Destination image perceived by youth tourist on Johor Bahru City

Abstract

Destination image study is important because it is having a strong effect on tourist behaviour and it has received attention from tourism planners and marketers. The establishment of a clear and powerful destination image will gain competitive advantage for a destination because it can position their tourism product. Regarding youth travel, destination image becomes rather important as it could create brand loyalty among them. However, the process of destination image is dynamic and vary according to whether they are consumed before, during or after a visit. This study is applied quantitative approach to measuring the destination image perceived by youth tourists. Variable is identified to measure in this study such as induced, cognitive, multi-sensory and affective image of Johor Bahru. Also, conative behaviour is also measured in this study. Only close-ended questions are using to obtain the images perceived. A total of 129 respondents was sampled. Analysis methods conducted for this study include frequency and percentage and mean scores analysis. The findings indicated the current induced image of Johor Bahru is not effective as youth tourists have the image Johor Bahru as a busy city. Johor Bahru has positive cognitive image as the attributes of beautiful night scenery, and full of unique cultures is appealing to youth tourists. Overall, youth tourists have positive sensory image of Johor Bahru. Youth tourists also perceived Johor Bahru as pleasant and exciting in term of affective image. Overall, the induced, cognitive, multi-sensory and affective image is parallelly related to youth tourists' conative behaviour. The findings in this study are beneficial to tourism planners in future brand image projection, marketing decision and sustainability of Johor Bahru's tourism industry.