Factors Influencing The Destination Image Of Kuching Waterfront: A Tourist Perspective

Ying-Sin Chin ,
May-Chiun Lo ,
Abang Azlan Mohamad ,
Shiaw-Tong Ha

Abstract

Tourism plays an increasingly important role in many developing countries’ financial and social advancement. There has been rapid development which translated to visitors for genuine and enjoyable holiday experiences in the last 10 years. In fact, there are a handful of studies that investigated tourism experiences, revisit intention, destination loyalty and destination personality. Nevertheless, limited research has been found to determine the factors influencing the destination image from a tourist’s perspective. Therefore, the current study attempts to explore whether carrying capacity, perceived value, accessibility, accommodation quality, cultural, and destination attractiveness & resources are key factors in influencing destination image. Using a quantitative research design, data were collected from 159 tourists who visited Kuching Waterfront, Malaysia. The research employs PLS-SEM, and the results indicated that four of the direct hypotheses were supported, which are carrying capacity, perceived value, cultural and destination attractiveness & resources. The implications and limitations of the current study were further discussed.

Keywords: Carrying capacityperceived valueaccessibility & accommodation qualityculturaldestination attractiveness & resourcesdestination image

Introduction

Tourism is regarded as one of the largest industries in the world and the fastest growing economic activity that contributes to the economic wellbeing of a country. It assimilates a different kind of aspects such as natural resources, environmental, residents, culture, transportation, accommodation and restaurants (Horng et al., 2017; Lee et al., 2012; Sigala, 2008). Tourism is further viewed as the most effective way of promoting our internationally national culture, surroundings and social components (Lim et al., 2017). In the last 10 years, there has been rapid development which translated to visitors for genuine and enjoyable holiday experiences for relaxation (Buffa, 2015; Lim et al., 2017). Tourism is found to be able to generate jobs, encourages exports and incorporates considerable enormous cultural, environmental and heritage value. In fact, tourism is playing an increasingly important role in many developing countries’ financial and social advancement (Gomez-Vega & Picazo-Tadeo, 2019; Joshi et al., 2017). Statistics released by the Ministry of Tourism, Culture, Arts and Culture Sarawak show that Sarawak received 4.43 million visitors and with tourism receipts totalling of RM7.95 billion in 2018. The statistics implied that Sarawak is expected to welcome 5 million visitors by the end of year 2019, which is anticipated to contribute RM 8.18 billion in tourism receipt through the Visit Sarawak Campaign launched in 2019 in promoting “Sarawak, More to Discover”.

Tourism destinations with strong destination image are the prime concern by the Sarawak government in accomplishing the targeted tourist’s arrivals. The destination image is commonly recognized as a strong instrument to be used by the tourism industry to achieve market competitiveness. Previous studies have posited that destination image of the country plays significant part in the decision-making process of tourist (Chaulagain et al., 2019; Zhang et al., 2018). Moreover, researchers highlighted the role of destination image and provided empirical evidences that destination image is the catalyst in tourist preferences, procedures of choice, visit and revisit intentions (Kim & Lee, 2015; Souiden et al., 2017).

This study took place at Kuching Waterfront, in Sarawak, a tourist destination that is known as one of the most popular destination for relaxation and sightseeing. As aforementioned, the study attempts to investigate the attributes of the carrying capacity, perceived value, accessibility quality, accommodation quality, cultural on the uniqueness of experiences as well as destination attractiveness and resources on the destination image in order to gain the competitiveness of Kuching Waterfront. The results of this research will provide useful insights into the positioning plans for future destination marketers.

Destination Image

Destination image is the significant influences that tourists will affect a destination's choices and defined as a tourist's general impression of a destination (Fakeye & Crompton, 1991; Ramseook-Munhurrun et al., 2015). The perceived destination image of tourists plays an important role in their purchasing decisions and then stimulates their visiting and re-visiting intentions (Allameh et al., 2015; Oppermann, 2000; Pike, 2004). Tourist behaviour usually being influenced by destination image where tourist will be considered and designated the destination with optimistic images during the process of decision making on travel destination (Foroudi et al., 2018). On the other hand, image is a representation of the attitude of the visitor towards several attributes related to the destination (Echtner & Ritchie, 2003).

