Philippine E-Journals

Tourism among Families in Northern Peninsular Malaysia

Reynaldo Gacho Segumpan | Joanna Soraya Abu Zahari | Mohd Muzamer Jamaluddin

Discipline: Social Science, Tourism

 

Abstract:

Tourism is one of the growing industries that have taken big strides in promoting Malaysia locally and abroad. This paper attempted to determine tourism activities among Malaysian families in Northern Peninsular Malaysia. It sought to find out the (1) frequency of family travel in a year; (2) place of travel; (3) destination preferences for local tourism; (4) amount spent for local and overseas travel; and, (5) extent of decision-making involvement in tourism. The study also aimed at identifying the factors that influence family decision-making in tourism.

The findings showed that 37.5% of the respondents traveled twice a year. Majority (75%) of them preferred a local destination. Their destinations included beaches, urban cities, and hilly sites. When it comes to the amount spent (USD1=RM3.45) for local travel, the figure ranged from RM501 (35%) to RM1,500 (35%). The family had a "joint decision-making" (between husband and wife) regarding the need for the travel, choice of destination, choice of travel, choice of food, spending, planning for a vacation, and making decisions during the trip. The top five perceived factors that influence decisions of family to travel locally and/or abroad were allocation of money and cost, family safety, family togetherness, access to destination, and new environment.