Available online at www.sciencedirect.com ScienceDirect Procedia Economics and Finance 35 (2016) 622 – 631 7th International Economics & Business Management Conference, 5th & 6th October 2015 First-time and Repeat Visitors to Langkawi Island, Malaysia Siti Daleela Mohd Wahida, Nor Khasimah Alimanb* Shareena Mohamed Hashimc, Syahmi Harudinb a Faculty of Business Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Melaka, Malaysia Faculty of Business Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Perak, Malaysia c Academy of Language Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Perak, Malaysia b Abstract Popular holiday destinations are usually visited by both first-time and repeat visitors When its number of repeat visitors is high, the destination can be considered as being attractive and having a high value of destination image This paper analyzes the composition and travel behavior of first-time and repeat visitors to Langkawi Island, Malaysia Using non-probability sampling technique, a target sample of 500 was chosen Questionnaires were distributed to visitors on the main island of Langkawi Four hundred and eighty-two completed data were analyzed using descriptive analysis Of the 482 respondents, 187 (38.8%) were first-time visitors and the remaining 295 (61.2%) were repeat visitors The results indicate that there are significant differences and similarities between first-time and repeat visitors in their demographic characteristics and trip behaviors First-time visitors stayed on the island for a shorter period of time compared to repeaters Their primary purpose of travelling to the island was for leisure Both segments of visitors preferred to stay at hotels or rent houses or rooms Although the first-time and repeat visitors said they were satisfied with their visits, they complained about some of the facilities and services deemed as sub-standard However, repeat visitors were found to be significantly more loyal compared to the first-timers The results reveal that both visitor groups are equally important for the long-term sustainability of the destination Thus, destination managers must strive to achieve a collective balance between both categories of travellers © 2016 TheThe Authors Published by Elsevier B.V This © 2015 Authors Published by Elsevier B.V is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) Peer-reviewed under responsibility of Universiti Tenaga Nasional Peer-reviewed under responsibility of Universiti Tenaga Nasional Keywords: First-time visitors; Repeat visitors; Langkawi Island; Malaysia * Corresponding author Tel.: 019-5668808; fax:05-3743610 E-mail address: nka980@perak.uitm.edu.my 2212-5671 © 2016 The Authors Published by Elsevier B.V This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) Peer-reviewed under responsibility of Universiti Tenaga Nasional doi:10.1016/S2212-5671(16)00076-9 Siti Daleela Mohd Wahid et al / Procedia Economics and Finance 35 (2016) 622 – 631 Introduction 1.1 Background of the study Langkawi Island is a cluster of 99 islands situated in the northern state of Kedah, on the west coast of the Peninsula of Malaysia It is within commutable distance by ferry to Perlis and mainland Kedah and by plane to Kuala Lumpur Since 1984, the Malaysian government has been actively developing and promoting Langkawi as a premier island resort equipped with modern infrastructure and facilities Subsequently, on January 1, 1987, Langkawi was designated as a duty-free port to serve as an important catalyst to spur the socio-economic development of the island and transform its economic base from a mainly agricultural community With its natural attributes and diverse habitats including rainforests, mangrove wetlands and coral reefs, Langkawi has the potential to offer ecotourism to nature lovers At the same time, it is fast expanding as one of South-East Asia’s premier meeting and exhibition destinations as a result of investments by both public and private sectors The biennial Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA), which was first held in 1991, continues to attract government officials, trade delegations and visitors from all parts of the world The Langkawi Development Authority (2014) reported an increasing number of tourists over the last decade, and in 2012 alone, the island welcomed a total of 3.06 million domestic and international tourists Although some of those tourists were firsttimers, a sizeable number were repeat visitors For the Asian and domestic visitors, duty-free shopping is an added attraction, but to the Westerners, the charm of the island lies with its natural beauty McKercher and Wong (2004) and Lau and McKercher (2004) classify travellers to holiday destinations as either first-time or repeat visitors The former represents new visitors who are discovering a destination (Lau and Kercher, 2004), while the latter are those groups of tourists who are familiar with the destination and are satisfied with their previous