Tourists’ Perceptions of Malaysia as a Travel Destination and Their Satisfaction

This study was conducted to ascertain the image of Malaysia as a tourists' perception of Malaysia as a travel destination on their satisfaction. Every country hat its own authentic image by design of default. However, in the current globalization era, a nation must be able to distinguish itself from the other competing countries to attract the incoming of international tourists who have several selections of travel destinations in their choice set. Literatures suggest that Malaysia has an image problem. Malaysia faces stiff competition from several neighbouring countries that also regard tourism as a very good vehicle for economic development. Data were collected using personal interviews performed by trained interviewer at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and the Low Cost Carrier Terminal Airport (LCCT) using self-administered questionnaires among departing foreign tourists and analyzed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The findings of the study indicate that foreign tourists perceived Malaysia as providing an adventures holiday with the chance to see wildlife, nice beaches for swimming and offering a lot in terms of natural scenic beauty. The study also suggests that there is a positive significant relationship between destination image and tourist satisfaction