REFINING TOURIST’S PLACE EXPERIENCE THROUGH PLACEMAKING:
A CASE STUDY ON MIDDLE EAST TOURISTS
IN KUALA LUMPUR CITY CENTRE
KHALILAH BINTI ZAKARIYA
UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA
iii
To My Husband
iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
Alhamdulillah, with His Blessings I have successfully completed this thesis.
I wish to express my sincere gratitude to a number of people for their
contribution in assisting and guiding me to complete this thesis. In particular, to my
thesis supervisor, En. Ahmad Tajuddin Hj. Kechik, for his encouragement, guidance
and motivation. I am also very appreciative to my lecturers Associate Professor Dr.
Amran Hamzah, Associate Professor Dr. Zainab Khalifah and Pn. Nor Azina Dahlan
for their guidance and advices as well.
I would also like to extend my heartfelt thanks to all my colleagues and the
TPRG researchers for their valuable advice, assistance and friendship.
Finally, my deepest gratitude goes to my husband for his never-ending
support and to my family for their encouragement.
v
ABSTRAK
Pengalaman pelancong merupakan salah satu aspek pelancongan yang
penting. Pengalaman pelancong merangkumi pelbagai aspek seperti pengalaman
tempat, perkhidmatan, motivasi, interaksi bersama penduduk tempatan, latar
belakang budaya, dan sebagainya. Pengalaman pelancong akan menentukan sama
ada lawatan memuaskan atau sebaliknya. Justeru, penilaian terhadap pengalaman
pelancong adalah penting.
Kajian ini bertujuan untuk menilai pengalaman pelancong yang berkait
dengan pengalaman tempat (place experience).
Dalam kajian ini, penilaian
pengalaman tempat terhadap pelancong Timur Tengah yang melawat ke Pusat
Bandar Kuala Lumpur (KL) telah dijalankan.
Karakter-karakter tempat yang
mempunyai peranan penting untuk mewujudkan pengalaman yang berkualiti telah
dikenalpasti.
Kaedah Model of Attitude Measurement (MAM) telah digunakan
untuk menilai perbezaan antara tahap kepentingan dengan tahap pengalaman
berhubung dengan karakter-karakter tempat tadi.
Kajian ini juga menganalisis
laluan pelancong di KL dan juga segmen dan tipologi pasaran pelancong Timur
Tengah.
Hasil kajian menunjukkan Pusat Bandar Kuala Lumpur mempunyai kriteriakriteria yang lengkap untuk menjana pengalaman tempat yang positif. Kesemua
karakter-karakter tempat yang diuji menunjukkan bahawa kesemua karakter adalah
penting kepada pelancong Timur Tengah dan karakter-karakter tersebut dapat
dialami semasa lawatan mereka di KL. Pengalaman keseluruhan pelancong juga
didapati positif. Oleh yang sedemikian, hasil daripada pengalaman tempat yang
positif ini, karakter-karakter tempat sedia ada boleh dipertingkatkan lagi bagi
menjana pengalaman tempat yang lebih baik untuk pelancong di masa hadapan.
vi
ABSTRACT
Tourist experience is one of the important aspects in tourism.
Tourist
experience is comprised of several aspects such as place experience, services, travel
motivations, interactions among other tourists and locals, cultural backgrounds, and
many more. Tourist experience will determine whether a visit is successful or not.
Therefore, evaluation towards tourist experience is vital.
This study aims to evaluate tourist experience that relates with place
experience. In this study, evaluation of place experience is conducted on Middle
East tourists that visit Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KL). Place characters that have
significant roles in creating a quality experience are also identified. Model of
Attitude Measurement (MAM) is used to assess the differences and gaps between
expectations with actual experiences, in relation to the place characters evaluated.
The study also analyses tourist routes in KL and the Middle East tourist segments
and typologies.
Results of this study suggest that KL possesses all of the criteria that can
generate a positive place experience. The entire place characters tested is found to
be important to the Middle East tourists, and these characters are indeed experienced
by them during their visit to KL. Their overall tourist experiences are also positive.
Therefore, from this positive place experience, existing place characters can be
enhanced in order to produce a more refined tourist’s place experience in the future.
vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER
1
2
TITLE
PAGE
1
INTRODUCTION
1.1
Background of Study
1
1.2
Problem Statement
2
1.3
Research Questions
4
1.4
Research Goal and Objectives
4
1.5
Scopes of Research
5
1.5.1 Literature review
5
1.5.2 Evaluation of tourist’s place experience
5
through place-character and place-experience
1.5.3 Evaluation of tourist’s profile and trip
5
characteristics to Kuala Lumpur
6
1.5.4 Recommendation of strategies to refine
tourist’s place experience through placemaking
1.6
Study Approach
6
1.6.1 Stage 1 – Preliminary Stage
6
1.6.2 Stage 2 – Data Collection
6
1.6.3 Stage 3 – Analysis and Synthesis
7
1.6.4 Stage 4 - Recommendations
7
1.7
Techniques of Analysis
9
1.7.1 Research Method
9
1.7.2 Survey Instrument
10
1.7.3 Population and Sampling
11
1.8
Study Area
14
1.9
Significance of the Study
17
1.10
Limitation of the Study
17
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1
Introduction
2.2
Place
2.2.1 Concepts of Place
2.2.2 The Essence of Place
2.2.3 Identity and Images of Place
2.2.4 Sense of Place
2.3
Place Experience
2.3.1 Types of Place Experience
2.3.2 Describing Places
18
18
18
19
21
23
25
26
26
27
viii
2.4
2.5
2.6
2.7
3
4
2.3.3 Place and Tourism
2.3.4 High Quality Place Experience
Placemaking
2.4.1 Criteria for Making Better Settings
Tourist Experience
2.5.1 Concepts of Tourist Experience
2.5.2 Process of Tourist Experience
2.5.3 Tourist Experience in Urban Area
Model of Attitude Measurement
The Study’s Working Model
27
28
28
29
30
30
32
34
35
35
37
KUALA LUMPUR CITY CENTRE AS A PLACE FOR
TOURIST DESTINATION
3.1
Introduction
3.2
KL as a Place
3.2.1 The City of KL
3.2.2 Image and Identity
3.2.3 Spatial Characters
3.2.4 Place Experience in KL
3.3
Tourism Products in KL
3.4
Positioning
3.5
Middle East Tourist Arrival
37
37
37
38
39
40
44
47
47
DATA ANALYSIS
4.1
Introduction
4.2
Place Experience Analysis
4.2.1 Analysis of Place Characters Using MAM
4.2.2 Gap Analysis
4.2.3 Analysis of Overall Tourist Experience
4.3
Analysis of Tourist Route
4.3.1 Tourist Attractions
4.3.2 Shopping Places
4.3.3 Entertainment Area
4.4
Analysis of Tourist Demand
4.4.1 Profile of Tourists
4.4.1.1 Country of Origin
4.4.1.2 Demographics
4.4.2 Trip Characteristics
4.42.1 Purpose of Visit
49
49
50
55
57
59
61
62
64
66
69
69
69
70
72
72
ix
4.5
5
4.4.2.2
4.4.2.3
4.4.2.4
4.4.2.5
4.4.2.6
Conclusion
Party Composition
Length of Stay
Mode of Transport
Accommodation
Prior Experience in Kuala Lumpur
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
5.1
Introduction
5.2
Discussion of Results
5.2.1 Tourist’s Place Experience
5.2.2 The Middle East Tourist Place Experience
5.2.2.1 Importance of Place Characters
5.2.2.2 Experience of Place Characters
5.2.2.3 Overall Tourist Experience
5.2.2.4 Attitude Measurement
5.2.3 Tourist Route
5.2.4 Tourist Demand
5.3
Refining Tourist’s Place Experience Through
Placemaking
5.3.1 Choices and Options
5.3.2 Reinforcing Patterns and Sequence
5.3.3 Rich Materials for Fantasies and Memories
5.3.4 A Sense of Identity
5.3.5 Highlighting Personal Awareness
5.3.6 Highlighting Opportunity
5.3.7 Active Vitality
5.4
Recommendations for Future Research
5.5
Conclusion
73
74
75
76
77
78
82
82
82
82
84
84
85
88
88
88
89
90
92
93
94
95
97
97
98
98
100
REFERENCES
101
APPENDICES A – B
105
x
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE NO.