experiences there Many holiday destinations rely heavily on repeat visitations (Anwar and Sohail, 2004; Fallon and Schofield, 2004), and while Langkawi has been able to attract multiple-repeat visitors, research on their characteristics and trip behaviours as well as those of the first-timers has escaped attention of local tourism studies Hence, the dearth of exploratory research in this aspect has created the opportunity for this study to provide insights into the differences and similarities of first-time and repeat travellers with regard to visitation of tourist destinations in Langkawi Literature review 2.1 Tourists record and repeat visitors With the intense competition in the tourism industry, most countries in the world maintain records of the number of tourists that arrive every year, as well as their citizens’ departures and arrivals, through custom controls at airports and harbours These statistical data are indeed very useful for the analyses of the growth pattern in the tourism industry What is lacking, however, is the accurate profiling of the repeat visitors of specific destinations Numerous studies have found a high proportion of repeaters among visitors of holiday destinations A related study by Gyte and Phelps (1989) reported that the ratio of repeat visitors and first-time visitors was 55 per cent and 45 per cent respectively Kozak (2000, 2001, 2002) found that about 71 per cent of the tourists in his studies had previously visited Mallorca in Spain at least one Kruger, Saayman and Ellis (2010) also reported that 77 per cent of the visitors to the Klein Karoo National Art Festival in South Africa were actually returning visitors Meanwhile, Mat Som, Marzuki, Yousefi, and AbuKhalifeh (2012) revealed that 42.9 per cent of their respondents had visited Sabah, Malaysia for the second time Accurate identification of the link between customer satisfaction and loyalty has proven to be a great challenge for many researchers Some visitors tend to repeat a destination when they feel satisfied with the attributes during their first visit (Kozak, 2000, 2001) Yet, some satisfied tourists may not return because they prefer to discover other places in their next holiday (Gitelson and Crompton, 1984), or they may defect to other offerings which are competitively priced Also, the less satisfied tourists may return to the same destination and eventually become repeat visitors 623 624 Siti Daleela Mohd Wahid et al / Procedia Economics and Finance 35 (2016) 622 – 631 2.2 First-time versus repeat visitors Information concerning tourists’ status as first-time or repeat visitors can be useful in market segmentation (Formica and Uysal, 1998), signalling destination familiarity (Tideswell and Faulkner, 1999), and determining a destination’s position in its life cycle (Oppermann, 1998; Priestly and Mundet, 1998) Gitelson and Crompton (1984), who pioneered the research on first-time and repeat visitors, posit the view that first-time and repeat visitors have different motivations, leading to different intended activity sets The results of subsequent tourism research on first-time and repeat visitation (Oppermann, 1997; Kozak, 2000, 2001, 2002; Kruger et al., 2010; Mat Som et al., 2012) confirm that repeat visitors are more likely than first-timers to choose the same destination for their future holiday The most notable differences between first-time and repeat visitors include factors such as socio-demographics, behaviour characteristics, destination perceptions, satisfaction, image and travel motivations (Oppermann, 1998; Lau and McKercher, 2004; McKercker and Wong, 2004; Li, Cheng, Kim, and Petrick, 2008; Kruger et al., 2010) Several studies have specifically identified a few demographic differences that distinguish first-time and repeat visitors When socio-demographics were analyzed, significant differences were found between first-time and repeat visitors based on age, spending patterns, length of stay and nationality (Li et al., 2008; McKercher and Wong, 2004; Gitelson and Crompton, 1984) Gitelson and Crompton (1984) note that first-time visitors are more likely to be younger, single and not visiting friends or relatives than the repeaters Moreover, the non-repeaters are more likely to be seeking variety and new cultural experiences Repeat visitors, on the other hand, seek relaxation and tend to be older According to Opperman (1996), repeat visitors are much more concentrated in fewer locations, as compared to first-time visitors who prefer to visit more locations and attractions within the destination area In general, first-time visitors seem to be much more active during their visit, exploring more places and sites In his 1997 research conducted on international repeat and first-time visitors to New Zealand, Opperman discovered that the length of stay and the purchasing behaviour of the two groups of visitors exhibited different patterns: the first-time visitors stayed for shorter periods and spent more than