Push and pull factors influencing Arab travellers to choose Malaysia as their choice destination

Abstract

The growth of the tourism industry has occurred in both industrialised and developing countries, and has been accompanied by an increasing number of ownership and contractual relationships between firms at the national and international level. The Malaysian tourism industry has been identified as a key driver in the growth of the services sector from 2001 to 2005. Tourism has taken second spot, after manufacturing, in bringing in foreign exchange for the country. Arab travellers chose to come to Malaysia in increasing numbers because they want to spend their holiday in exotic Muslim countries rather than face suspicion in Western countries gripped by fears of terrorism. This paper attempts to discover what are pulling or pushing factors that influence this trend. Descriptive research design is used and the data collection was mainly done through questionnaires. Findings showed that majorities came as holiday travellers. Further more the significant role of pull and push factors in this study shown the positive image of Malaysia as tourist destination. Study also found that there is no significant difference between genders on pull and push factors.