1.1
2.1
2.2
2.3
3.1
3.2
3.3
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
4.5
4.6
4.7
4.8
4.9
5.1
TITLE
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Region
Concepts of Place
Concepts of Tourist Experience
Factors to consider in evaluating the urban
tourist experience
Tourism Products in KL
Middle East Tourist Arrival in Malaysia
(Jan – May / 2005 & 2006)
Middle East Tourist Arrival in Malaysia
(By Months)
Importance of Place Characters to the Middle
East Tourists
Experience of Place Characters in KL by the
Middle East Tourists
Place Characters Mean Scores
Differences of Mean Scores (Values)
Gap Values in Ascending Orders
Overall Tourist Experience Evaluation
Accommodation
Importance-Experience Gaps for the Middle
East Tourists
Summary of Significant Findings
Placemaking as a Process to Enhance Place
Characters
PAGE
12
19
30
34
46
48
48
52
52
55
58
58
60
76
80
81
91
xi
LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE NO.
TITLE
1.1
Study Flow Chart
1.2
The Middle East Region
1.3
Kuala Lumpur Map – Distribution of Tourism
Products
2.1
Place Formation
2.2
Place Diagram
2.3
Sense of Place Diagram
2.4
Tourist Experience
2.5
The Tourist’s Place Experience Process
2.6
The Four Cells of the Fishbein’s
Measurement of Attitude
2.7
Placemaking and Tourist’s Place Experience
3.1
The Golden Triangle
3.2
Distribution of Tourism Products
3.3
Tourism Zones
3.4
Middle East Tourist Arrival 2005 and 2006
4.1
Comparison between perceived importance
and actual place experience by the Middle
East tourists in KL
4.2
Tourists Who Rank “Memories” as a Very
Important Character
4.3
Purpose of Visit for Tourists Aged 20-29
4.4
Model of Attitude Measurement on the
Middle East Tourists’ Place Experience
4.5
Differences of Mean Scores
4.6
Overall Tourist Experience Evaluation
4.7
Tourist Attractions Visited in Kuala Lumpur
4.8
Shopping Places Visited in Kuala Lumpur
4.9
Entertainment Area Visited in Kuala Lumpur
4.10
Tourist Route
4.11
Country of Origin
4.12
Tourist Gender
4.13
Age Group
4.14
Highest Education Background
4.15
Occupation
PAGE
8
12
14
20
21
25
31
33
35
36
40
44
45
48
53
54
54
56
57
60
62
64
66
67
69
70
70
71
71
xii
4.16
4.17
4.18
4.19
4.20
Main Purpose of Visiting Kuala Lumpur
Party Composition
Length of Stay
Mode of Transport
Previous Experience in Kuala Lumpur
72
73
74
75
77
xiii
LIST OF APPENDICES
APPENDIX
A
B
TITLE
Tourist Questionnaire
Getting Around in KL Pamphlet
PAGE
105
107
1
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1
Background of Study
Designing places, whether it is for public or private uses, is about the
interaction of places and people.
In tourism, designing tourist attractions or
destinations is ultimately about the interaction of places and tourists. It is a matter
of harmonizing the needs of the developers with the demands of the users.
Designing tourist attractions is not just about designing buildings and physical
spaces, but what is also vital is the way the tangible elements of the attraction is
designed that will shape the intangible visitor experience (Swarbrooke, 2002). Gunn
(1994) suggests that travelers go to any destination because of its special qualities of
place, as every destination possesses a varied set of geographical factors, traditions,
relationship to markets and host characteristics.
Numerous literatures have
suggested the importance of placemaking or creating a sense of place in building an
identity for the attraction (Gunn, 1994; Canter, 1977; Bell, 1999; Potteiger et al.,
1998).
Currently, research that deals with landscape architecture and tourism is still
at its infancy stage. In his study, Fakri (2004) has found that primary factors that
attract tourists to visit gardens are comfort and beauty of the gardens. Comfort and
beauty include cleanliness, comfortable surrounding, ample facilities, nice scenery,
architecture, landscape and aesthetic values. Additionally, in a study conducted by
Asra (2005), only several landscape elements are found to be most important to the
tourists. For example, provision of landscape elements such as gazebo, entrance,
2
signage, jetty, lighting, walkway, rubbish bin, information board, map and design
concept is considered one-dimension elements that must be present in order to
satisfy the needs of the tourists.
These studies have highlighted some of the important findings that share the
common ground between the field of landscape architecture and tourism, where
physical design meets tourist experience and satisfaction. It is all about creating a
place for tourists. Placemaking is the retention of the essence of the place while
giving it new physical and psychological meaning (Gunn, 1994). In creating places
for tourism, it is important to focus on the characteristics of the place that appeal to
the tourists, as the environment created will influence the value of experience gained
by the tourists. Therefore, a high degree of tourist satisfaction is expected to be
generated from a distinct and positive tourist experience.
1.2
Problem Statement
In the year 2000, tourists from the Middle East have comprised a market
share of 0.52% of tourists in Malaysia, which equates to a number of 53,370 tourists.
Up to April of 2006, arrivals of tourists from West Asia are still increasing, and
according to Ministry of Tourism (MOTOUR), markets that have tripled in amount
is United Arab Emirates with a 156.5% increase. Studies on the Middle East tourist
market by both ACNielsen (2002) and Wong (2001) have found that Malaysia has a
good potential in attracting the Middle East tourists. Both studies indicate that the
strengths of Malaysia are its beautiful surrounding, impressive historical buildings,
value for money, shopping facilities and a developed and modern country. It is also
noteworthy to acknowledge that Malaysia is probably chosen as a travel destination
perhaps because it is a safe Muslim country.
3
Hence, efforts in attracting tourists from the Middle East have begun since
2002, such as to create a ‘feel at home’ environment, provide Arab entertainment,
Middle Eastern food and Arabic speaking staffs. With these strategies in mind, the
Ministry of Tourism with Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) have proposed ‘Arab
Street’, located within Jalan Berangan and Jalan Beremi, off Jalan Sultan Ismail.
The location is also near to hotels and shopping attractions in Bukit Bintang that are
commonly visited by the Middle Eastern tourists.
Images of Arab Street / Ain Arabia
Undeniably the Middle East market is increasing every year. However,
without an evaluation on their experience in Malaysia, there is still a gap in
developing the growth of these tourists. Tangible elements alone cannot ensure a
positive tourist experience if what is offered does not match with what is demanded.
