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Tourism Management
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/tourman
Leisure and Recreation Management Department, National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism, No. 1, Sung-Ho Rd., Shiao-Kang, Kaohsiung 700, Taiwan, ROC
Hospitality Services Department, Rosen College of Hospitality Management, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA
h i g h l i g h t s
< Assessed the relationship between travel constraints and destination image of Brunei from the young travelers perspective.
< Findings contribute to four dimensions of travel constraints and three dimensions of perceived destination image.
< Conrmed the signicant relationship between travel constraints and destination during the early decision-making process.
< Concluded travel constraints impact the formation of destination image during the early decision-making process.
a r t i c l e i n f o
a b s t r a c t
Article history:
Received 4 January 2012
Accepted 16 July 2012
This study evaluated the relationship between travel constraints and destination image of young travelers to Brunei. This study found a signicant relationship between destination image and travel
constraints during the early decision-making process. This study concluded travel constraints impact on
the formation of destination image during the early decision-making process. Study results contribute to
the body of knowledge in two areas. First, four dimensions of travel constraints and three dimensions of
perceived destination image were identied. In addition to the 3-dimension hierarchal constraints
(structural, intrapersonal, and interpersonal), a new constraint dimension (unfamiliar cultural
constraints) was revealed. Second, this study conrmed the relationship between travel constraints and
destination image. Relatively few studies address the role of travel constraints to the formation of
destination image. This is the rst study providing empirical evidence demonstrating Bruneis destination image and travel constraints impact young travelers during the early decision-making process.
2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords:
Travel constraints
Destination image
Muslim destination
Unfamiliar culture
Youth travelers
Brunei
1. Introduction
The youth tourism market is considered to have great appeal for
many destinations. Previous studies found young, well-educated
travelers are more likely to travel to destinations with different
cultures (Deforges, 2000; Jang, Bai, & Hong, 2004). Young travelers
not only represent a signicant segment of the travel market, but
also possess signicant spending power. Previous studies indicate
young tourists usually travel longer and more frequently than
members of other market segments (Richards & Wilson, 2003,
2006). As Chen and Kerstetter (1999, p. 256) reported, educated
travelers (e.g., college students including graduate students) usually
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(DAmore, 1988). As a result of perceived social, political, and religious differences, several middle-Eastern countries have shunned
Western-style international tourism, deemed the differences to be
incompatible with Islam (Burton, 1995). Brunei is an interesting
example of this strategy as a reluctant tourist destination with no
real economic incentive to encourage international tourism,
thereby protects citizens from the worst excesses (Baum & Conlin,
1997, p. 91) (cited in Henderson, 2003, p. 449).
During the last three decades, tourism development in Islamic
countries such as Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Morocco, and
Turkey, has offered international tourists unique multi-ethnic
oriented cultural experiences (Battour, Ismail, & Battor, 2011; Din,
1989; Zamani-Farahani & Henderson, 2010). Even though the
tourism industry in these countries has grown slowly during the
last few decades and is still in its infancy phase, tourism is considered one of the major contributors to the economies of these
countries (Akhtar, 2011; Manseld & Winckler, 2008). For example,
tourism has been an important contributor to employment generation in Egypt (11%) and Tunisia (15%) in 2010 (Akhtar, 2011), and is
projected to contribute to a 6.7% increase in 2011 for Malaysia
(WTTC, 2011). Despite the economic benets, Islam has a potentially difcult relationship with international tourism and has
become a sensitive issue for the industry due to wider political
developments (Henderson, 2008, p. 135). For example, in many
countries where Islam is the main religion or one of the dominant
religions, host behaviors are always guided by Islamic doctrine .
such doctrine is often subject to cultural or political interpretations
and different societies adhere to religious doctrine to varying
degrees (Snmez, 2001, p. 128). The contemporary image of
destinations in countries where Islam is the main religion is still
closely associated with differences between traditional Islamic
behavioral norms and those of Western society (Henderson, 2006;
Tasci, Meydan, & Cavusgil, 2006), as demonstrated by Manseld and
Wincklers (2008) case study of Bahrain, an Islamic tourism destination. Their study concluded that potential tourists might perceive
these destinations negatively due to religious behavior and strict
Islamic codes of conduct. While international tourists harbor
concerns about Islamic traditions (Henderson, 2006, 2008), tourism
in such countries continues to grow (Akhtar, 2011; Loganathan &
Ibrahim, 2010; WTTC, 2011).
