INTERNATIONAL NON-MUSLIM TOURIST SATISFACTION WITH ISLAMIC AND GENERIC DESTINATION ATTRIBUTES IN JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA

Abstract

Saudi Arabia has traditionally been a hub for religious tourism. With the introduction of the 2030 Vision, the country expands its tourism offering beyond religious tourism. This shift marks a strategic realignment to attract more diverse global travellers by implementing regulations designed to enhance the destination's appeal. Despite these ambitious reforms, there remains a critical gap in understanding the experience of tourists from diverse cultural and religious backgrounds when navigating conservative Islamic customs in a Muslim-majority country. Moreover, given that Saudi Arabia's tourism sector primarily focused on religious pilgrimages before the introduction of the leisure tourist visa in 2019, further research is needed on the satisfaction of international tourists visiting for non-religious activities. Literature shows that studies utilising the disconfirmation theory are scarce within the context of Islamic destination attributes. By utilising the disconfirmation theory, this study examines international non-Muslim tourists' satisfaction with Islamic destination attributes as well as the generic ones within the context of Jeddah city. Tourist satisfaction was assessed using the HOLSAT model, while the influence of Islamic and generic attributes on travel satisfaction was evaluated utilising the Expectancy Disconfirmation Model (EDM), with the aim to determine whether Islamic attributes hinder the success of the travel experience of non-Muslim tourists. Notably, the study's conceptual model, which is grounded in the EDM, was slightly modified to incorporate the loyalty variable. Data were collected via a self-administered survey, yielding 391 usable responses, and analysed using SPSS software. Paired sample t-tests were employed to compare tourists' pre- and post-visit perceptions, while linear regression analysis was utilised to examine the study's conceptual model. The HOLSAT model result indicates that seven of the 25 generic attribute statements and three of the 10 Islamic attribute statements experienced a negative gap between expectation and experience, indicating areas of potential improvement in tourist satisfaction. Additionally, the relationship between the research variables in the study's conceptual framework aligns with previous findings, albeit with slight variations in strength and significance. This study enhances theoretical understanding by expanding the HOLSAT model as well as the EDM model within the context of Islamic attribute satisfaction, highlighting the distinctive nature of Islamic destination attributes from the generic ones. Besides, the research outcomes lay the groundwork for developing strategies that foster a genuinely inclusive and accommodating atmosphere for international tourists visiting Saudi Arabia for non-religious purposes, thereby contributing to the overall enhancement of Saudi Arabia's growing tourism sector.