Although the numbers are increasing in terms of arrivals, there is a concern
pertaining to the Middle East tourist experience. How can their level of place
experience be refined to ensure that they have an interesting visit and a high
possibility of future visits? As Kuala Lumpur is a highly visited place in Malaysia
by the Middle East tourist, it is a suitable location to initiate this study.
4
1.3
Research Questions
From the problem statement noted above, the following research questions are
developed:
a)
What are the elements of place experience?
b)
What are the place characters that give a high quality experience?
c)
With a focus on placemaking,
•
How important are the place characters to the Middle East tourists?
•
How do they evaluate the place characters of Kuala Lumpur City Centre?
•
How do they evaluate their overall tourist experience in Kuala Lumpur?
d)
How can placemaking refine tourist’s place experience?
1.4
Research Goal and Objectives
The goal of the study is “to determine how placemaking can refine tourist’s place
experience”.
Thus, the main objectives of the study are:
a)
To determine the place characters that influence place experience
b)
To evaluate Middle East tourist experience in Kuala Lumpur City Centre
c)
To identify the types of Middle East tourist demand in Kuala Lumpur City
Centre
d)
To identify places of attractions that they mostly visit in Kuala Lumpur
e)
To recommend possible strategies in refining tourist’s place experience
through placemaking
5
1.5
Scopes of Research
The scope of the study is divided into five main areas. The following are the
areas covered in the study.
1.5.1
Literature review
The literature review focuses on the theoretical perspectives of the following
elements: place, place experience, placemaking and tourist experience.
1.5.2
Evaluation of tourist’s place experience through place-character and
place-experience
The above assessment is intended to probe the gaps between expectation and
experience gained by the Middle East tourists in Kuala Lumpur City Center.
Aspects of experience that is covered are their expectations when visiting Kuala
Lumpur, and their actual experiences and evaluation. This is the major part of the
evaluation, as it not only examines the tourist’s evaluation of the city, but also how
they rate their experience based on their evaluation.
1.5.3
Evaluation of tourist’s profile and trip characteristics to Kuala Lumpur
The profiling is intended to determine the typology and common traits of the
tourists in terms of their:
•
age;
•
employment;
•
gender;
•
trip motivation;
•
place of origin;
•
party composition;
•
educational attainment;
•
trip organization, etc.
6
1.5.4
Recommendation of strategies to refine tourist’s place experience
through placemaking
Appropriate and suitable strategies are formulated to bridge the gaps between
tourist expectation and experience.
Strategies are based on elements of place
character that can be enhanced to refine tourist’s place experience.
1.6
Study Approach
The study approach is divided into four stages. All the stages are described
briefly under several headings below (see Figure 1.1):
1.6.1
Stage 1 – Preliminary Stage
The preliminary stage of the study includes refining of the study objectives
and scoping as well as literature review.
The literature review is aimed at
establishing an underpinning on the research area i.e. place, place experience,
placemaking and tourist experience. Sources of information are collected from
academic books, journals, conference papers and other research publications. The
study design is also developed in this stage.
1.6.2
Stage 2 – Data Collection
The data collected in this study is a combination of primary data and
secondary data. The primary data is acquired through field work conducted in Kuala
Lumpur City Centre using self-administered questionnaires on Middle East tourists.
Locations that are chosen for the survey are primarily along Bukit Bintang to KLCC
areas, where Middle East tourists stay during their visit.
7
The secondary data will be obtained from relevant studies, reports, statistics
and researches published by Tourism Malaysia, MOTOUR, Annals of Tourism
Research, etc.
1.6.3
Stage 3 – Analysis and Synthesis
The analysis of the data collected is deliberated using simple statistical tool
such as Microsoft Excel. Descriptive analysis is used to examine tourist’s profile,
trip characteristics, tourist route and experience evaluation.
Fishbein’s Model of Attitude Measurement (Ryan, 1995) is applied to
identify two important components of attitude: the evaluative component and the
importance of that belief. Experience is also made up of expectation (belief) and
actual experience (evaluation of that belief on site).
1.6.4
Stage 4 – Recommendations
The final stage of the study is the formulation of recommendations to refine
the Middle East tourist experience in Kuala Lumpur.
8
Problem Statement
Research Questions
| Stage 1 |
Goal & Objectives
Literature Review
Concept of
Place
Place
Experience
Placemaking
Tourist
Experience
| Stage 2 |
Data Collection
•
•
Primary Sources
Questionnaire
Interview
•
Secondary Sources
Previous study, reports,
journals, statistics, etc
| Stage 4 |
| Stage 3 |
Analysis & Synthesis
Place
Characters
Evaluation
Tourist
Experience
Tourist
Demand
Recommendations
Refining Tourist’s Place
Experience through
Placemaking
Figure 1.1: Study Flow Chart
9
1.7
Techniques of Analysis
1.7.1
Research Method
This research undertakes an approach that considers the relative importance
of itemised attitudinal components listed upon a questionnaire. Model of Attitude
Measurement in this research uses the basis of the Personal Construct Theory which
permits the construction of Likert scales that utilise variables that reflect attributes
considered important by actual or potential users of a tourist zone (Ryan, 1995).
There are two components of attitude, the evaluative component, and the importance
of that belief. On this basis, it is possible to devise a two-part questionnaire.
The first part represents the belief or expectation components, which consists
of a set of questions asking respondents to indicate the degree of importance they
attach to specific variables pertaining to the place characters of their chosen holiday
destination. A five-point Likert-type scale ranging from ‘very important’ to ‘very
unimportant’ is used. The second part represents the evaluative components of that
belief, that relates to the specific destination, which is Kuala Lumpur City Centre,
where the respondents are asked to indicate the degree which this destination
possesses the same attributes used in the first part, and again, a five-point scale is
used.
Additionally, a third part is added to the questionnaire to measure the
satisfaction levels of their tourist experience. High-quality place experience factors
(Steele, 1981) are presented in the questionnaire to be evaluated by the respondents.
As noted by Ryan (1991), ‘the degree of satisfaction gained from the experience
relates to the expectations of the tourist, the degree of reality which those
expectations were based, the ability of the tourist to adapt to perceived realities and
the nature of the critical encounter that shaped that reality’.
10
1.7.2
Survey Instrument
The survey instrument that is utilised in this study is a tourist survey, through
questionnaires and researcher’s observation.
a)
Questionnaire
A close-ended and self-administered questionnaire for the tourists is
designed. The questionnaire is divided into four sections.
The first section consists of statements on the importance of specific place
characters to the respondents when visiting any place or destination. The place
characters act as variables that represents major elements in place experience, which
influence placemaking. The respondents are asked to rate the importance of the
place characters mentioned, as to which would ensure that they have the best
experience when visiting any place, using a five-point Likert scale ranging from
‘very important’ to ‘very unimportant’.
The second section consists of the same statements on place characters, but
in this section, respondents are asked to evaluate the place characters that they
experience in Kuala Lumpur City Centre. This section also uses a five-point rating
scale ranging from ‘strongly agree’ to ‘strongly disagree’.
The third section of the questionnaire enquires an evaluation on the
respondent’s overall experience in Kuala Lumpur City Centre.
This part is
measured through a five-point rating scale on place experience factors that
represents a high-quality experience.
Finally, the fourth section consists of information pertaining the respondent’s
trip characteristics and tourist routes in Kuala Lumpur City Centre.