their repeat counterparts Consistent findings were also observed by Wang (2004) and Lau and KcKerchers (2004) However, contradictory findings regarding length of stay were reported by Li et al (2008) who conclude that first-timers are most likely to stay for longer periods and travel greater distances, while repeaters are more likely to take weekend trips, visiting friends and relatives So far, the findings of studies comparing the amount of money spent by the two categories of travellers are inconclusive, although a few researchers have suggested that repeat visitors tend to spend more than first-timers (Oppermann, 2000; Wang, 2004) To explain this behaviour, the researchers relate it to the overall value for money spent and satisfaction received from the trip (Kozak and Rimmington, 2000; Baker and Crompton, 2000) Despite their tendency to spend more, the repeaters also look for lower prices and are more price sensitive as compared to the first-timers (Li et al., 2008; Petrick, 2004) Other researchers have observed that first-time visitors actually spend significantly more than repeaters (Oppermann, 1997; Tang and Turco, 2001; Petrick, 2004; Alegre and Juaneda, 2006; Li et al., 2008) 2.3 Trip behaviours of the visitors Besides Kozak and Rimmington (2000), Gitelson and Crompton (1984) also contended that first-time visitors are less satisfied than repeat visitors In terms of loyalty, a few researchers (Juaneda, 1996; Petrick and Backman, 2002; Sommez and Graefe, 1998; Mohr, Backman, Gahan and Backman, 1993) claim that repeat visitors express greater intention to revisit the destination or festival in the future Methodology The descriptive cross sectional design was used to investigate the composition and travel behaviour of first-time and repeat visitors to Langkawi Island, Malaysia The respondents were individuals from different socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds who were visiting the island between March and May of 2013 Siti Daleela Mohd Wahid et al / Procedia Economics and Finance 35 (2016) 622 – 631 3.1 Sampling Method In 2012, it was estimated that about 3.06 million tourists visited Langkawi Island The targeted sample size for this study was determined based on the 2012 target population As suggested by Roscoe (1975), a sample of more than 30 and less than 500 is sufficient for most research Thus, 500 survey questionnaires were distributed to the island visitors at various tourist spots such as the ferry terminal, airport and Cenang Beach This sample size is consistent with similar research conducted in other countries For instance, Chanin (2011) used 251 international tourists in Thailand, Chen and Chen (2010) surveyed 477 tourists in Tainan, Taiwan, Hui et al (2007) investigated 424 tourists in Singapore, while Joppe, Martin, and Waalen (2001) surveyed 359 tourists in Toronto Since the visitors were rather preoccupied with their holiday activities, convenience sampling was employed to select the respondents for this study 3.2 Measurement and scaling Nominal, ordinal and interval scales were used to collect data from the respondents Demographic variables were measured using nominal and ordinal scales Trip characteristics were measured using closed-ended forced choice and multi-choice answers, while trip behaviours were measured using the 5-point Likert scale ranging from Strongly Disagree (1) to Strongly Agree (5) Tourist satisfaction was measured using nine items modified from Dmitrovic et al (2009), Oliver (1980), Taylor and Baker (1994), Grace and O’Cass (2005) and Wu et al (2008) In tourism research, tourists’ positive experiences, intention to revisit the same destination, and positive word of mouth effects on friends and/or relatives have been recognised as adequate measures for destination loyalty assessment (Bigne et al., 2001; Yoon and Uysal, 2005; Chi and Qu, 2008) Thus, the concept of loyalty in the present study includes both behaviours: revisit intention and willingness to recommend the destination to others Tourist loyalty was measured using nine items adapted from previous research (Yoon and Uysal, 2005; Chi and Qu, 2008; Prayag and Ryan, 2012) Tourist complaint was measured using three items borrowed from Xia et al (2009) and Sadeh et al (2012) Research findings and discussion 4.1 Respondents Demographic Characteristics The complete demographic profile of the respondents is presented in Table Out of the 482 respondents, 187 (38.8%) were first-time visitors and the remaining 295(61.2%) were repeat visitors Since the number of repeat visitors far exceeded that of first-time visitors, the results imply that Langkawi is able to attract repeat tourists who are satisfied with their previous trips and are motivated enough to revisit the island This finding supports those of two previous studies – for one particular theme park in Texas, the figure for repeat visitation was 70% from one year to the next, and a study on Australian visitors to New Zealand by Oppermann (1997) found that 54.1% were repeat visitors The high percentage of repeat visitors can be considered as a testament of Langkawi’s strength as a tourist destination Therefore, continuous improvements should be carried out to further enhance the destination image of the island Tourist operators should segment the visitors into two groups and offer products and services according to the preferences of each segment Overall, the sample comprised more females than males; however, the difference was negligible for the first time visitors (2.7%) but bigger for the repeat visitors (11.8%) This could be because female visitors are more drawn to the island’s duty-free shopping attractions compared to the male travellers The number of Malay visitors exceeded those of other ethnic groups The percentage of repeat visitors among the Malay and Chinese was more compared to the first-time visitors The reverse was true for the Indians, whereby the percentage of repeat visitors was lower than the first-timers Similarly, the percentage of foreigners who were visiting for the first time was higher compared to the repeat visitors The findings indicate that various measures should be taken to draw more Chinese and Indians to the island Both the pull (external forces) and push factors (internal forces) such as relaxation, family togetherness, safety and fun must be blended correctly to attract these group segments 625 626 Siti Daleela Mohd Wahid et al / Procedia Economics and Finance 35 (2016) 622 – 631 About 92 per cent of the first-time visitors fell within the age of 39 years and below In contrast, only 70.8 per cent of repeat visitors were in the same age category About 29.1 per cent of the repeat visitors were aged between 40 - 69 years but for the first-timers it was only 8.6 per cent With regards to marital status, both first-time and repeat visitors comprised more singles than the married counterparts However, the percentage of single first-time visitors was higher (51.9%) compared to single repeat visitors (49.8%) When comparisons were made based on education levels, not much difference was seen between the first-time and repeat visitors Those with secondary, diploma and bachelor degree qualifications made up 90.9 percent of the first-time visitors and 88.1 percent of repeat visitors The percentage of repeat visitors possessing a master’s degree qualification (10.5%) was higher than the first-timers (7.0%) This implies that those with a higher level of education were willing to visit Langkawi repeatedly Moreover, it can be inferred that this group of visitors has more spending power and are thus able to afford multiple trips to a preferred destination As such, this can be considered as an opportunity to further develop the island and attract more high income visitors Table1 Demographic Profiles of Respondents (n=482) Variables Total Visitors First-time visitors No % Repeat visitors No % 187 38.8 295 61.2 91 96 48.6 51.3 130 165 44.1 55.9 108 10 10 46 57.8 5.3 7.0 5.3 24.6 232 25 19 10 78.6 8.5 6.4 3.1 3.4 Gender Male Female Ethnicity Malay Chinese Indian Others Non-Malaysian Age 20 years or less 21-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70 years and above 45 84 43 10 23.0 44.9 24.1 5.4 2.7 0.5 0.0 47 98 64 57 24 15.9 33.2 21.7 19.3 8.1 1.7 0.0 Marital status Single Married Divorced Widowed Separated 97 89 0 51.9 47.6 0.5 0.0 0.0 147 139 49.8 47.2 1.7 0.3 1.0 Education Primary level Secondary level Diploma level Bachelor level Master level PhD level 50 63 57 13 1.0 26.7 33.7 30.5 7.0 1.1 82 90 88 31 0.4 27.8 30.5 29.8 10.5 1.0 4.2 Travel Characteristics 4.2.1 Number of visits within years Many of the repeat visitors had visited Langkawi more than once within the last five years About 34.9 percent were visiting Langkawi for the second time, 15.6 percent for the third time and 22.7 percent had been to the island five times or more In short, more than 80% of the visitors had revisited Langkawi within the last years, and for about 50% of them, the visit was their third, fourth, fifth or more Based on this information, the researchers Siti Daleela Mohd Wahid et al / Procedia Economics and Finance 35 (2016) 622 – 631 conclude that most visitors may not be able to see the many attractive destinations on the island within a short stay As such, tourist managers and operators should provide suggestions or schedule on trip destinations to the repeat visitors so that they can fully maximize their travel time Table Frequency of Visit (n=482) First-time Visitors No Percent 1x 187 100 2x 3x 4x 5x and more Repeat Visitors No Percent 58 19.7 103 34.9 46 15.6 21 7.12 67 22.7 4.2.2 Purpose of visit First-time and repeat visitors travel to a particular destination for different purposes While the majority of the first-time visitors were travelling to Langkawi for a holiday (80.7%), a few of them were on their honeymoon (11.8%) and attending meeting or training (8.02%) For the repeat visitors, about 68.5% were spending their