This study is designed to explore halal-friendly destination attributes in South Korea and identify the particular role of the attribute factors in forming destination image and behavioral intentions. In order to achieve this objective, a psychometric process was used. A qualitative approach (i.e., interview) was initially employed to identify possible halal-friendly attributes at a non-Muslim destination. Next, Churchill's (1979) procedures (exploratory factor analytic approach) and Gerbing and Anderson's (1988) guidelines (confirmatory factor analytic approach) were used. A structural equation model was proposed to test the impact of identified attributes on its subsequent outcomes. Additional asymmetrical methods were applied to investigate the combination of halal-friendly attributes and necessary conditions leading to the desired outcomes. The outcomes determined five major halal-friendly attributes which can be useful for destination marketers in South Korea to formulate a favorable destination image, elicit repeat visitation, and promote word-of-mouth behaviors.

This empirical study entailed proposing conceptual models for investigating customers' satisfaction, their intention to recommend, and their continued intention to purchase and consume halal products and services. Complexity theory was used to support the developed models. The study applied a symmetrical analysis to investigate the risk factors that are sufficient for affecting the desired outcomes. An asymmetrical approach was used to explore the causal configurations that lead to both high and low outcomes scores. A necessary condition analysis was performed to identify the risk conditions required to achieve the expected outcomes. The models were tested using data collected on the perceptions of patrons at international halal restaurants in Malaysia. According to the results, the heterogeneous interactions of risk conditions support complexity theory. Policy implications for the status of the tourism industry and the Muslim world are discussed at the end of the paper.

The tourism industry has been seriously suffering from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis ever since its outbreak. Given this pandemic situation, the major aim of this study is to develop a conceptual framework that clearly explains the US international tourists’ post-pandemic travel behaviors by expanding the theory of planned behavior (TPB). By utilizing a quantitative process, the TPB was successfully broadened by incorporating the travelers’ perceived knowledge of COVID-19, and it has been deepened by integrating the psychological risk. Our theoretical framework sufficiently accounted for the US tourists’ post-pandemic travel intentions for safer international destinations. In addition, the perceived knowledge of COVID-19 contributed to boosting the prediction power for the intentions. The associations among the subjective norm, the attitude, and the intentions are under the significant influence of the tourists’ psychological risks regarding international traveling. The comparative criticality of the subjective norm is found. Overall, the findings of this study considerably enhanced our understanding of US overseas tourists’ post-pandemic travel decision-making processes and behaviors.

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The purpose of this empirical study is to investigate the effect of general risk, a multidimensional factor, on halal customer trust, satisfaction and intention to recommend halal food. The study also calculates the mean comparison of trust, satisfaction and intention recommendation across the demographic variables of halal customers. Our results from the structural analysis revealed that general risk has significant and positive effects on trust, satisfaction, and intention to recommend halal food. In addition, the results of the mean difference test advised that satisfaction and intention to recommend halal food are significantly different between male and female customers and that trust significantly varies across halal customers with different educations and marital status backgrounds. This study added a valuable contribution to the current literature of halal food consumption by performing a set of symmetric analytical approaches to assess desired responses from halal food customers.

As tourists are increasingly putting off their air travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic that has tremendously affected the travel and tourism industry, this study examined the role of negative affect, perceived health risk, perceived uncertainty, and mental wellbeing in forming travel attitudes and temporal avoidance behaviour to global destinations seriously-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic from a U.S. tourist perspective. The crosssectional online survey showed that negative affect as a result of COVID-19 significantly influenced perceived health risk, which in turn induced mental wellbeing and perceived uncertainty. While mental wellbeing significantly predicted attitudes towards international travel and temporal avoidance behaviour, perceived uncertainty significantly predicted short-term avoidance behaviour. The insight obtained from this study provides a mechanism behind tourist avoidance behaviour in times of global health crises and implications for tourism reliant destinations to develop recovery strategies in coping with the impact of the pandemic.

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