11
b)
Observation
An observation on tourist activities and behaviours on site is also conducted
to support the data collected. Informal activities engaged by the tourists can be used
to further elaborate the rationale of their evaluations.
The tourist questionnaire is prepared in English using simple words that is
straight forward and can be understood easily. A pilot test has also been conducted
prior to the actual survey to refine the wording of the instructions and questions so
that the respondents have better understanding in completing the questionnaire.
1.7.3
Population and Sampling
Respondents are specifically targeted on tourists from the Middle East
countries, aged 18 and above, and only limited to specific perimeters of area in
Kuala Lumpur City Center, which is primarily along Jalan Bukit Bintang, Jalan
Sultan Ismail and Jalan Ampang areas. These areas are chosen as they have been
observed and identified as areas highly accommodated by Middle East tourists
during their stay in Kuala Lumpur. Additionally, it is also within these areas that
most shopping and entertainment venues are located. A total of 100 questionnaires
are distributed randomly using method of ‘next to pass’ to the Middle East tourists at
shopping malls, hotel lobby and dining outlets within the mentioned areas.
12
a)
The Middle East Countries
In reference to Table 1.1 and Figure 1.2, the MENA (Middle East and North Africa)
Region includes:
Table 1.1: Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region
Afghanistan
Djibouti
Jordan
Mauritania
Qatar
Sudan
Yemen
Algeria
Egypt
Kuwait
Morocco
Turkey
Syria
The West Bank
Bahrain
Iran
Lebanon
Oman
Saudi Arabia
Tunisia
Gaza
Cyperus
Iraq
Libya
Pakistan
Somalia
UAE
(Source: AC Nielsen, 2002)
Figure 1.2: The Middle East Region
b)
Middle East Tourist Perceptions of Malaysia
These findings are based on studies on Middle East tourist market conducted by AC
Nielsen (2002) and Wong (2001).
13
•
Majority of respondents perceive that Malaysia has beautiful nature and
landscapes which are appealing as tourist attractions.
•
39.5% of respondents come to Malaysia because of nature or scenery.
•
30.25% are attracted by the best places for shopping.
•
85.32% of the Middle East tourists come to Malaysia for vacation.
•
84% of the visitors conducted in Wong’s study are first timers.
•
52.8% choose to come to Malaysia to escape their summer season.
•
The concept of evaluation used in Wong’s study found that:
Highest Evaluation
Second Highest
Evaluation
Lowest Evaluation
c)
•
•
•
•
•
Beautiful beaches and unspoilt islands
Cool high lands
Rich heritage
Theme parks
Food and shopping
Middle East Tourist Travel Behaviour
•
78% of respondents stayed in five-star city hotel.
•
Popular items purchased are clothes and textiles (39.11%).
•
53.85% evaluated that Malaysia has poor transportation.
•
Major activities engaged were sightseeing in cities, shopping and visiting
beaches.
•
According to the Departing Visitors Survey (DVS) from MTPB (1998),
the main ranked activities were:
1. Sightseeing in cities
2. Shopping
3. Visiting beaches
4. Sightseeing in countryside
•
79.21% organised their trip via travel agencies, using the ‘free and easy’
package.
14
1.8
Study Area
Kuala Lumpur City Centre is selected as the study site to conduct this study,
as it is one of the destinations in Malaysia that is highly visited by the Middle East
tourists.
Sentul - Manjalara
Wangsa Maju - Maluri
Damansara - Penchala
City Centre
Study Area:
Kuala Lumpur
City Centre
Bandar Tun Razak Sungai Besi
Bukit Jalil - Seputeh
N
Not To Scale
Figure 1.3: Kuala Lumpur Map – Distribution of Tourism Products
Source: Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2020
15
a)
Kuala Lumpur as a tourist destination
As a major city, Kuala Lumpur has a developed infrastructure and service
sector. The City offers a wide range of tourist attractions, shopping, entertainment,
hotel and conference facilities. Kuala Lumpur also builds its distinctive image and
identity on its multi-racial, multi-religious and multi-cultural society. Being the
capital city of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur is home to a population of over 1.3 million,
and is by far the largest city in Malaysia. The history of Kuala Lumpur dates back
to the middle of the 19th century when a group of tin prospectors came to settle
around the convergence of the Klang and Gombak Rivers. This event marks the
foundation of Kuala Lumpur and it has seen its share of growth and setbacks to
become metropolitan centre of today (KLCH, 2004). In Kuala Lumpur Structure
Plan 2020, the City is aimed to be developed as an attractive international
destination while creating a distinctive city identity and image. Further details on
Kuala Lumpur as a tourist destination is discussed in Chapter 3.
b)
Tourism products in Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur has a wide diversity of resources that are suitable for tourism,
each at varying degrees of development or attractiveness. Tourism products in the
City range from cultural heritage attractions, urban visitor resources and recreational
and health resources. In terms of its architecture, Kuala Lumpur has retained a
number of historic buildings and areas that represents its past, such as Dataran
Merdeka and the Railway Station. Modern additions to the city of buildings like the
KL Tower and the Petronas Twin Towers at the KLCC also provide images of a
modern city that is firmly in touch with its cultural roots.
Images of tourism products in Kuala Lumpur
16
Shopping, dining and entertaiment in Kuala Lumpur are also emerging to
become a price competitive shopping destination with international quality. The
City has developed many shopping centres including new retail formats such as
hypermarkets, mega malls, duty-free shopping outlets and discount stores. The
night markets in particular are of great interest to tourists as they give an insight into
the traditional Malaysia way of life (KLSP 2020).
Images of street markets, street cafes and shopping outlets in Kuala Lumpur
Parks and recreational facilities have also been promoted to attract tourists
from the recreational and leisure segments. There are a number of parks in Kuala
Lumpur containing attractions of interest to tourists such as Butterfly Park, Bird
Park and Orchid Garden at Taman Tasik Perdana.
Images of Bird Park, Butterfly Park and Deer Park in Kuala Lumpur
17
1.9
Significance of the Study
Research on landscape architecture for tourism is still at its infancy stage.
Design of outdoor space, especially in public or civic places, deals with subjective
and wide ranging of experiences. Similarly, places for tourism is also designed to
give tourists the experience that they seek. However, current research on experience
tend to focus more on the wider aspects of experience, such as services, life styles
and motivations without very much emphasis on place design and placemaking.
This research is embarked to form early groundworks towards refining
tourist’s place experience by enhancing place character through placemaking. This
study is necessary to assist landscape architects, designers and tourism planners in
determining the most suitable and viable design or enhancement strategies for
public or private place that is also a tourist attraction.
1.10
Limitation of the Study
In conducting this research, the following limitations are identified. First,
there is limited time, labour and funding. The survey is constrained to be conducted
only during the holiday period of Middle East tourists, which is between the months
of May and September. Data results may only reflect or represent a period in a year,
and not all throughout a one year period. Second, the questionnaire used as survey
instrument is limited to self-administered measures. Respondents may understand
or interpret the items asked in the questionnaire differently, as respondents have
different academic background.
18
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1
Introduction
This chapter discusses the theoretical perspectives of place, place experience,
placemaking and tourist experience, all of which are important concepts that build
the framework of this research. Subsequently it briefly explains the Model of
Attitude Measurement as a supporting tool to evaluate tourist experience.
