Examining Tourist Perceptions towards Historical Heritage Destination: A Case of Bukit Melawati, Selangor

Despite its role as one of the popular cultural and natural heritage destinations, Bukit Melawati is also known as a historical landmark in Selangor that plays an important role in the development of the local tourism industry. Nevertheless, due to the commercialized attractions highlighted by the marketers, its historical and heritage value are relatively neglected. This study was conducted to determine the factors that influence tourist revisit intention to Bukit Melawati as a historical heritage destination in Selangor. Several factors that consist of destination authenticity, destination awareness, and destination image were highlighted as important predictors of tourists’ revisit behaviour. This study was conducted based on a cross-sectional research design, where the self-administered questionnaires were distributed among multiple tourists visiting Bukit Melawati. Based on the convenience sampling technique, a total of 290 responses were collected from the target sample. The technique analysis of multiple linear regression was employed for data analysis. The research findings discovered that destination authenticity and destination image significantly influence tourist revisit intention. While destination awareness showed no significant influence. In addition, the analysis also indicates that a total of 49.6% of the variance in tourist revisit intention to Bukit Melawati can be explained by these three predictors. This study provides valuable information to the authorities and the marketers about the importance of maintaining the element of authenticity and image of a historical heritage destination. Regardless of creating awareness of the existence of the destination, publicity should address the uniqueness of the history. In conclusion, all parties, including the authority, industry players, and the local community, play a vital role not only to encourage tourists’ interest but to ensure sustainability practices as well.

Historical destination, Heritage tourism, Revisit Intention

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