Is Lombok Really Perceived as Halal Tourism Destination? A Study of Tourist Satisfaction and Loyalty

Abstract

Indonesia could take advantage of being the largest Muslim country in the world by creating an attractive value proposition as a halal tourism destination. This study aims to determine the effect of how the Islamic attributes of estimation is perceived by Muslim travellers and how such a perception influenced tourist satisfaction and destination loyalty. Lombok was selected as a study object since its appointment as Indonesia’s halal tourism destination. A survey was completed to 130 respondents who had visited Lombok. Using a structural equation modelling, the main results indicated that: 1) worship facilities; 2) halalness; 3) alcohol and gambling free; and 4) general Islamic morality, as four formative dimensions of Islamic attributes of destination. These four sub-dimensions were perceived as underlying factors to affect tourist satisfaction and destination loyalty. Tourist satisfaction plays as a full mediating variable of how Islamic attributes of destination influenced tourists’ destination loyalty. These findings advance our understanding of how Moslem domestic tourists perceived the provision of Islamic attributes in a halal tourism destination and how it could trigger their behavioural intention in the future.