AWARENESS OF KUALA LUMPUR AS A CULTURAL DESTINATION

Cities around the world have been very competitive in branding themselves with many identities in order to target a wider market of tourists. Kuala Lumpur is an example of a city that has created awareness as a shopping, MICE, and leisure destination but not much has been said relating to the cultural diversity of its offering. Tourists may not be aware that Kuala Lumpur can be recognized as a cultural destination because other cities in Malaysia like Melaka has a higher global status as a cultural heritage destination compared to Kuala Lumpur. However, there are plenty cultural offerings in Kuala Lumpur that can be marketed and yet the awareness for these places is low even among the locals. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the awareness of Kuala Lumpur as a cultural destination amongst the locals and domestic tourists and to determine if information sources such as promotional materials and marketing campaigns by the cultural places playa role in contributing to the awareness and loyalty behaviour of locals and domestic tourists. A survey was conducted through self-administered questionnaire that was distributed within various states in Malaysia to identify the perceive image and awareness of Kuala Lumpur. The results of this study showed that locals and domestic tourists had low awareness of Kuala Lumpur as a cultural destination. This information is useful for destination managers to clearly understand the perceived image and awareness of locals and domestic tourists and how the information provided is useful in influencing their visiting behaviour.