Carrying Capacity

Carrying capacity is several-dimensional as an environmental, economic, psychological and sensory activity that needs to be considered depending on the stakeholders ' actual considerations (Muler Gonzalez et al., 2018; Simon et al., 2004). Two important components are recognized by carrying capacity, namely on the environmental quality and the quality of tourist’s experiences which can be defined as the amount of people who visit the tourist destination without destroying the quality, environment and recreational of the destination and decrease tourist satisfaction (Dioko & So, 2017; Wall, 1982). It can further be defined as the environmental quality and visitor satisfaction that could not be diminished by capacity of the environment to support the visitant activity (Dioko & So, 2017). Past studies (Buhalis, 2000; Chandran et al., 2012, Chin et al., 2016) postulated that the number of tourist arrivals to the destination must be controlled in order to maintain the sustainability of the destination Public and private sectors are concerned about the issue of carrying tourism destination capacity as tourist overcrowding will have a negative impact on the condition of the destination environment and diminish the satisfaction of tourists. The above discussion leads to the following hypothesis:

H1: Carrying capacity is positively related to the destination image

Perceived Value

Perceived value is a significant antecedent of satisfaction and has a direct positive relationship with customer satisfaction (Khuong & Phuong, 2017). It is a customer's overall assessment of a product or service provided (Allameh et al., 2015; Zeithaml, 1988). Through consideration of what they give and what they gain from products, the perceived value is identified as a general customer valuation and can be further defined as the individual benefits of products or services that can be seen or cannot be seen; and the benefits that an individual receives and all the costs or prices that they have to pay (Khuong & Duyen, 2017). In past literature review, there is a lack of studies examined on the relationship between perceived value and destination image. Past research by Allameh et al. (2015) revealed that there is a significant relationship between perceived value and destination image. Furthermore, Chen and Tsai (2007) has also reported that the tourists’ needs and satisfaction on core tourism product and services are the antecedence of destination image. Therefore, the discussion above leads to the formulated hypothesis:

H2: Perceived value is positively related to the destination image

Accessibility

Accessibility to the availability of tourists to reach their destination, such as traffic flow, parking facilities, local transport convenience (Chi & Qu, 2008; Law & Lo, 2016). Past studies elucidated that one of the key factors that influences tourists in making travel choices is the importance of quality of accessibility (Chin et al., 2018; Litman, 2003). Good accessibility of the destination is the ability of the destination to provide tourists with the appropriate or varied access to a geographical location and during their visit to a specific attraction within the particular tourism destination (Aguila & Ragot, 2014; Hall, 2004; Law & Lo, 2016). Past study by Kim et al. (2016) highlighted that accessibility has an impact on destination image which in turn affects the revisit intention of the tourist. Hence, accessibility which is considered as tangible service is found to affect destination image. Therefore, the following hypothesis is developed based on the discussion above.

H3: Accessibility quality is positively related to the destination image

Accommodation Quality

Accommodation is referred as hotels, homestays, motels and village in the context of the hospitality tourism industry (Chin et al., 2018; Ebrahimpour & Haghkhah, 2010). This is vital to ensure that tourism destination with the best amenities meets the expectations and thus will satisfy customers and subsequently enable the destination to achieve a better image (Lo et al., 2019). The quality of the accommodation is based on different physical elements such as the design of the facility, the condition of the facility and the comfort of the equipment and the food supply. Previous research (Downward & Lumsdon, 2000; Lo et al., 2019; Mehmetoglu, 2007; Rauch et al., 2015) evidenced that tourists ' span of stay, their optimal choice of activities and their time they spend in the tourist destination seem to affect the value of their accommodation. On the other hand, various other studies have proposed that accommodation is an expansion of the tourism experience and that a healthy accommodation experience can increase the satisfaction of visitors with their general journey and the destination (Shi et al., 2019; Wight, 1998; Yang et al., 2019). The experience of accommodation is essential to the memorability of the general destination experience of visitors (Shi et al., 2019; Tukamushaba et al., 2016). The subsequent hypothesis is proposed on the discussion above:

H4: Accommodation quality is positively related to the destination image

Cultural

Culture has been defined as the main resource in the context of the tourism industry (Manrai et al., 2018; Ritchie & Crouch, 2010). A destination's cultural heritage is crucial to long-term prosperity and helps reinforce the sense of place and civic pride of the residents. In this context - Timothy and Boyd (2003) indicated that the supply of heritage as a combination of elements covering the heritage attractions offered to tourists, the environment and context in which the heritage occurs, and the support services given by tourism activities and flows. The uniqueness of cultural experiences allows tourists to have desired to experience new and different cultures. A destination has a competitive advantage simply by having a unique culture – with festivals, art, architecture, and cuisine are also influenced by culture (Manrai et al., 2018). Culture is a highly complex subject that covers all aspects of human life. Tourist destination becomes more attractive when there are more unique and varied cultural experiences where it directly will bring a positive image on the destination. Therefore, uniqueness of cultural experiences was found to have a significant relationship on destination image. As discussed above, the formalized hypothesis is developed.

H5: Cultural is positively related to the destination image

Destination Attractiveness & Resources

We live in an era of information overflow and in travel industry - positioning and promoting of tourism destination is central in order to attract and motivate potential tourists to visit a destination (Ma et al., 2018). Destination attractiveness has become a core stream of tourism literature. The attractiveness of destination is regarded as to a location's ability to attract tourist flows and is determined by different elements such as natural and historical attractions, facilities and services, infrastructure, hospitality and expenses (Fadda & Sorensen, 2017; Kozak & Rimmington, 1998). It is the perception of combined individual benefits and the ability of the destination to deliver those benefits. This infers that the more a destination is able to meet the needs of a tourist, the more attractive it will be (Ma et al., 2018). Tourism attractions have become an important element in creating a destination attractiveness (Dean et al., 2019; Hung et al., 2016) and past studies indicated that developing a positive destination image is dependent on providing good quality and environmental of destination attractiveness (Dean et al., 2019; Stylidis et al., 2017). In turn, a destination's attractiveness has been proven to significantly affect the profitability in hospitality industry (Fadda & Sorensen, 2017). Therefore, the following hypothesis is developed based on the discussion above.

H6: Destination attractiveness & resources are positively related to the destination image

Problem Statement

Tourism's sustainable growth in a destination is dependent on tourist’s arrival and t is highly depending on tourist’s perception of the destination in order to increase the number of tourists to a destination and increase their experience (Rasoolimanesh et al., 2017). The importance of the image of the destination is widely recognized as building and marketing the images of the destination. The creation of a memorable attractive destination image is therefore one of the biggest challenges facing today's tourism markets (Sulaiman & Wilson, 2019). All these adverse effects, such as deterioration of natural resources, overcrowding, inadequate development of infrastructure and decreasing environmental quality, will affect the sustainable development of tourism in the tourist destination and indirectly affect the tourist perception of the destination image (Chin et al., 2016). In fact, tourism destinations with a strong image of destination are primarily concerned with the Government of Sarawak in order to achieve the goal of the arrivals of tourists. Therefore, a deeper understanding of the destination image is crucial in shaping tourist travel behaviour, where the destination image has not been deeply influenced in terms of tourist perception (Kock et al., 2016). There are studies (Alrawadieh et al., 2019; Souiden et al., 2017; Zhang et al., 2018) that have focused on tourism experiences, revisit intention, destination loyalty and destination personality. However, limited studies have empirically examined on factors influencing the destination image in Sarawak’s popular destinations. Therefore, it is crucial for tourism stakeholders to focus on specific destination setting to comprehend a relevant and valid understanding of the destination image.

