Perceived inconveniences and Muslim travelers' loyalty to non-Muslim destinations

Abstract

Muslim travelers' growth is an emerging sector of the global tourism industry. Yet, little has been discovered about their behaviors and perceived inconveniences in a non-Muslim destination. The present research was an attempt to identify international Muslim travelers' loyalty generation process for the non-Muslim destination by considering the effect of inconveniences that they possibly perceive while traveling to the non-Muslim destination. An empirical approach comprising a field survey method was used to collect the Muslim travelers' views in a non-Muslim destination (Korea). Our result revealed that halal-friendly image, emotional experiences, and desire played a significant role in building Muslim travelers' loyalty. In addition, a moderator test result of Muslim travelers' perceived inconveniences at the non-Muslim destination significantly weakened the effect of desire and halal-friendly image on loyalty. The comparative importance of emotional experiences at a destination was identified. Our findings help non-Muslim destination marketers to develop effective attraction and retention strategies for international Muslim travelers.