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Penang, which is rich in cultural heritage and golden sandy beaches, is one of the major tourist destinations in Malaysia. From the marketing perspective, destination image is one of the important factors that influences tourists' destination selection. Nevertheless, studies on investigating the online tourism image of Penang, in particular, are limited. Hence, the purpose of this study was to explore the image formation of Penang on the Internet by examining the contents of several selected websites from Online Tourism Domain (OTD). This study used a qualitative approach that combined QDA Miner 4.0 and Word Stat 7.1 software, which were used to analyse the textual content from 25 different OTD. The websites were classified under five sub-categories; Government tourism portal, news and media websites, travel agency websites, travel guide websites, and travelogue websites. The finding of the study suggested that each sub-category is unique to itself, and has its own focus and possibly target market. 'Malaysia', the top projected image generated from the study indicated Penang as a location rather than a destination. However, a few images that were also listed subtly suggested that Georgetown, the capital of Penang is a part of the World Heritage sites. This research could create awareness among local tourism marketers, by assisting them to improve Penang's image projection. Several major attractions and activities in Penang that were not related to heritage and food seemed to be less discussed on the studied websites. Such information should not be disregarded as it creates a competitive advantage and is vital to gain tourists' satisfaction.

on job performance among employees from the manufacturing industry. Methodology: The data is analyzed through a survey (questionnaire) from 152 employees in one of the manufacturing companies in Penang, Malaysia. Hypotheses for all direct effects between the predictors (eg. interpersonal communication and task design) and criterion (job performance) are tested using regression analysis.  Result: Results presented that employees in this company have a high level of job performance (µ = 3.70); interpersonal communication (µ =3.64) and task design (µ =3.66). Also, positive correlations are found between employees’ performance and interpersonal communication (r=.53, p=.00) and task design (r=.54, p=.00). Implications: Thus, this research provided a fruitful knowledge regarding the level of employees’ performance as well as their internal communication and task design; among employees in one of the manufacturing company in Malaysia.

Padang Besar is a border town in Malaysia and it is located in the northern part of Perlis, which shares a border with the province of Songkhla, Thailand. This border town is popular for shopping activities among Malaysian and Thai. Most visitors and tourists come during the weekends, sometimes up to thousands at one time. This research paper examines the motivations of cross border shoppers from the perspective of domestic tourists in Padang Besar, Perlis. The objective is to identify the consumer characteristics and analyze the relationship between market characteristics with cross border shopping. This study employs quantitative method and the data were collected using self-administered questionnaires. Statistical software was used to analyze the 375 returned questionnaires. The findings revealed that most of the domestic tourists came from the lower income group and most of them were day tripper. They tend to spend more on food and beverages, while their average spending is more than RM300. Moreover, market characteristics show strong positive relationship towards this shopping activity. The information gathered is beneficial for both neighbouring countries as the government can help to improve the shopping area by facilitating the development with related tourism infrastructure and amenities.

Jackfruit is found in abundance in Malaysia. However the use of jackfruit as fresh dessert or in fruit platter has not been fully utilized in the foodservice industry due to the short shelf life of fresh jackfruit. The aim of this paper is to compare two simple calcium-infusion methods in ripe jackfruit pulps. Calcium is infused into the jackfruit pulps through immersion and vacuum-infusion techniques. The addition of calcium into the jackfruit enhanced the firmness and textural integrity of the fruit, thus prolonging the shelf life to 10 days. The minimally processed jackfruit exhibit fresh-like quality and longer shelf stability. It provides a variation in the fruits offered in foodservice establishment.

Smart tourism is a 21st-century technological phenomenon where tourism suppliers and tourists are interconnected. The Malaysia National Tourism Policy’s 2020-2030 concurs that one of the tactical strategies to increase visitor’s economy in the rural areas is through ‘digitalization’. Parallel to this, community-based tourism’s (CBT) homestay programs have long been a government’s endeavor in assisting rural tourism’s economics. In heading towards smart tourism, CBT must be consistent with the progress. However, current investigation on CBT’s readiness to accept smart tourism in Malaysia is still infancy. This is a proposed study with objectives to explore the concept of smart CBT within Malaysian context, to investigate the readiness of CBT in Malaysia to adopt smart tourism, and to identify the strategies for Malaysia National Tourism Policy. The study will employ qualitative approach where semi-structured interview will be conducted with industry experts associated with tourism and homestays from different regions in Malaysia. The expected findings will establish the current setting of smart tourism in the CBT context, which will derive input for Malaysia National Tourism Policy.