Abstract
This study explores tourist satisfaction in Kuala Lumpur by assessing how well visitor expectations align with their experiences of the city's tourism services and products. The research focuses on 22 key holiday attributes, along with 8 attributes related to overall satisfaction, which are grouped into five main categories: attractions, accessibility, amenities, lodging, and food and beverages. To gather data, a survey was conducted with 389 domestic and international tourists who visited Kuala Lumpur, using face-to-face interviews, printed questionnaires, and online surveys. The data was analyzed quantitatively using SPSS and Excel, with Pearson correlation applied to assess the relationship between the five categories and overall tourist satisfaction. The results revealed a strong, positive correlation between these categories and tourist satisfaction, with scores above 0.05, highlighting their significant influence on shaping the visitor experience. These findings provide valuable insights for tourism stakeholders in Kuala Lumpur, offering guidance on improving services and enhancing the city's appeal as a preferred travel destination.
Keywords
- Tourist Satisfaction Search this journal for Tourist Satisfaction (opens in a new tab)
- Visitor Expectations Search this journal for Visitor Expectations (opens in a new tab)
- Visitor Experience Search this journal for Visitor Experience (opens in a new tab)
- Urban Destination Search this journal for Urban Destination (opens in a new tab)
- Kuala Lumpur Search this journal for Kuala Lumpur (opens in a new tab)
References
- Abukhalifeh, A. N., Omar, S. I., Mohamed, B., & Paisar, S. M. (2017). Expectations and experiences gap for Penang Island tourists: An application of the HOLSAT model. International Journal of Leisure and Tourism Marketing, 5(2), 128-128. https://doi.org/10.1504/ijltm.2017.10005604 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1504/IJLTM.2017.10005604
- Anuar, A. N. A., Ahmad, H., Jusoh, H., & Hussain, M. Y. (2013). The formation of a tourist-friendly destination concept in Kuala Lumpur. Asian Social Science, 9(15), 166-172. https://doi.org/10.5539/ass.v9n15p166 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5539/ass.v9n15p166
- Bagri, S. C., & Devkant, K. (2015). Tourists’ satisfaction at Trijuginarayan, India: An importance-performance analysis. Advances in Hospitality and Tourism Research, 3(2), 89–115.
- Basendwah, M. A., Rahman, S., & Khalufi, N. (2022). Measuring holiday satisfaction: Why and how. International Journal of Social Science Research, 4(2), 10–27.
- Baygloo, R. S. (2021). Foreign tourists’ experience: The tri-partite relationships among sense of place toward destination city, tourism attractions, and tourists’ overall satisfaction - Evidence from Shiraz, Iran. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 19, 100518. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2020.100518 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2020.100518
- Biswas, C., Omar, H., & Radha, J. Z. R. R. R. (2020). A conceptual framework of what influences tourist satisfaction in Bangladesh using the HOLSAT model. Journal of Critical Reviews, 7(19), 8066–8072. https://doi.org/10.31838/jcr.07.19.910
- Castro, J. C., Quisimalin, M., Pablos-Heredero, C. D., Gancino, V., & Jerez, J. (2017). Tourism marketing: Measuring tourist satisfaction. Journal of Service Science and Management, 10(3), 280-308. https://doi.org/10.4236/jssm.2017.103023 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4236/jssm.2017.103023
- Ceylan, C., & Ozcelik, A. B. (2016). A circular approach to SERVQUAL and HOLSAT: An implementation suggestion. Journal of Hotel & Business Management, 5(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.4172/2169-0286.1000125 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4172/2169-0286.1000125
- Farinda, A. G., Musa, G., & Thirumoorthi, T. (2008). Exploring tourism in the city of Kuala Lumpur. Jurnal Manajemen Bisnis, 7(2). https://doi.org/10.24123/jmb.v7i2.125 DOI: https://doi.org/10.24123/jmb.v7i2.125
- Feng, J. (2022). Market segmentation in tourism and hotel industry. Atlantis Press. https://doi.org/10.2991/aebmr.k.220307.368 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2991/aebmr.k.220307.368
- Leiper, N. (1990). Tourist attraction systems. Annals of Tourism Research, 17(3), 367–384. https://doi.org/10.1016/0160-7383(90)90004-B DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0160-7383(90)90004-B
- Middleton, V. T. C., & Clarke, J. R. (2001). Marketing in travel and tourism (3rd ed.). Butterworth-Heinemann.