Research Questions

In this study, the research questions are framed based on the tourists’ perspective:

  • Is carrying capacity having positive relationship with destination image?

  • Is perceived value having positive relationship with destination image?

  • Is accessibility having positive relationship with destination image?

  • Is accommodation having positive relationship with destination image?

  • Is cultural having positive relationship with destination image?

  • Is destination attractiveness & resources having positive relationship with destination image?

Purpose of the Study

Specific Objective

To explore the factors (e.g. carrying capacity, perceived value, accessibility, accommodation, cultural and destination attractiveness & resources) influencing on destination image of Kuching Waterfront, Sarawak under tourist’s perspectives.

Research Methods

The research site of this study is Kuching Waterfront as a major destination. Kuching Waterfront is a good place to start for tourists to explore the beauty of Kuching, as it is located at the city centre. Located along the river bank of Sarawak River, Kuching Waterfront is geographically and strategically located as it is a short distance away from an abundance surrounding attractions, such as the Chinese History Museum, Square Tower, Darul Hana Bridge, Astana, Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN), Fort Margherita, and the must-visit Mira Cake House in a nearby old-time Malay kampung (village): Kampung Boyan, a traditional Malay kampung (village).

The sample of this study were selected based on purposive sampling and the targeted sample are those who have visited Kuching Waterfront between October 2018 and March 2019. In determining the sample size, a G*power analysis was performed with the effect size set as 0.15 (medium), power needed as 0.8, and a maximum of 6 predictors. Based on the power analysis, the minimum sample size required for this study is 98. Using a survey methodology, 500 questionnaires have been distributed, and 173 responses have been returned, indicating a 35% response rate. After data screening, 159 were used for further statistical analyses. This sample consisted of 55 males (34.6%) and 104 females (65.4%). The majority of respondents were aged between 21-30 years old (69.8%), followed by those were aged between 31-40 years old (10.1%) and those were aged between 41-50 years old (7.5%) while the remaining were aged between 18-20 years old and more than 50 years old (6.9% and 5.7% respectively). The majority, or 88% of respondents were earning less than RM4, 500 per month while 12% of respondents were earning more than RM4, 500 per month.

In this study, a total of 29 measures was used and all of them were revised from previous studies (Artuğer, 2015; Canny & Hidayat, 2012; Chi & Qu, 2008; Collins, 2005; Herstanti et al., 2014; Yusof & Rahman, 2011). All the measurement items were measured using a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 7 (Strongly Agree). A pre-test was performed prior to the survey to ensure that the respondents clearly understood the questions and instructions. The proposed model was tested using SmartPLS 3.0 as shown in Figure 01 (Hair et al., 2017; Ringle et al., 2015). First, the measurement model was tested to determine the measurement items ' validity and reliability. Next, the structural model was assessed to check the hypotheses relevant to the proposed constructs ' structural relationship.

Figure 1: Conceptual Model
Conceptual Model
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Findings

Assessment of the measurement model

Convergent validity and discriminant validity were examined in order to assess the measurement model. First, convergent validity was examined by assessing the factor loadings, average variances extracted (AVE) and the composite reliability (CR). As can be perceived in Table 01 , all factor loadings were greater than 0.5, expect the factor loading of DRA1 which was 0.213 (Bagozzi et al., 1991). Thus, this item was removed. In this study, the AVE values were found to be all above the 0.50 threshold value (Chin, 1998; Hair et al., 2014). The CR values and the alpha values of Cronbach for all constructs were also found to exceed 0.70 and below 0.95 (Hair et al., 2017). Taken together, the results in this study show that the convergent validity of the measurement model used is adequate.

Table 1 -
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Next, the discriminant validity was tested following Fornell and Larcker (1981) Criterion and heterotrait-monotrait ratio of correlations (HTMT) proposed by Henseler et al. (2015). According to Fornell-Larcker Criterion, the AVE should be greater than the square correlation of each construct between two constructs. As can be seen in Table 02 , all AVE as embodied by the bolded values on the diagonals exceeded correlations with other constructs in the model. HTMT Criterion states that where discriminating validity has been established between constructs where the HTMT value is less than 0.85 (Kline, 2011) or 0.90 (Gold et al., 2001). As shown in Table 03 , evidence of discriminant validity was presented as all HTMT values were below 0.85 and 0.90.

