Muslim tourists' perceived value, satisfaction, religiousity and behavioural intention in patronizing Muslim friendly hotels

Abstract

The increasing number of Muslim travellers has led to an increase in the demand and supply of Islamic tourism in the hospitality industry. Because of this trend, hotels have started to provide innovative services, in particular, the Muslimfriendly services to specifically cater to the needs of Muslim travellers. While the services have gained popularity, only a few empirical studies have investigated the relationship between the perceived value, satisfaction, and behavioural intentions of Muslim tourists towards Muslim-friendly hotels. Perceived value has been acknowledged as an influential measure of customer satisfaction and behavioural intention. Researchers have proposed a measure of theoretical knowledge and provided empirical evidence on the concept of perceived value, but only a few have applied this concept from the Muslim tourists’ perspective. Thus, this study aims to fill this gap by empirically investigating the mediating effect of Muslim tourists’ satisfaction in the relationship between tourist perceived value and tourist behavioural intention in patronising Muslim-friendly hotels in Malaysia. In addition, this study also examines how Islamic Religiosity moderates the relationship between tourist satisfaction and behavioural intention. By drawing upon the Theory of Reasoned Action, a conceptual framework was developed. Data was collected via a questionnaire survey distributed to 384 Muslim tourists, who experienced the services provided by eight selected Muslim-friendly hotels in Malaysia. The data collected were then analysed using Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) via Smart PLS3 software. The findings of this study indicate that service quality, emotional, Islamic physical attributes, and Islamic nonphysical attributes are interrelated factors that collectively contribute to Muslim tourists’ satisfaction. Findings also confirm the role of satisfaction as a mediator in the relationship between (i) service quality, (ii) emotional, (iii) Islamic physical attributes, (iv) Islamic nonphysical attributes and behavioural intention. Lastly, the results of this study reveal that Islamic religiosity does not moderate the relationship between customer satisfaction and behavioural intention. Hence, this study offers conclusive insights for various stakeholders, such as academicians, practitioners, and policymakers. This study also calls for the government and other related agencies to engage in various cautionary strategies. In sum, the availability of Islamic attributes, along with conventional dimensions (service quality and emotional attributes) could increase the satisfaction of Muslim tourists during their stay at Muslim-friendly hotels.