2.3. Brunei
Brunei is located in South Asia on the Island of Borneo,
bordering Indonesia and Malaysia. Due to its proximity to the
booming tourist attractions of China, Japan, and Taiwan, Brunei has
the potential to attract more Asian tourists than many other
neighboring destinations. Culture is often considered the main
tourism attraction of Brunei. Brunei differs from other Islamic
countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Yemen, wherein tourism is
likely to be in the form of escorted tours which demand trained
personnel in the form of guides and couriers (Burns & Cooper,
1997, p. 560). Although Islamic norms and values have been
rmly rooted in Brunei since the 16th century, and while most of
Bruneis cultural practices and customs are intrinsically linked with
Islam, the country is open to other faiths and cultures (Brunei
Tourism, 2011), and includes a mix of Asiatic people and culture.
Many tourists are attracted to Brunei by its unique attractions and
cultural sites, often noted by tourists seeking novelty and exclusivity. For example, Brunei attractions include the Istana Nurul
Iman Palace (Palace of the Light of Faith) and Kampong Ayer
(the Water Village). Istana Nurul Iman Palace is the largest residential palace in the world (larger than Buckingham Palace and the
Royal Palace of Madrid). Kampong Ayer, estimated to be over 1000
years old, was characterized as the Venice of the East by Antonio
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4. Results
4.1. Travel constraints to Brunei
The objectives of this study were to investigate perceived travel
constraints and perceived image of Brunei as a travel destination.
Frequency analysis was performed to identify the salient aspects
of travel constraints to Brunei as well as destination image as
perceived by study participants. Exploratory factor analysis with
Varimax rotation was then applied. All variables were examined to
ensure the basic assumptions of normal distribution, homoscedasticity, and no multicollinearity. All bivariate correlation coefcients were less than .7; VIF < 2. Q-Q box plot of each variable and
the skewness and Kurtosis were examined and concluded that the
normal distribution assumptions were not violet. Thus, the
variables identied met assumptions for the procedure. Before
indicating the factors of both destination image and travel
constraints by using factor analysis, two tests were employed to
ensure assumption were met. They are the KaisereMeyereOlkin
(KMO) measure of sample adequacy and the Bartletts Test of
Sphericity were performed. These two sets of indicators ensure that
both sets of variables meet the assumption of carrying out the
exploratory factor analysis for both destination image and travel
constraints. The underlying dimensions of destination image and
travel constraints to Brunei were then identied.
Principal Component Factor Analysis with Varimax rotation was
used to identify the 20 attributes of travel constraints. The procedure
resulted in four dimensions of travel constraints to Brunei
(KMO .89; the Bartletts Test of Sphericity chi-square
3329.729***, df 171, signicant at .001 level; 61.46% variance
explained). They are: unfamiliar cultural constraints, interpersonal
travel constraints, structural travel constraints, and intrapersonal travel
constraints. Cronbach alpha, used to measure the internal consistency of each of these four dimensions, ranged from .72 to .91 and
was deemed appropriate. Unfamiliar cultural constraints included
attributes such as, The extreme culture makes me feel not interested in visiting this destination, and I feel uncomfortable due to
the religion. Interpersonal travel constraints consisted of items
including, My family and friends discourage me from traveling to
this type of destination, and My family and friends do not want to
travel to this type of destination. Structural travel constraints
referred to those items such as, I do not have enough money to
travel to this type of destination, and Language is a major problem
for me to have a vacation to this destination. Intrapersonal travel
constraints included, My health is a concern for traveling to this type
of destination and My work and family obligation keep me from
visiting this destination. The ndings showed young travelers
perceived travel constraints on two dimensions: structural travel
constraints (mean 3.54; SD 1.05) and intrapersonal travel
constraints (mean 3.8; SD 1.05). However, young travelers disagreed with unfamiliar cultural constraints (mean 2.88; SD 1.28)
and interpersonal travel constraints (mean 3.17; SD 1.25).