Table 2 -
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Table 3 -
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Assessment of the structural model

Bootstrapping with 5000 resamples was employed using PLS-SEM analysis with the SmartPLS 3.0 software to assess the proposed hypotheses. According to Hair et al. (2017), the structural model was examined based on the corresponding t-values. Table 04 and Figure 02 showed the results of the hypothesis testing. The R2 value in Figure 02 indicates that carrying capacity, perceived value, accessibility, accommodation quality, cultural, and destination attractiveness & resources together predicted 54% of destination image (R2 = 0.054). Referring to Hair et al. (2017) categorisation of R2, the explanatory power of these six factors on the endogenous construct can be described as moderate.

As can be seen, most of the paths were significant at or above p < 0.05 and had a small effect size (0.024 – 0.065). Specifically, the results of the statistical analysis reported significant effects of carrying capacity (β = 0.144, p < 0.05), perceived value (β = 0.263, p < 0.01), cultural (β = 0.189, p < 0.05), and destination attractiveness & resources (β = 0.169, p < 0.05) on destination image. Therefore, hypotheses H1, H2, H5, and H6 were found to be supported. However, hypotheses H3 and H4, which linked accessibility (β = 0.091, p > 0.05) and accommodation quality (β = 0.189, p > 0.05) with destination image, were not supported in this study.

To detect multicollinearity, variance inflation factor (VIF) was examined. As shown in Table 04 , in this study, all VIF values below 5 indicate that multicollinearity is not a serious concern (Hair et al., 2011).

Table 4 -
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Figure 2: Results of Path Analysis
Results of Path Analysis
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Conclusion

To summarize, this study sets out mainly to analyse the image of Kuching Waterfront as tourist destination. It shows that influencing factors such as carrying capacity, perceived value, accessibility quality, accommodation quality, cultural, destination attractiveness & resources on destination image from tourists’ perspective. This research asserts to determine the significance of carrying capacity, perceived value, accessibility quality, accommodation quality, cultural, and destination attractiveness & resources on destination in tourism destination in Sarawak. From the review of literature, there are six independent variables in this study namely carrying capacity, perceived value, accommodation quality, accessibility quality and cultural as well as destination attractiveness and resources. No proven model of empirical research has been found to analyse these factors from a tourist perspective as described above on the destination image. In summary, a total of six hypotheses were tested, only four hypotheses were found to be supported.

Carrying capacity was found to have significant impact on destination image, and thus supporting H1. Past studies (Chandran et al., 2012; Chin et al., 2016) found that controllable numbers of tourist to a destination is capable maintaining the best relaxation conditions in the environment. It is imperative that there is a limit on the number of tourists visiting a tourist destination as this will result in a proper environmental management practices as this will have an impact on residents’ living conditions as well as in maintaining tourists’ experiences (Dioko & So, 2017). Moreover, the results of the study specified that perceived value has positively impact on destination image, indicating that H2 was supported. The outcome provides a better insight into destination image from tourist perspective as this enhances the probability that this destination will be revisited and recommended. As posited by Ramseook-Munhurrun et al. (2015), environment quality, attraction and good facilities will improve the perceived value of the destination and tourists’ satisfaction. This can be further explained that good products and services provided to the tourist will highly increase tourist satisfaction and image of destination.

