Factors Influencing Domestic Tourist Preference of Holiday Destination in Malaysia During theCovid-19 Pandemic: A Conceptual Framework

Abstract

The COVID-19 global pandemic has negatively impacted local tourism industries worldwide, including in Malaysia where the tourism industry contributes significantly to the country’s economic income and employment opportunities. While sector has received regulatory financial assistance to sustain their business and retain employees, more market measures are needed to promote domestic tourism as the main vehicle for filling the tourist income gap from the decline in inbound international tourist arrivals. Similar previous studies were focused on business-as-usual conditions with unrestricted international travel, however there is a research gap focusing on tourism in Malaysia under current conditions of recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual framework to investigate affordability, quality of service, health and safety compliance and access to facilities and amenities and to better understand how these factors influence domestic tourist preference of holiday destination in Malaysia during the pandemic. A sample of 384 respondents from the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya and the state of Selangor in Malaysia will be selected by using random sampling technique. Regression analysis will be conducted to assess the research hypothesis