2.2
Place
Relph (1976) describes that place, in association with space, has a
multiplicity of interrelated meaning. Space provides the context for places, but
gains its meaning from the particular place. A place usually has a fixed location and
features in forms that can be identified. Essentially, place forms the basic elements
that shapes our experiences of the world. The concept of place has appeared in
writings that both deal with the psychological and physical environment.
19
2.2.1
Concepts of Place
Concepts of place are identified based on these literatures (Table 2.1):
Table 2.1: Concepts of Place
Lukermann
(1964)
•
Relph
(1976)
•
•
•
•
Canter
(1977)
•
•
•
Six major components of the concept of place:
1) The idea of location can be described in terms of internal
characteristics (site) and external connectivity to other
locations (situation). Places have ‘spatial’ extension and an
‘inside’ and ‘outside’.
2) Place involves integration of elements of ‘nature’ and
‘culture’ which distinguishes it from the next place. Every
place is a unique entity.
3) Although every place is unique, it is connected by
‘circulation’, a system of ‘spatial interactions and transfers’.
4) Places are ‘localised’, being parts of larger areas.
5) Places are ‘emerging’ and ‘becoming’. Due to historical
and cultural change, new elements are added and old elements
disappear.
6) Places have ‘meaning’ and are characterised by the belief of
man.
Places are experienced not independently, but also through its
setting, landscape, ritual, routine, other people, personal
experiences, care and concern for home and in the context of
other places.
It is an all-round phenomenon of experience.
By examining its location, landscape and personal
involvement, sources of meaning or essense of place can be
revealed, through assessing how they are essential to our
experience.
A place is a centre of action and intention where we experience
events of our existence. This event is significant only in the
context of certain places and is influenced by the character of
those places.
Place has geographical, architectural and social connotation.
We define a place based on attributes that we use to describe it.
Place is a result of relationship between conceptions, activities
and physical attributes.
20
Motloch
(1991)
•
Place is the mental construct of the ‘temporal-spatial
experience’ that occurs as the individual ‘ascribe meaning to
settings’, through ‘environmental perceptions and cognition’.
Gunn
• ‘Relevance to place’ is the basic principle of all tourism
design.
(1994)
• Every place has its own ‘peculiar characteristics’ that derives
as a result of natural physical forces and acts of man.
• Aspects of place:
1) Temporal – visitor impression and experience ‘vary’ with
the time and place visited
2) Age – older places have accumulated more meaning
3) Spatial distribution – each place has its own unique
relationship to all other places
4) Name – stimulate recollection of historical events or natural
connection
5) People-place qualities
6) Technical and scientific facts – described by facts, like an
inventory
Source: Compilation by Researcher
Based on these concepts, it can be derived that “place” is made up of
conceptions, activities and physical/social attributes. It is a composition of elements
related to not only the physical place itself, but also its users’ personalities and
behaviours (Figure 2.1 ).
Activities offered to the tourists
Activities tourists engage in
Activities happening at the place
Tourists’ level of tolerance
Actual pattern of activities
activities
Weather
Cleanliness
Aesthetic value
Ambience
Amenities
Nightlife &
entertainment
Restaurants
Accessibility
PLACE
physical
attributes
conceptions
Intention coming to the place
Expectation of the place
Perception of the place
Images of the place
Figure 2.1: Place Formation
Source: Canter (1977), Swarbrooke (2002), Gunn (1994), Hall and Page (1999)
21
2.2.2
The Essence of Place
As decribed by Relph (1976), a place becomes a particular place when it
interacts with elements in its surrounding. A place is made up of physical and social
attributes, such as users and their activities, comfort, image, access, linkages and
sociability. These key attributes produce the intangible characters of place that give
the actual experience to the person. Figure 2.2 presents a place diagram with the
attributes and measurement of the success of place.
Figure 2.2: Place Diagram
Source: Project for Public Spaces (2003)
22
Relph (1976) further elaborates that the essence of place derives from the following
relationships of place.
a)
Place and location
Most places have location or position, but it is not necessary so, even if it is a very
common condition. It can be culturally defined, and cartographic location is just a
secondary quality of place. For example, for nomads, like the gypsies, their camp is
a place, although literally, their camp is in a place. This demonstrates that mobility
or nomadism does not stop an attachment to place.
b)
Place and landscape
Place has a physical, visual form, or a landscape. One of the most obvious attributes
of a place is its physical form, whether a building or natural features. Places can
usually be described, where visual features provide tangible evidence of human
activities or natural elements. The spirit of place lies in the landscape. The identity
of a particular place can continue through many changes because of its inner hidden
force, the spirit of place.
c)
Place and time
Characters of places change through time due to modifications of buildings and
landscapes, as well as changes in the attitudes of human. On the other hand,
persistence of the character of places is related to the continuity of our changed
experiences and the very nature of change that becomes a sense of association and
attachment to those places. Time is usually a part of our experiences of places. And
places themselves are the present expression of past experiences and events and of
hopes fo the future. Time is simply a dimension that affect our experiences of place.
23
d)
Place and community
The relationship between community and place reinforces the identity of the other.
This powerful relationship is expressed in the landscape where the community
displays their characters and express their identities, which give the people from a
place essentially the same identity that the place itself has, and vice versa. People
represents their place, and a place represents its people.
e)
Place and physical/symbolic quality
Places that have physical or symbolic quality of ‘placeness’ such as enclaves,
enclosures, city squares, or walled towns give a distinctive experience of being
inside of a place. Central points or landmarks not only tend to draw attention to
themselves, but also to assert themselves as places that stand out from the
surrounding area. Such places that are able to draw public attention possess ‘high
imageability’.
2.2.3
Identity and Image of Places
Identity of place is built from the function of intentions and experiences, and
the appearance of buildings and scenery. It refers to both the distinctiveness of
individual places and the similarities between different places. Identity refers to a
persistent sameness and unity that allows it to be differentiated from others. Kevin
Lynch (1960) defines the identity of a place is ‘that which provides its individuality
or distinction from other places, and serves as the basis for its recognition as a
separable entity’. Although each individuals assign an identity to a particular place,
these identities form common identities, because perhaps they experience more or
less the same objects and activities, and people are taught to look for certain
qualities of place emphasized by their cultural groups.
elaborated on the elements of place identity and experience.
Relph (1976) further
24
a)
Elements of place identity
These elements construct the identity of place:
•
Physical setting
•
Activities
•
Meaning / significance – defined by the intentions of the users
•
‘Genius loci’ – the spirit of place
b)
Elements of place and experience
These elements are inseparable in our experiences of places:
•
‘Physical context’ and ‘activities’combine to give the human equivalent of
locations within the functional circle.
•
‘Setting’ and ‘meaning’ combine in the direct and empathetic experience of
landscape or townscape.
•
‘Activities’ and ‘meaning’ combine in many social acts and histories.
Physical settings, activities and meanings are ‘elements’ place identities, and
the relationships between them are the elementary structural relations of that
identity. Identity of places varies with the individual, group or consensus image of
that place. Boulding (1961) has defined an image as a mental picture that is the
product of experiences, attitudes, memories and immediate sensations. Within an
individual the combination of experience, emotion, memory, imagination, present
situation and intention can be so variable that he can see a particular place in several
distinct ways. For example, a street is a very different place to a pedestrian and to a
car driver – their experiences and purposes are different, and they attend to different
objects and signs. Therefore, the identity of a place varies with the intentions,
personalities, and circumstances of those who are experiencing it.