The present study also devoted that the uniqueness of cultural experiences had a significant impact on the destination image under tourist’s perspective, and therefore, supporting H5. By having a unique culture, tourist will be able to experience new and different culture from the destination. Unique cultural experiences can be in terms of festival, cultural performances, architectures and historical story of the destination which can bring positive image of the destination. By engaging with cultural tourism, tourist will level up their curiosity in our cultural destination. A positive cultural tourism experiences may result in the tourist loyalty towards the destination which may lead to the high possibility in influencing tourists’ revisit intention and recommending the destination to others (Chen & Rahman, 2018). On the other hand, the result showed that destination attractiveness and resources was positively related to destination image, and H6 was supported. A study by Reitsamer et al. (2016) revealed that the destination attractiveness is essential for both the creation of images and the memorability of the experience of the destination. Tourists are increasingly looking for distinctive experiences that go beyond mere product or service consumption. Destination attractiveness and resources can be in the form of natural resources, scenery and the local community which can simply define as the most fundamental component in attracting visitors to the destination, the natural structure of the landscape of the destination (Kim et al., 2012).

On the other hand, the statistical results have reported that accessibility is not positively effects on destination image, indicating H3 is not supported. This result of this analysis does not match any previous studies as most of the past recent studies were studied on the accommodation and accessibility quality on destination competitiveness (Chong et al., 2018) and either on tourist’s satisfaction and revisit intention to tourism destination (Chin et al., 2018). The reason for the findings was found to be not supported could be due tourist may assume that good accessibility to a destination is essential for making a travel choice. In fact, a tourist who stays far from the travel destination may not have the convenience of local transport to reach off the destination. Furthermore, tardiness of buses or other forms of public transportation could also have a negative effect on tourist satisfaction towards the service quality on accessibility to reach the destination. Other than that, the findings also reveal of non-supportive for H4 as accommodation quality is not positively related to the destination image. One plausible reason could be due to the accommodation experiences of tourist was not satisfied either on the staff's behaviours, friendliness and cleanliness of the accommodation that did not meet tourist’s expectations.

Based on our findings, we found significant theoretical and practical implications, particularly in the field of destination image. This study proved a comprehensive investigation into whether each dimension such as carrying capacity, perceived value, cultural, accessibility quality, accommodation quality and destination attractiveness & resources impact on destination from tourist perspective from the view of theoretical implications. Furthermore, this study has been carried out in proven the relationship between the influencing factors and destination image. From a practical perspective, the research findings provide important and useful information to destination marketers and the stakeholders in tourism industry about the value of influencing factors (carrying capacity, perceived value, accessibility quality, accommodation quality, cultural, destination attractiveness & resources) in the development of popular destinations for tourism industry. Hence, tourism stakeholders or destination marketers can focus emphasise on these factors for an effective implementation and development on the popular tourism destination.

Nevertheless, there are some limitations that need to be acknowledged. The research model may highlight other characteristics that could assist in building a stronger quantitative measure for destination image such as tourist’s experiences, personality traits and demographic variables. In addition, it is possible to examine both direct and indirect measures such as profitability and other indicators of economic performance to further enhance this survey. It is suggested that the analysis of both the first and the returning tourist's perceived destination image can also be observed for future studies in examining how first and past travel experiences can affect the understanding of the tourist's destination image and its effect on satisfaction and destination loyalty would be important. Researchers may also consider the inclusion of a moderating variable in the framework for future studies.

Acknowledgments

The funding for this project was made possible through the research grant obtained from Sarawak Multimedia Authority and Universiti Malaysia Sarawak.

References

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About this article

Publication Date

06 October 2020

Article Doi

https://doi.org/10.15405/epsbs.2020.10.54

eBook ISBN

978-1-80296-087-7

Publisher

European Publisher

Volume

88

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Edition Number

1st Edition

Pages

1-1099

Subjects

Finance, business, innovation, entrepreneurship, sustainability, environment, green business, environmental issues

Cite this article as:

Chin, Y., Lo, M., Mohamad, A. A., & Ha, S. (2020). Factors Influencing The Destination Image Of Kuching Waterfront: A Tourist Perspective. In Z. Ahmad (Ed.), Progressing Beyond and Better: Leading Businesses for a Sustainable Future, vol 88. European Proceedings of Social and Behavioural Sciences (pp. 614-628). European Publisher. https://doi.org/10.15405/epsbs.2020.10.54

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