This study aims to investigate the influence of trusting electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) sources available online and attitude on intention to follow eWOM among travellers in Malaysia. A total of 280 questionnaires were collected from respondents via an online survey. The findings indicate that trust in the honesty, competence and benevolence of eWOM sources has a significant impact on attitude towards eWOM as well as the intention to follow it. However, the results also indicate that attitude partially mediates the relationship between trust in eWOM source and intention to follow it. The findings of this study can have significant implications for the tourism industry.

Purpose With growing mobility in a globalized world and an estimate of more than 300 million people going on religious pilgrimages every year, various researchers have been focusing on pilgrimage-driven travel services. In this context and within the Islamic religious tradition, the “Umrah” is used as a case study in this paper. In addition, this study also investigated the effects of Umrah SMM (promotion, place, people, product, price, process, physical evidence, marketing communication and after sale service) on customer satisfaction and loyalty toward Umrah travel agents in “Malaysia.” Design/methodology/approach Convenience sampling technique at four international airports in “Malaysia” was used to obtain data from Umrah travelers who had used Umrah services at least once. A total of 384 usable questionnaires were collected from this study and the data were analyzed using the partial least square. Findings The result indicated that the marketing mix has a significant positive effect on customer loyalty through customer satisfaction both directly and indirectly. This study will be of interest to the Umrah travel industry, for Malaysia and all the other countries, in understanding how marketing mix strategies are essential in maintaining a long-term relationship with customers. Originality/value The literature on Umrah travel services revealed that the traditional service marketing mix (SMM) of 7P’s is inadequate. The purpose of this paper is to address this gap and examine an innovative service marketing mix strategy for “Umrah Service” including marketing communication and after sales service. It investigates the effects of enhanced Umrah SMM on customer satisfaction and loyalty towards Umrah travel agents in “Malaysia”.

No abstract

In the Malaysian Umrah industry, there are so many new entrants selling and offering similar products and services. As a result, Umrah providers must compete to survive in the Umrah travel industry, as there are currently so many competitors. They need to focus on customers' special needs and preferences to maintain the long-term relationship. Hence, the purpose of this research is to identify the relationship between service marketing mix and customer's loyalty towards Umrah travel agents in Malaysia. The customers who performed Umrah more than once were on the focus of this study. The necessary data were collected from 384 respondents through a structured questionnaire using a convenience sampling technique. The results of the research confirm that all "service marketing mix" elements ("price, product, place, promotion, process, people, and physical evidence") show significant positive effects on customer loyalty. This study will be of interest to the Umrah travel industry in understanding how marketing mix strategies are essential for maintaining a long term relationship with customers.

Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) has become a prominent theory in describing the relationship between attitude and behaviour. TPB utilizes attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control to predict-intention. Studies of similar topics concentrating on non-Muslim consumers as respondents particularly exploring in their repurchase intention on Halal food are uncommon. Therefore, this study attempts to demonstrate the TPB in exploring the non-Muslim consumer repurchase intention of halal food products. Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire survey of 415 non-Muslim consumers in Malaysia. The result of Structural Equation Analyses indicate that non-Muslim consumers' attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control toward halal food product positively influenced their intention to repurchase halal food. The conclusions and several recommendations for future research consideration are presented in the final section.