25
2.2.4
Sense of Place
Steele (1981) describes ‘sense of place’ as the particular experience of a
person in a particular setting. Sense of place is an ‘interactional’ concept where
when a person comes into the setting and gets in touch with a setting, reactions are
produced (see Figure 2.3).
behaviours.
These reactions include feelings, perceptions and
It includes not only conscious experience, but also ‘unnoticed
influences’ that makes people avoid certain things in that particular place.
“The Setting”
(physical + social elements)
Sense of Place
“The Person”
(psychological factors)
What a person ‘brings’ to it
Figure 2.3: Sense of Place Diagram
Source: Adapted by Researcher (2006) from Steele (1981)
Garnham (1985) on the other hand, identifies the items that give a site a
special sense of place, such as architectural style, people’s values, and unique
natural settings. In the context of this study, the tourist’s personal baggage, such as
motivation, culture, lifestyle, mood, past experience and expectations, together with
the setting being experienced by the tourists, are what create the sense of place,
which is found to be different from one individual to another. However, a place
with strong place characters may give a similar sense of place to all of its visitors.
26
2.3
Place Experience
All places and landscapes are individually experienced, as it is the
individuals alone that see them through the lens of their attitudes, experiences, and
intentions and from their unique circumstances (Lowenthal, 1961).
Places are
differentiated because they involve a concentration of intentions, attitudes, purposes
and experience. Steele (1981) notes that experience of place can never really be
described as simply a function of its physical attributes.
2.3.1
Types of Place Experience
According to Steele (1981), the types of place experience are:
•
Immediate feelings and thoughts
•
View of the world
•
Occupational experience
•
Intimate knowledge of one spot
•
Memories and fantasies
•
Recognition or newness
•
Personal identification with someone’s “spot”
•
Sense of accomplishment or blockage caused by the setting
•
Sense of enjoyment, fun, or displeasure
27
2.3.2
Describing Places
Steele (1981) further elaborates that an individual describes a place through these
elements:
1) Physical features – immediate surrounding with physical elements; physical
features affect feelings as well as activities
2) Social features – individual’s relationship with other people and social
institutions; the social context helps to determine the impact of the physical
setting
3) The degree to how people differentiate places, the links between place and
activity, and the expectation of finding certain people in certain places indicate
how a physical location becomes a ‘place’ rather than simply a location (Canter,
1977)
2.3.3
Place and Tourism
Place in tourism holds a wide range of meaning as it does not only interact
and relate to the locals of that particular place, but also experienced by visitors that
come to the place. Relph (1976) argues that ‘an inauthentic attitude to place is
nowhere more clearly expressed than in tourism, for in tourism, individual and
authentic judgement about places is nearly always subsumed to expert or socially
accepted opinion, or the act and means of tourism become more important that the
places visited’.
He notes that it seems for many people traveling is less to experience unique
and different places than to collect those places, especially on film.
This
phenomenon is due the ‘mass culture’ that is a result of designs that are formulated
from above – by manufacturers, governments, and professional designers – guided
and communicated through mass media. Hence, products and places that are the
same or similar are created.
28
2.3.4
High Quality Place Experience
A high quality of place experience can undoubtedly be achieved through
understanding the fundamental elements which give an individual a positive
experience (Steele, 1981).
Experiences in a setting are higher quality if the
individuals:
•
like being there;
•
enjoy activities there;
•
are stimulated to think of themselves or the setting in new ways, with new
possibilities;
•
are stimulated to rich images, fantasies, memories or feelings;
•
can do those tasks they want to do, and do them well in the setting;
•
can relate well to other people there;
•
are not degraded or destroyed by the process of being in the setting, and do not
destroy it for others;
•
have a sense of being somewhere specific that has an identity and image, and do
not feel they are nowhere.
2.4
Placemaking
Placemaking is about making places through ‘reinforcing place characters
and place elements’. Placemaking is aimed to create better settings and functioning
spaces for the intended users, while at the same time sustaining certain identities that
belongs to that particular place. Gunn (1994) explains that placemaking is ‘the
rentention of the essence of place, while giving it new phsycial and psychological
meaning’, while Motloch (1991) emphasizes that placemaking should include the
effective management of order and spontaniety for understanding and exploration.
29
2.4.1
Criteria for Making Better Settings Through Placemaking
Settings can be enhanced by identifying the lacking in place characters.
Place characters that are present and can be sensed by the users who experience it
produce a better and a more enjoyable place. Steele (1981) has also emphasized on
characters of place that create better settings. These characters are very significantly
related with place experience.
•
Choices and options – provide options about how the place can be used; choice
and variety in one’s experience serve a fundamental human need; richness of a
place; give changing experience
•
Reinforcing patterns and sequence – settings with sequences of experience that
build on one another are more likely to produce high-quality experience
•
Rich material for fantasies and memories – settings that can trigger off
memories and fantasies will be more likely to provide rich place experience; but
still depending on the users themselves
•
A sense of identity – consistent themes to its form, materials, items,
arrangements, and symbolism will be more likely to produce positive place
experience
•
Highlighting personal awareness – settings that can have an impact on the
visitor’s sense of self; stimulate perception
•
Highlighting opportunity – settings whose special features are visible are more
likely to stimulate use of those features than the ones that are hidden; visitors can
easily know or identify special places that are not only visible and accessible to
insiders living in the place
•
Appropriate scale – interplay of scale among its elements; a positive spirit of
place comes partly through appropriate size relationships of elements to one
another and users
•
Active vitality – generated by the patterns of users’ activity; generate visible
vitality; create experience for people and one another
30
2.5
Tourist Experience
2.5.1
Concepts of Tourist Experience
The conceptual developments on tourist experience have been widely
researched and been a key research issue since its early days in the 1960s. This
study does not probe into the philosophical conceptualizations of tourist experience,
but rather, it looks into those concepts that can directly relate to the concept of place
experience.
The concepts of tourist experience are identified based on these
literatures (Table 2.2):
Table 2.2: Concepts of Tourist Experience
Boorstin
(1964)
•
MacCannell
(1973)
•
Smith
(1978)
•
Cohen
(1979)
•
•
•
Urry (1992)
•
Ryan (1991,
1997)
•
Tourist experience is described as a popular act of
consumption and a contrived, prefabricated experience of mass
tourism.
An active response to the difficulties in modern life
Tourists are in search of ‘authentic’ experiences in order to
overcome the difficulties.
A tourist is defined as a temporarily leisured person who visits
a place away from home for the purpose of experiencing
change.
Tourism experience is the relationship between a person and a
variety of ‘centres’
The meaning of the experience is derived from a person’s
worldview, depending on whether the person adheres to a
‘centre’, which is the individual’s spritual centre, that the
individual symbolizes ultimate meaning.
Tourism is the notion of ‘departure’, of a limited breaking with
established routines and practices of everyday life and
allowing one’s senses to engage with a set of stimuli that
contrast with the everyday and the mundane.
The degree of satisfaction gained from the experience relates
to:
a) the expectations of the tourist
b) the degree of reality on which those expectations were based
c) the ability of the tourist to adapt the perceived realities, and
31
d) the nature of the critical encounter that shaped the reality.
• Tourism experience is a multifunctional leisure activity,
involving either entertainment or learning, or both, for an
individual.
