The Halal-Servqual of Malaysian Travelers’ Southern Border Destination Loyalty
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Abstract
This study explores factors influencing Malaysian tourists' destination loyalty to southern Thai border throughout an intense competition in the post-COVID-19. Malaysian tourists as the largest international visitor in 2025 of Thailand, comprehensive research on this concept has a significant need, where in developing nations has been limited. The research employed a triangulation approach and forms an integration of data: in-depth interviews and focus groups analysis to heightened validity. The research extends existing destination loyalty frameworks. The study indicates that price fairness, Halal-SERVQUAL, and perceived customer value significantly influence Malaysian tourist satisfaction and loyalty. The Halal-SERVQUAL stands for the service quality construct of Malaysian tourists visiting the Thailand southern border. The research enhances understanding of service quality, customer value, tourist loyalty and the development of the Halal-SERVQUAL conceptual framework in developing nations, in particular in Thai southern border tourism contexts, offering valuable insights for business practitioners to heighten economies.
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