluating Physical Changes for the Conservation Initiatives in the Historic City of Melaka

The changes in townscape have a significant indication of the urban morphology of the place. It represents changes in society and their way of life. Heritage-led regeneration is introduced in many historic areas and cities in order to bring back life to the place. Recording the changes is important to evaluate how far the site has developed. Townscape evaluation; a townscape survey exercise was carried out in 2010 and 2013 to score the quality of the area. The physical changes recorded in the survey represent the result of the regeneration project and could provide a useful data to be used to project future improvement.

The Effects of Local Hospitality, Commercial Hospitality and Experience Quality on Behavioral Intention in Cultural Heritage Tourism

ABSTRACTThe main aim of this study is to examine the influence of the two domains of hospitality—local hospitality and commercial hospitality—on behavioral intention in the cultural heritage tourism context. This study anticipated that the above relationships were mediated by the tourism experience quality. A total of 500 foreign tourists visiting the Malaysia’s first World Heritage City, Malacca City were surveyed using structured questionnaire. The results revealed that both local and commercial hospitality have positive relationships with experience quality, and experience quality fully mediated the relationships between each of the two domains of hospitality and behavioral intention.

Acknowledging the Tourist Spatial Behavior for Space Management in Urban Heritage Destination

How tourists consume spatial activities within a destination at micro level such as urban spaces might reveal the level of motivation among tourists, and arguably critical to be understood for efficiency in space and urban planning management. Due to the large concentration of movement throughout the urban centers, the spatial activities generated by the tourist nowadays were seen as influential forces in shaping the city function. Inaccurate information of their movement may lead into problematic city space management for city planner through incompatible facilities and activities in the tourism destination. Thus, extended perspective as to how tourists consume the destination is critical in understanding tourist motivation and behavior in terms of spatial behavior. In order to comprehensively recognize tourist spatial behavior, there is a need to integrate space (spatial data) with psychological and sociological aspects (non-spatial data). Integrating these two aspects potentially allows the researcher to portray spatial activities generate by tourist at different spaces and times. For this purpose, Melaka City is selected as a case study. It is a well-known as heritage tourist destination and received a large number of tourist arrival as well as movement within its World Heritage Site (WHS) boundaries. An analysis of 128 respondents on on-going survey was conducted in order to acknowledge this understanding of tourist spatial behavior using comparative techniques of traditional and advanced tracking methods to acquire the data. A preliminary finding reveals various variables describing the spatial activity of tourist relevant to tourist space consumption, and therefore their motivation through tourist spatial behavior.

Effective interpretation using various media toward mindfulness: a case study of Malacca

Effective interpretation among visitors to heritage sites contributes towards achieving sustainable tourism. Mindful visitors are more likely to be interested in being educated and learning about a site; therefore, mindfulness can play a key role in the formation of effective interpretations. Diverse media communicates with visitors in different ways and has various effects which can improve mindfulness among heritage site visitors. This study aims to investigate the effects of three different media, namely exhibitions, guided tours (GT) and printed materials (PM) on enhancing mindfulness. A questionnaire was developed and administered to approximately 200 visitors at 6 heritage sites across Malacca City in Malaysia, which was recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008. Partial least-squares structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data. The findings revealed that PM were the most effective medium in improving mindfulness among visitors to the selected heritage sites, followed by exhibitions. The results also indicated that GT did not have any significant effect on improving visitor mindfulness. These findings can assist organisations responsible for the management of heritage sites to improve the mindfulness of visitors by identifying the most efficacious forms of media.

Understanding Domestic and International Tourists’ Expenditure Pattern in Melaka, Malaysia: Result of CHAID Analysis

Abstract This study examined the tourists’ expenditure pattern in Melaka city. A total of 1500 diary record surveys were distributed, only 1000 surveys were collected. Chi-squared Automatic Interaction Detection (CHAID) was used to model interaction of domestic and international tourists in five tourism sectors-accommodation, food and beverages, transportation, entertainment and shopping. Results revealed that the tourists spent less on transportation (RM22.50 and below) and entertainment (RM22.50 and below), and heavily spent in other three sectors, shopping (RM475 and below), accommodation (RM700 and below), food and beverages (RM367 and below). The expenditure pattern modeling assists the relevant authorities in decision making.