- Malodia, S., & Singla, H. (2017). Using HOLSAT to evaluate the satisfaction of religious tourists at sacred destinations: The case of religious travellers visiting sacred destinations in the Himalayas, India. International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, 11(2), 255-270. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCTHR-10-2015-0120 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCTHR-10-2015-0120
- Nejati, M., & Mohamed, B. (2014). Investigating the key factors influencing the travel decisions of international tourists. International Journal of Leisure and Tourism Marketing, 4(2), 106-106. https://doi.org/10.1504/ijltm.2014.065877 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1504/IJLTM.2014.065877
- Ngoc, K. M., & Trinh, N. T. (2015). Factors affecting tourists’ return intention towards Vung Tau City, Vietnam: A mediation analysis of destination satisfaction. Journal of Advanced Management Science, 3(4), 292-298. https://doi.org/10.12720/joams.3.4.292-298 DOI: https://doi.org/10.12720/joams.3.4.292-298
- Niem, L. D., Anh, L. V., & Duyen, H. T. K. (2021). An evaluation of international tourists’ expectations and experiences of the coffee festival of Buon Ma Thuot City, Vietnam. Journal of Environmental Management and Tourism, 6(54), 1645-1654. https://doi.org/10.14505/jemt.12.6(54).20 DOI: https://doi.org/10.14505//jemt.12.6(54).20
- Nisco, A. D., Riviezzo, A., & Napolitano, M. R. (2015). An importance-performance analysis of tourist satisfaction at destination level: Evidence from Campania (Italy). European Journal of Tourism Research, 10, 64-75. https://doi.org/10.54055/ejtr.v10i.179 DOI: https://doi.org/10.54055/ejtr.v10i.179
- Omar, S. I., Mohamad, D., Rozalee, S., & Mohamed, B. (2015). Expectations and experiences gap for Penang Island tourists: An application of the HOLSAT model. Malaysian Journal of Society and Space, 11(7), 70-81. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJLTM.2017.084623 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1504/IJLTM.2017.084623
- Poudel, S. (2013). The influence of the accommodation sector on tourism development and its sustainability [Bachelor’s thesis, Centria University of Applied Sciences].
- Rahman, M. S., Zaman, M. H., Hassan, H., & Chong, C. W. (2018). Tourist’s preferences in the selection of local food: Perception and behavior embedded model. Tourism Review, 73(1), 111-132. https://doi.org/10.1108/TR-04-2017-0079 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/TR-04-2017-0079
- Rajesh, R. (2013). Impact of tourist perceptions, destination image, and tourist satisfaction on destination loyalty: A conceptual model. PASOS. Revista de Turismo y Patrimonio Cultural, 11(3), 67-78. https://doi.org/10.25145/j.pasos.2013.11.039 DOI: https://doi.org/10.25145/j.pasos.2013.11.039
- Sekaran, U., & Bougie, R. (2019). Research methods for business: A skill-building approach. John Wiley & Sons.
