Importance-Satisfaction Analysis for Tourism Attributes in Malaysia by Visitors’ Country of Origin

Millions of dollars are spent each year in marketing Malaysia by various tourism bodies. Rigorous marketing may assist in bringing tourists to a destination, but a good experience can be a more effective way of “marketing” a destination through words-of-mouth or words-of-mouse. Therefore, it is important for the tourism authority to understand the importance of tourism attributes of a destination to ensure good experiences and satisfaction of the tourists. This paper presents findings from an exploratory study undertaken by the authors which focuses on the levels of tourists’ expectation and satisfaction of twelve tourism attributes in Malaysia. The analysis are divided into markets by 7 regions; South East Asia, East and South Asia, Middle East, Oceania, Europe, Americas and Africa. Implications from the findings are also discussed.