The ndings are shown in Table 1.
4.2. Brunei destination image
Among the 19 attributes describing Bruneis destination image,
variety of unique cultural attractions, unique heritage, and
diverse and unique ethnic groups and culture were ranked highly.
However, modern, appealing local food and beverage,
and high-tech destination image attributes ranked lower. This
process revealed a three-dimension destination image of Brunei
(KMO .904; the Bartletts Test of Sphericity chi-square
3430.053***, df 191, signicant at .001 level; 59.86% of variance
explained by the solution). The three dimensions of Brunei
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Table 1
Factor analysis of travel constraints to Brunei.
Factors
Factor loading
.852
.823
.811
.779
.591
.767
.763
.754
.746
.578
.790
.702
.614
.521
.490
.458
.434
.919
.887
.886
Eigen value
2.88 (1.28)
7.61
38.07%
3.17 (1.25)
2.09
10.47%
3.54 (1.05)
1.33
6.62%
3.80 (1.27)
1.26
6.31%
Table 2
Factor analysis of Islamic country destination image.
Factors
Factor loading
.732
.714
.643
.634
.619
.603
.574
.537
.498
.493
.405
.812
.744
.708
.657
.859
.772
.762
.619
Eigen value
4.27 (.97)
8.00
42.11%
4.91 (1.06)
2.09
10.98%
5.47 (.91)
1.29
6.78%
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these three dimensions was .90, .85, and .82, respectively, which are
deemed as excellent to good.
4.3. Travel constraints and destination image relationships
The second objective of this study was to identify the relationship, if any, between travel constraints and destination image.
Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA) procedures were performed
to empirically test the nature and magnitude of the relationship.
The relationship test model is depicted in Fig. 1.
The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS, version
14.0) MANOVA procedure was utilized for the canonical analysis.
The study revealed only one canonical correlation was signicant at
the .001 level. Table 3 lists the p-value as .006, which indicates
a possible canonical relationship exists between travel constraints
and destination image. Multivariate test statistics including
Wilks lambda (Wilks lambda .912, p < .001) also supported the
conclusion that this function solution was appropriate.
A Canonical Redundancy Index measures the ability of a set of
left-hand side variables (e.g. travel constraints) to account for variation in a set of right-hand side variables (e.g. destination image). It
is important to interpret the canonical function that explains a large
portion of the right-hand side variables (Hair, Anderson, Tatham, &
Black, 2006). The Canonical Redundancy Index analysis is shown
in Table 3. The resulting total redundancy was .03 (meaning 3 per
cent of the variance in the image set was explained). More specically, the rst canonical function, which explained 47 per cent of the
total redundancy, contributed the most to the total redundancy. The
results based on both the redundancy analysis and the statistical
signicance tests implied that the rst canonical function (e.g.,
variate) should be interpreted as the sole solution.
In order to determine the most important variables in a given
pair of canonical variants, the correlation between each variable
and canonical variate (standardized canonical coefcients and/or
canonical loadings) are used. According to Hair et al. (2006) the
canonical loadings could be used, in most cases, to interpret the
meanings of the canonical variate. Furthermore, canonical loadings
are used to discern the relationship between pairs of variates in
order to avoid multicollinearity problems. According to Hair et al.
Fig. 1. Canonical correlation of perceived travel constraints and destination image model.
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Table 3
Overall results of canonical correlation analysis.
Canonical correlation
function (variate)
Eigen value
Canonical
coefcient (r)
Wilks lambda
Chi-sq
df
Sig.