- Suanmali, S. (2014). Factors affecting tourist satisfaction: An empirical study in the Northern part of Thailand. SHS Web of Conferences, 12, 01027. https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/20141201027 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/20141201027
- Sukiman, M. F., Omar, S. I., Muhibudin, M., Yussof, I., & Mohamed, B. (2013). Tourist satisfaction is the key to destination survival in Pahang. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 91, 78-87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.08.404 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.08.404
- Tribe, J., & Snaith, T. (1998). From SERVQUAL to HOLSAT: Holiday satisfaction in Varadero, Cuba. Tourism Management, 19(1), 25-34. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0261-5177(97)00094-0 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0261-5177(97)00094-0
- Truong, T., & Foster, D. (2006). Using HOLSAT to evaluate tourist satisfaction at destinations: The case of Australian holidaymakers in Vietnam. Tourism Management, 27(5), 842-855. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2005.05.008 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2005.05.008
- Yang, Y., Tang, J., Luo, H., & Law, R. (2015). Hotel location evaluation: A combination of machine learning tools and web GIS. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 47, 14-24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2015.02.008 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2015.02.008
- Yin, H., & Zhu, Y. (2017). The influence of big data and informatization on the tourism industry. https://doi.org/10.1109/besc.2017.8256393 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/BESC.2017.8256393
- Ying, K S., Jusoh, A., Khalifah, Z., & Said, H. (2015, December 10). An Empirical Study of Tourist Satisfaction in Malaysia. Mediterranean Center of Social and Educational Research. https://doi.org/10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n6s4p359 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n6s4p359
- Yoon, Y., & Uysal, M. (2005). An examination of the effects of motivation and satisfaction on destination loyalty: A structural model. Tourism Management, 26(1), 45-56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2003.08.016 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2003.08.016
- Yusoff, N. H. M., Isvaramurty, A., & Razalli, H. (2019). Mobile application for tourist’s personal travelling management in Kuala Lumpur. In 2019 International Conference on Systems Engineering (pp. 354-359). https://doi.org/10.1109/icsengt.2019.8906443 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/ICSEngT.2019.8906443
- Yusoff, N. M., Zahari, M. S. M., Kutut, M. Z. M., & Sharif, M. S. M. (2013). Is Malaysian food important to local tour operators? Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 105, 458-465. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.11.048 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.11.048
- Zeinali, B., & Jarpour, M. (2015). Determinants for tourist satisfaction with Ghorogh Coastal Park: Toward an empirical model by using the DTP approach and results of path analysis. Journal of Tourism, Hospitality and Sports, 7, 51–63.
- Zorková, D. (2016). The issue of accessibility from the point of view of tourism service providers. Ekonomická revue–Central European Review of Economic Issues, 19, 53-61. https://doi.org/10.7327/cerei.2016.06.02
Downloads
Full-text downloads recorded for this article, by month.
No downloads have been recorded for this article yet. Figures appear here once readers begin downloading the full text.
How to Cite
Share this article
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Shareenie Shera Binti Abdul Hamid, Mohd Adib Izzat, Akmal Adanan, Mohamad Daim Darson, Intan Kusiah Zulkifle, Nurul Syamimi Sapuan, Sofia Syahirah Shukur (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Author (s) should affirm that the material has not been published previously. It has not been submitted and it is not under consideration by any other journal. At the same time author (s) need to execute a publication permission agreement to assume the responsibility of the submitted content and any omissions and errors therein. After submission of revised paper in the light of suggestions of the reviewers, the editorial team edits and formats manuscripts to bring uniformity and standardization in published material.
This work will be licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) and under condition of the license, users are free to read, copy, remix, transform, redistribute, download, print, search or link to the full texts of articles and even build upon their work as long as they credit the author for the original work. Moreover, as per journal policy author (s) hold and retain copyrights without any restrictions.
Keywords
- Tourist Satisfaction Search this journal for Tourist Satisfaction (opens in a new tab)
- Visitor Expectations Search this journal for Visitor Expectations (opens in a new tab)
- Visitor Experience Search this journal for Visitor Experience (opens in a new tab)
- Urban Destination Search this journal for Urban Destination (opens in a new tab)
- Kuala Lumpur Search this journal for Kuala Lumpur (opens in a new tab)
Section
Published in
Vol. 17 No. 1(I) (2025)
Service Quality, Flexible Work & Operational Excellence
View issue contents
Published
Submissions
Have research to publish? Information Management and Business Review welcomes submissions.
Make a Submission