DRIVING FACTORS TO TOURISM DESTINATION ATTRACTIVENESS IN ISKANDAR MALAYSIA: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF ENJOYMENT

Abstract

Tourism destination attractiveness undeniably contributes to sustainable tourism. However, Iskandar Malaysia lacks a robust marketing strategy. This highlights that there is a need to investigate the driving factors and the mediating effect of enjoyment on tourism destination attractiveness from the tourist’s perspective, using Social Cognitive Theory and Comparative Advantage Theory. A total of 215 tourists participated voluntarily and IBM SPSS and SmartPLS 4.0 were applied. Interestingly, the findings revealed that price sensitivity, entrepreneurial competency, and self-efficacy are mediated by enjoyment toward tourism destination attractiveness. This study contributes to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal 11 for sustainable cities.