Variance extracted
in image
Canonical R2
Redundancy
index
% of
Redundancy
1
2
3
.080
.013
.003
.272
.111
.051
.912
.985
.997
27.591
4.515
.769
12
6
2
.006**
.607
.681
.370
.262
.121
.0739
.0123
.0026
.027
.003
.000
47%
5%
0%
Table 4
Canonical loadings for travel constraints and destination image.
Variables
Travel constraints
Unfamiliar cultural constraints
Interpersonal constraints
Structural constraints
Intrapersonal constraints
Destination image
Tourism infrastructure
Unique cultural attraction
Hospitality atmosphere
.572*
.857*
.018
.645*
1.042*
.104
.164
.992*
.566*
.567*
Note: *The absolute value of standardized canonical coefcients is greater than 0.5.
*The absolute value of canonical correlation loading is greater than 0.5.
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Eales, 2011). Although culture image studies are not new (e.g.,
Ritchie and Zins (1978) described culture attributes in their
study), culture image has been more frequently studied in the U.S.
and Europe (e.g., MacKay & Fesenmaier, 2000). Although the Brunei
image attributes of culture and hospitality could be categorized
as the product factor described by Milman and Pizam (1995), or
the environment factor addressed by Chen and Kerstetter (1999),
the Islamic culture image attribute is a unique travel attraction in
South Eastern Asia. Given these ndings, this study suggests that
countries with strong Islamic norms and values can be successfully
promoted as travel destinations to those travelers attracted to
unique culture and hospitality.
This study suggests unfamiliar culture was viewed as both
a salient image as well as an inhibitor. The unfamiliar cultural
constraints dimension is unique in the travel and tourism context,
especially as it applies to the early travel decision-making process.
Therefore, the ndings conrm the travel constraint model is
different from the leisure constraint model. In addition to the three
hierarchical constraints, destination-specic factors (i.e., unfamiliar
culture and religion) were viewed as signicant constraints which
inhibit travel. Local culture, lifestyle, and heritage are important
image attributes which have a pull effect and attract the youth
market. However, this study found unfamiliar culture was not
perceived as an inhibitor from the perspective of young Taiwanese
travelers. This nding suggests destination marketing professionals
must carefully manage culture-related attributes by calibrating
marketing strategies to the target market.
The second major nding of this study is identication of the
relationship between constraints and destination images. Previous
research of destination image and its related constructs is well
established (Pike, 2002, 2010; Stepchenkova & Mills, 2010).
However, the relationship between destination image and travel
constraints has not been signicantly addressed by previous studies.
This study found a signicant relationship between destination
image and travel constraints during the early decision-making
process. Young travelers are more likely to be inuenced by travel
constraints (i.e., structural and intrapersonal constraints) which
often lead to negative destination image at the early stage of the
travel decision-making process. Furthermore, this study also identied favorable destination image could be a pull effect to overcome
travel constraints (i.e., unfamiliar cultural constraints).
This study found young travelers disagreed with unfamiliar
cultural constraints due to positive destination images. That is,
curiosity about unknown destinations (e.g., Brunei) can be positively
inuenced by tourism promotion portraying a positive image, thus
overcoming travel constraints (i.e., unfamiliar cultural constraints).
The contemporary image of many Islamic destinations is closely
associated with behavioral differences from those of Western
society (Henderson, 2006; Manseld & Winckler, 2008; Tasci et al.,
2006). Therefore, it is critical for destinations with strong Islamic
culture to positively inuence young travelers.
Effective marketing campaigns must not only positively inuence youth markets, but must also appeal to related groups and
information sources. For example, families, schools, hostels, travel
agencies, and social networking services can be a means to
disseminate positive information. In addition, since information acts
as a stimulus and image-forming agent that forms destination
perceptions and choices (Hashim et al., 2007), the Internet and
social media such as Facebook, Backpacker, Couchsurng, Twitter
etc. can also be used as an effective means for market promotion. In
recent years, the Internet has provided travelers with key information for international travelers. Websites with multimedia
resources (e.g., quality images and videos) may help travelers
re-shape their negative perceptions about unfamiliar cultures.
One specic example is illustrated by a Malaysian tourism
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