holiday in Langkawi, followed by attending meetings, training, etc (19.7%), and visiting friends and relatives (8.47%) Since a large proportion of the travellers visit or revisit Langkawi for leisure, more efforts should be initiated to increase the number of attractive destinations so that visitors can have more choices to explore and experience This could increase their satisfaction level and in turn encourage them to revisit Langkawi again in the future Table Purpose of Trip (n=482) Holiday Visiting friends and relatives Business Honeymoon Others (e.g meeting, training, etc.) First-time Visitors No Percent 151 80.7 1.6 2.14 22 11.8 15 8.02 Repeat Visitors No Percent 202 68.5 25 8.47 20 6.78 12 4.06 58 19.7 4.2.3 Length of stay Visitors generally stay in Langkawi between to days The majority of the first-time and repeat visitors stayed in Langkawi for or days Among the first-time visitors, 47 (25.1%) stayed on the island from to days while for the repeat visitors, 47 (15.9%) of them stayed for five days or more About 250 (84.7%) repeat visitors stayed longer in Langkawi (3 days and more), whereas about 165 first-timers (88.2%) stayed in Langkawi between to days The main reasons cited for the longer stay of repeat visitors were: i) to visit many destinations; ii) to relax; iii) to attend family gatherings Table Duration of Visit (n=482) 1-2 days 3-4 days days and more First-time Visitors No Percent 47 25.1 118 63.1 22 11.8 Repeat Visitors No Percent 45 15.3 203 68.8 47 15.9 4.2.4 Types of accommodation The largest proportion of first-timers and repeaters stayed at hotels, while those who rented houses or rooms made up the second biggest group The behavior of these two groups of visitors was similar in this respect This is considered normal because most tourists visit or revisit Langkawi for relaxation and socialisation Moreover, the 627 628 Siti Daleela Mohd Wahid et al / Procedia Economics and Finance 35 (2016) 622 – 631 respondents who were staying at hotels or renting houses/rooms considered the lodging arrangements safer and more convenient In fact, for those visitors who were travelling alone, lodging at hotels was their first choice However, for those who were visiting with companions (e.g friends and relatives; teachers and students), the decision to rent houses/ rooms was made on economic grounds In relation to these findings, providing a sufficient number of affordable yet comfortable hotel rooms and houses/home stays should be the top priority of Langkawi’s future development Table Accommodation (n=482) Hotel Private (friends & relatives) Rent a house/a room Others First-time Visitors No Percent 118 63.1 3.74 47 25.1 15 8.02 Repeat Visitors No Percent 206 69.8 17 5.76 48 16.3 24 8.13 4.2.5 Trip sponsorship/expenditure The majority of the first-time and repeat visitors used their own budgets to finance their trip expenditures This is consistent with the purpose of travelling – for holiday or leisure About percent of the first-time visitors was sponsored by their employers, and percent by friends and relatives For the repeaters, about 12 percent travelled with their employer/company sponsorship, while percent was sponsored by the government The presence of a few private and public sector employees in Langkawi for official duties implies that the island is a popular venue for seminars, meetings and training Table Visit Sponsorship (n=482) Personal Club Company/Employer Government Others (friends, relatives) First-time Visitors No Percent 157 84.0 3.21 12 6.42 2.14 4.28 Repeat Visitors No Percent 209 70.8 2.03 36 12.2 24 8.14 20 6.78 4.2.6 Sources of information From Table 7, it can be seen that the first-time visitors obtained information about Langkawi from word of mouth (50.3%), tourist agents (16.6%) and the Visit Malaysia Campaign (16.0%) For the repeat visitors, the most important source of information was word of mouth (68.1%), followed by websites (35.9%) and the Visit Malaysia Campaign (26.8%) Since word of mouth is a very influential source of information for the two segments, satisfying visitors can be considered as extremely important because when tourists are pleased with their travel experience, they will actively spread word of mouth and convey positive information to others To put it simply, word of mouth proves to have a very powerful effect on the decision-making of potential visitors Another obvious advantage of using it as a promotion tool is that it can reduce the advertising budget since it does incur any cost at all Table Sources of Information (n=482) Website Tourist agents Visit Malaysia Campaign By word of mouth Social networking sites 4.3 Cross Tabulation First-time Visitors No Percent 53 2.83 31 16.6 30 16.0 94 50.3 24 12.8 Repeat Visitors No Percent 106 35.9 62 2.10 79 26.8 201 68.1 20 6.78 Siti Daleela Mohd Wahid et al / Procedia Economics and Finance 35 (2016) 622 – 631 Table shows the results of cross tabulation between visitor groups and trip behaviours (satisfaction, loyalty and complaint) When visitor groups were cross tabulated with tourist satisfaction, no significant difference it was found between first-time and repeat visitors (p=0.317) Both groups indicated that they were highly satisfied with their trips When loyalty was cross tabulated with the visitor groups, a significant difference was found between the two (p = 0.004) Compared to first-time visitors (43.4%), more repeat visitors (56.6%) showed high degree of loyalty towards the island Consistent with the previous research findings of Patrick and Backman (2002), Petrick et al (2001) and Juaneda (1996), repeat visitors have a greater intention to revisit the destination in the future To safeguard the visitors’ loyalty, all parties involved in the tourism industry should improve the island’s image and service quality – by upgrading the level of cleanliness, diversifying the local food, improving the English language skills especially of the front liners in the service sectors and also of the local people, enhancing their communication with the non-local community, offering new activities that create thrills and excitement, and providing friendly services Table Cross Tabulation – Visitors Groups and Trip Behaviours First-time Visitors Repeat Visitors (n=295) (n=187) Satisfaction Low 86 122 High 101 173 Chi Square Sig Loyalty Low High 0.046 0.317 Chi Square Sig 0.129 0.004 Complaint Low High 84 103 Chi Square Sig 0.012 0.798 106 81 128 167 129 166 Analysis of complaint behaviour between first-time and repeat visitors yielded no significant difference Both groups of travellers had a notably high degree of complaint behaviour Even though they were generally satisfied with their visitation, they still complained whenever they were displeased with the services received, no matter how trivial it might seem to the service providers While a few acknowledged that they may demand refunds for their losses, some indicated that they would complain to third parties, or spread negative word of mouth to others As the consequences of such actions could be damaging to the long-term survival of the destination, actions should be taken to handle customer complaints promptly and effectively An excellent customer complaints management can bring about a positive relationship between complaint and loyalty, thus turning complaining customers into loyal ones Conclusion and recommendations Langkawi Island is a tourist destination that attracts both first-time and repeat visitors, although the number and percentage of the latter are higher The tourists are made up of locals as well as foreign nationals The two segments of tourists may seem to share several similarities yet display different trip behaviours These characteristics and behaviours must be understood by those involved in the management of Malaysia’s tourism industry in order to sustain Langkawi’s status as a premier island destination in the country Tourism managers need to make a clear distinction between the marketing strategies for first-time and repeat visitors They should pay attention to visitors’ specific preferences in order to attract them If tourism managers and 629 630 Siti Daleela Mohd Wahid et al / Procedia Economics and Finance 35 (2016) 622 – 631 operators focus only on repeat-visitors, they may misunderstand the movement of their market and allocate resources inefficiently Because first-time and repeat visitors are equally important, different programs should be implemented targeting these two potentially different market segments For the repeat visitors, discounts should be offered to them as a token of appreciation for their loyalty Discounts should also be given to group visitors irrespective of whether the visit is their first or otherwise When they are awarded with price cuts, visitors will feel appreciated and will be encouraged to bring companions for their future visits Both satisfied and less satisfied tourists might revisit a destination Since satisfaction and revisit intention are influenced by the visitors’ perceived attractiveness, allocating sufficient budget to make Langkawi a more appealing tourist destination is a timely move in the right direction Continuous efforts should be carried out to offer more interesting locations and attractions within the destination area With more attractive and exciting destinations to visit, visitors will be persuaded to stay longer and spend more By doing so, visitors are helping the tour operators and the local community gain more income through employment and profits from their businesses The positive long-term effects of a thriving tourism industry are definitely hard to dispute Not only will those involved directly in the tourism supply chain enjoy the increase in revenue, but the nation as a whole benefits economically as well The respondents of the present research comprised mostly of local tourists As such, the findings may have some limitations 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