The Roles Of Socio-Economic Characteristics In Satisfying Repeat Umrah Visitors

• Main Authors: Wahab N.A., Ahmad N., Jusoff K.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: Repeat umrah visitors; Satisfaction; Socio-economic characteristics
• Online Access: http://ddms.usim.edu.my:80/jspui/handle/123456789/15865

The aim of the paper is to analyze the roles of socio-economic characteristics in satisfying repeat umrah visitors' in Malaysia. The study distributed 2,020 survey questionnaires at various locations in Malaysia during January-May 2011 of which 62.8% are repeat visitors. The findings indicate that the respondents are mostly married males aged between 26-55 years old. Most of them are public sector employees with an income bracket ranging from USD909 to USD3,030. Majority of the respondents planned at least six months ahead of the trip and spend their money mostly on local transportations, food and beverages and shopping activities while performing umrah. In order to encourage repeat visitations, the Ministry of Tourism Malaysia and Department of Waqaf, Zakat and Hajj (JAWHAR) should develop long-term relationship with the visitors. Integrated promotional efforts should be organized involving the cooperation between Malaysia tourism development and travel package operators, airlines and all agencies concerned, especially with authorities in Saudi Arabia. Future research should investigate service gap and satisfaction on the quality of services from the perspective of tour operators to complement existing findings.