Perceptions of Tourists Towards the Role of Stakeholders for Tourism Development

This paper studies the role of stakeholders for tourism development in Malaysia based on the perceptions of tourists who come to the Melaka city. Even though the tourists are satisfied by the existing facilities available presently, there are a few shortcomings that need to be addressed such as neglected traditional issues, bureaucratic barriers, definition of sustainable tourism and communication problem with the local communities. The purpose of the study is to find out the roles of public, private and local community stakeholders of the historic city of Melaka for meeting the needs of tourists for tourism development. The findings indicate that the government, private and local community stakeholders have played positive roles for satisfying the demands of the tourists in shaping the development of sustainable tourism in Melaka. The primary data were collected through survey via interviews with 135 respondents based on their responses to a set of questionnaires which looked into the tourists’ perceptions in connection to the facilities available for sustainable tourism. The Likert scale data analyzing and reviewing the role of stakeholder’s towards perceptions of the tourists. The implication of the study is that majority of the tourists were positively satisfied and receptive towards tourism in Melaka.

The Morphology of Urban Waterfront Tourism: The Local Identity Portray in Melaka and Makassar

Waterfront has become vitally important to many historic cities in Southeast Asia since last two decades. The city of Melaka proved to be a successful city as a heritage one that has been well preserved and aesthetic feeling of the attractive old town waterfront in Malaysia. The city of Makassar as historic coastal city started considering waterfront as vital aspect by revitalizing its shores as a waterfront change the face of the city into attractive as a commercial and leisure city in the eastern parts of Indonesia. The authors discuss aspects of urban morphology and tourism to get the city identity by explaining the differences and the similarities of the changing urban waterfront and waterfront tourism between the two cities identity. This study uses a qualitative approach through observation and in-depth interviews with stakeholders in Makassar and Melaka. The analysis and findings revealed that waterfront development in both cities have focused on tourism as a catalyst which have resulted in conflicts between commercial viability and meeting the needs and aspirations of the local residents. As waterfront redevelopments are becoming a trend across the region, both cities are seen to be struggling in ensuring that their approach is able to create a waterfront that portrays the local identity in a contemporary manner.

Does the Status of a UNESCO World Heritage City Make a Destination More Attractive to Mainland Chinese Tourists? A Preliminary Study of Melaka

The statistics projection by the China Academic (CTA), the number of outbound tourists from China is in the range from 2015:75-80 million, and 2020: 100-110 million. It is projected that China will become the world's fourth largest outbound market by 2020. In 2009, in less than a year after the inscribed of UNESCO World Heritage city in Melaka, the number of Chinese outbound tourists hit 47.66 million (4% increase versus 2008) which was nine fold increase from 1995 with only 5 million traveled abroad. (Boyd, 2011). To narrow it down, out of the 47.66 million, 66.70% was for the Asia region (Chinese Outbound Tourism Express 2010); whereas in Malaysia, the tourist arrival by country, the statistics shows that China stands at the third most tourist arrivals to Malaysia. (Tourism Malaysia with the cooperation of Immigration Department). From January to September 2013 tourist arrivals from China to Malaysia versus 2012 was 1,118,692 visitors to 1,229,477 visitors, respectively, or a 22.6% increase. According to the projection by Tourism Malaysia 2014, Malaysia is expecting over 2 million China tourists to Malaysia. Is the state of Melaka ready to receive China tourists? What are the expectations of the Chinese tourists for Melaka? This article examines the relationship between the ever-growing importance of Chinese outbound tourism and the opportunities provided for the city of Melaka, Malaysia, with particular importance being placed on the UNESCO World Heritage status of Melaka and the opinions of working class Chinese tourists.

UNDERSTANDING OF TOURISTS’ PREFERENCES PATTERN: A STUDY IN MELAKA, MALAYSIA

Tourism sector is one of the world largest and fastest contributors to the economic sector. The recognition as UNESCO World Heritage City in 2008, has led to the city of Melaka to be the most visited city in Malaysia. There has been a great deal of research devoted to identify the tourist preferences in countries, regions, cities, and other areas. Such estimation is essential for producing comprehensive estimates of tourism economic benefits in an area. This paper presents an evaluation of tourist‘s preferences among domestic and international tourists visiting Melaka. 1000 tourists were surveyed using diary records survey method. The result shows the purpose of heritage and conservation is the most important factors that motivate their visit to Melaka, while business purpose is the least motivating factors influencing the choice of destinations. It is also found that young, single and professional tourist is the new target market in Melaka.