Pine and
• Experiences take place whenever a company or a destination
Gilmore
decides to use services as the stage and goods as props to
(1999)
engage an individual whereby the memorability is the most
important characteristic of experiences.
Source: Compilation by Researcher
Hall and Page (1999) also describe tourist experience as the result of the
tourist ability to tolerate behaviour of others, context and pattern of activities,
motivation, expectation, perception, level of use and social situations (see Figure
2.4).
Ability to tolerate
behaviours of others
Level of use
Social situation
Context of activity
TOURIST
EXPERIENCE
Perception
Motivation
Actual patterns of
activity
Expectation
Figure 2.4: Tourist Experience
Source: Hall and Page (1999)
32
2.5.2
Process of Tourist Experience
As described by Ryan (1997), the tourist experience is influenced by several
different factors, which area:
•
travelling experience
•
destination attributes
•
the nature of attractions with individuals or certain groups
•
individual’s responsive mechanism
•
personal factors
The character of place is part and parcel of the destination attributes. They
are the elements, both tangible and intangible, that offer the experience to the tourist.
The tourist’s personal factors, on the other hand, influence their beliefs or become
the basis of what is considered important to them, in any aspects. Figure 2.5
demonstrates the place experience process of a tourist which has been adapted from
the tourist experience process (Ryan, 1997).
33
Figure 2.5: The Tourist’s Place Experience Process
Travelling Experience:
Delays
Comfort
Accessibility to destination
Destination Attributes:
Quality of accommodation
Quality of facilities
Geographical/topographical
characters
Historical/cultural
characters
Ethnicity
PLACE CHARACTERS
Choices
Personal Nature of
Attractions with:
Own group
Other tourists
Staffs that provide the
service
Members of host
community
Scripted/unscripted
situation
Responsive Mechanism:
Establish flow situations
through:
Cognitive dissonance
Social skills
Ability to distinguish
between authentic /
unauthentic events
Disbelief suspension
Assessment towards
Journey, Place and People:
Refers to desires and wants
Assessed intrinsic worth
PLACE EXPERIENCE
Personal Factors:
Travel motivations
Personality
Experiences
Life style
Standards of living
BELIEF & IMPORTANCE
Form of Behaviour
Seeking information
Desired destination
Consequences
Satisfaction
Dissatisfaction
Source: Adapted by Researcher (2006) from Ryan (1997)
34
2.5.3
Tourist Experience in Urban Area
Since Kuala Lumpur City Centre is an urban area, it is worth noting the
factors to consider in evaluating the urban tourism experience. Hall and Page (1999)
have identified several of these factors, as listed in Table 2.3.
Table 2.3: Factors to consider in evaluating the urban tourist experience
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
The weather conditions at the time of visit
The standard and quality of accommodation available
The cleanliness and upkeep of the city
The city’s aesthetic value (i.e. its setting and beauty)
The tourists’ personal safety from crime
Accessibility of attractions and points of interest in the city
The extent to which local people welcome visitors in a warm manner
The ability of tourism employees to speak foreign languages
The range of cultural and artistic amenities
The ambience of the city environment as a place to walk around
The level of crowding and congestion
The range of nightlife and entertainment available
Range of restaurants and eating establishments in the city
The pleasurability of leisure shopping
The price levels of goods and services in the city
The level of helpfulness among local people
The adequacy of emergency medical care
Source: Hall and Page (1999) modified from Haywood and Muller (1988)
35
2.6
Model of Attitude Measurement
Model of attitude measurement developed by Fishbein (1967) is a tool that
can be used to analyze the relative importance of attitudinal components (Ryan,
1995). Attitude is made up of two components, which is the evaluative component
and the importance of that belief. Attitude towards a destination can be presented as
the result of strength of evaluative aspects weighted by the strength of that
evaluation present in the destination. The four cells of the Fishbein measurement of
attitude is depicted in the following Figure 2.6:
High
Degree of importance of
the component
Low
Important attributes
perceived not to be
present in the
destination
Important attributes
perceived to be
present in the
destination
Unimportant
attributes perceived
not to be present in
the destination
Unimportant attributes
perceived to be
present in the
destination
Low
Perception of existence of
attributes
High
Figure 2.6: The Four Cells of the Fishbein’s Measurement of Attitude
Source: Ryan (1995)
2.7
The Study’s Working Model
From the reviews on concepts that derived from various literatures on place,
placemaking, place experience and tourist experience, it can be summarized that
place experience is one of the elements of tourist experience. The place characters
influence the tourist’s experience as they are in fact the destination attributes, which
is shown previously in the tourist’s place experience process (Figure 2.6). In the
36
same figure, the personal factors form the tourist’s belief, conceptions and what is
considered important to them, which according to Fishbein (1967), including what
they actually experience, are the components that make up their attitude, which is a
form of their behaviour. The following working model presents the conceptual
framework formulated for this study (Figure 2.7).
The
Tourist
Importance of belief &
expectation
The
Place
&
Place
Characters
Improve/Augment
Place Characters
Enhance Place
Characters
Evaluation of belief
Negative
Experience
Place
Experience
Positive
Experience
A More Refined
Tourist’s Place
Experience
Placemaking
Figure 2.7: Placemaking and Tourist’s Place Experience
Source: Working Model by Researcher (2006)
37
CHAPTER 3
KUALA LUMPUR CITY CENTRE AS A PLACE
FOR TOURIST DESTINATION
3.1
Introduction
This chapter briefly discusses about Kuala Lumpur City Centre as a tourist
destination. It explores Kuala Lumpur City Centre a “place” and describes the place
characters the city has. It also examines the tourism products available such as
attractions, accommodations, accessibilities and facilites. Additionally, this section
looks into the positioning of the city for tourism. Kuala Lumpur City Centre is
further referred to as “KL” in this study.
3.2
KL as a Place
3.2.1
The City of KL
Kuala Lumpur’s urban setting is an emblem of Malaysia’s past and present
characters that derived from many elements of cultures, outstanding architecture and
even remarkable natural environment. Over the 90-year period since 1860 to 1950,
the city has undergone rapid process of urbanization and development, and thus,
fabricating a complex or possibly ambiguous images and perception (Hasanuddin,
2003).
38
In the Revised Report of the Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan Review (1998), it
is proposed that by the third millenium the city would achieve its aspiration in being
a “world class city”.
This plan is supported by goals such as to enhance the
“Tropical Garden City” image, to provide the latest high technology systems
through ICT and to transform the city into an international business and financial
centre of the Asia Pacific Region.
3.2.2
Image and Identity
Image and identity of KL can derive from many aspects, be it the daily
lifestyle or culture of its people, its landmarks and physical symbolism, or even
images projected by the media such as tourism promotion or the mass media. The
Tourism Unit of Kuala Lumpur City Hall (2004) describes KL as ‘the best example
of a city that has managed to preserve the best of its cultural heritage and combine it
with modern conveniences to offer a wholly unique experience to visitor’. The city
is also described as ‘fusions of tradition and modernity’ and a ‘cosmopolitan
getaways’ with ‘unique multi-cultural heritage, cuisine, arts, and architecture’
(Tourism Malaysia, 2006). Additionally, other than being known for its multicultural and multi-racial nation, its the most celebrated landmark of KL which is
none other than the Petronas Twin Towers, is undoubtedly an image that is known
globally.
