Local and Foreign Tourists’ Image of Highland Tourism Destinations in Peninsular Malaysia

This study was conducted with the purpose of identifying and comparing the images of highlanddestinations in Malaysia, held by both local and foreign tourists. Data from 897 respondents, comprisingof both local and foreign tourists who had visited the three highlands (Cameron Highlands, Fraser’sHill and Genting Highlands), were collected using a stratified random sampling technique througha questionnaire survey. Forty-one destination attributes were included in the factors, which wereanalysed and compared between the local and foreign tourists, using the Independent-sample T-test.Based on the results, six image factors were identified for the highland destinations, and these werelabelled as “accessibility and services”, “local attractions and facilities”, “general mood and vacationatmosphere”, “leisure and recreational activities”, “natural surroundings”, as well as “nature andfamily-oriented.” The present study also found significant difference in the images held by the localand foreign tourists for the factors on “accessibility and services”, “local attractions and facilities”,“leisure and recreational activities”, as well as “natural surroundings.” The findings suggested that thelocal tourists had a higher perceived image than the foreigners towards the highland destinations inPeninsular Malaysia. The findings of the study also provided theoretical and practical implicationsfor the tourism authorities of Malaysia, particularly in enhancing the development of the tourismindustry for the highland destinations.