Images of Petronas Twin Towers and KL Tower
39
3.2.3
Spatial Characters
As discussed earlier in Chapter 2, a “place” is an amalgamation of activities,
physical and social attributes, and the conceptions of its users. As a planned urban
city, the Federal Territory has been divided into several Planning Units that are
categorized in to three Planning Zones.
•
CPA – Central Planning Area
The CPA is bordered by Jalan Tun Razak from the east to the north, the Southern
Middle Ring Road to the south and Persiaran Mahameru on the west. This area
includes many of the major institutions such as commercial establishments, major
administrative departments, headquarters of private, public and semi-governmented
corporations, and recreational, entertainment and residential establishments.
Located withing the CPA is the Central Business District (CBD), which is the the
commercial core and hub of the city.
•
CBD (Central Business District Area)
The CBD, a subdistrict of the city centre, is characterized primarily by shopping
streets and shops, combined with historic and new buildings such as banks and
office complexes. It is located near the Golden Triangle, which is another subdistrict of the city. These two sub-districts are separated by the Bukit Nenas Forest
Reserve, one of Kuala Lumpur’s natural attractions.
•
The Golden Triangle
The Golden Triangle, which is the study area, refers to an area bounded by three
major roads that form a triangle area, namely Jalan Imbi, Jalan Sultan Ismail and
Jalan Raja Chulan. It has attained its reputation mainly because of the mass of
commercial buildings, business companies, shopping malls, and prestigious hotels
40
located within its vicinity. The Bukit Bintang area is an exceptionally popular spot
for shoppers, both locals and tourists, and for those who seek entertainment or
leisure. Golden Triangle’s image as a bustling business centre is established when
many monumental projects were completed. The architectural trend within this area
has been influenced mostly by commercial rather than environmental objectives
(Sobri, 1985 cited in Hassanuddin, 2003).
Jalan Sultan Ismail
Jalan Raja Chulan
Jalan Imbi
Figure 3.1: The Golden Triangle
3.2.4
•
Place Experience in KL
Choices and options
There are many options of activities and places to visit by visitors or tourists in KL.
The ‘must do’ sightseeing lists as promoted by Kuala Lumpur Tourism Action
Council range from experiencing the metropolis’ cultural heritage to enjoying
shopping sprees through a variety of street bazaars and modern malls. Visitors who
search for arts and crafts have the opportunity to stopover at the galleries available,
cultural craft complex and museums. KL’s offerings are not limited to heritage
41
visitors and avid shoppers, but also for gastronomic fans who wish to treat their
appetite with fine dining of international and local cuisines, or even dishes from the
local hawker stalls.
•
Reinforcing patterns and sequence
The range of experiences that visitors can gain from visiting KL is never-ending,
provided that they are aware of the opportunities available. As mentioned in the
point above, there are many choices and options available for various segments
visitors and tourists, be it Middle Eastern tourists, backpackers, heritage tourists and
others. However, these different experiences are spread around different locations in
Kuala Lumpur, thus the continuity of experiences and activities would be at variance
among people. Their connectivity of experiences one after another would depend on
their planned route or sightseeing packages that they take.
•
Rich material for fantasies and memories
Fantasies and memories are triggered by rich settings that can give a positive impact
to the visitors’ minds. In the context of KL, its most famous landmark, the Petronas
Twin Towers, is presumed to give its visitors a ‘had-been-there’ remembrance, as it
is the world’s tallest twin towers known world wide. However, futher recollection
of visitation to the city would undoubtedly depend on the users and how they
themselves filter as to what is to be remembered through their level of experiences.
•
A sense of identity
KL’s identity is none other than a city that is built with modern facilities and
lifestyle, while at the same time retaining its heritage values through the
42
conservation of its historic buildings and monuments. Nevertheless, its themes of
forms, materials, items, arrangement and symbolism are overall a mixture of various
contrasting historical and architectural expressions, natural and man-made features,
as well as a
blend of less attractive and unsympathetic intervention of new
development and infrastructure (Hasanuddin, 2003).
•
Highlighting personal awareness
There are several attractions present in KL that is aimed to highlight the awareness
of its visitors through its interpretative centres such as the museum, galleries and
exhibition centres. In addition, the juxtaposition of diverse people in the city that
live in harmony in its peaceful and nonviolent state also highlight how fortunate it is
to live in such a country. Even so, awareness and knowledge still rely on the level
of responsiveness and consciousness of the users.
•
Highlighting opportunity
As KL is very much well known as the capital city of Malaysia, a great deal of
promotions, particularly by Tourism Malaysia, has also increased the reputation of
many special features in the city.
Its landmarks can clearly be identified, its
shopping venues are easily recognized by foreigners and locals, and famous dining
spots can also be found without difficulties.
These hightlights are primarily
contributed by publications in travel and lifestyle magazines such as KLUE and The
Edge among others, and information distributed by Kuala Lumpur Tourism Act
Council and Tourism Malaysia.
43
•
Active vitality
The liveliness of KL can be seen from the daily activities that take place around the
city. From early morning the city is flooded with people going to work and starting
on their daily routines, be it working in conventional offices or opening up their
businesses for the day. KL is the core area for office complexes and commercial
centres, where buildings of the old and new interweave together forming the urban
fabric. Its transportation networks also add to the activeness of the city, connecting
the different locations through roads and mass transit systems. KL is known as
having a great nightlife too, flaunting the ranges of activities from people-watching
at side walk cafes to more active scenes at the clubs. Additionally, the urban open
space such as Dataran Merdeka and parks such as the Lake Gardens and KLCC Park
frequently hold events, festivals and carnivals as well, which increase the vitality of
the city.
44
3.3
Tourism Products in KL
KL is very fortunate to be a home to many attractions, ranging from
historical buildings, monuments, mixtures of local lifestyles, cultural venues,
shopping facilities and urban parks. It is also a city that is equipped with modern
infrastructure that supports its overall development. The Kuala Lumpur Structure
Plan 2020 (KLSP 2020) has identified KL’s tourism attractions, ranging from its
cultural-heritage attractions, shopping, dining and entertainment, recreational
attractions and health and education. According to KLSP 2020, positioning of
tourism products in KL is as presented in the following Figures 3.2 and 3.3.
Sentul - Manjalara
Wangsa Maju - Maluri
Damansara - Penchala
City Centre
Bandar Tun Razak Sungai Besi
Cultural Heritage Attractions
Bukit Jalil - Seputeh
Urban Visitor Resources
Recreational & Health Resources
N
Not To Scale
Figure 3.2: Distribution of Tourism Products
Source: Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2020
45
Industrial Tourism
Education
Ecotourism
Sentul - Manjalara
Wangsa Maju - Maluri
Shopping
Culture
MICE
Entertainment
Dining
Education
Health
Damansara - Penchala
City Centre
Ecotourism
Sports
MICE
Bandar Tun Razak Sungai Besi
Bukit Jalil - Seputeh
N
Not To Scale
Figure 3.3: Tourism Zones
Source: Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2020
Places of attractions, entertainment areas and shopping areas offered by KL
as promoted by Kuala Lumpur Tourism Action Council in Getting Around in KL are
as displayed in Table 3.1:
46
Table 3.1: Tourism Products in KL
Tourist Attractions:
Anniversary Theatre
Bird Park
Butterfly Park
Central Market
Chan See Shu Yuen Temple
Chinatown
Dayabumi
Deer Park
Experimental Theatre
Inter: Buddhist Pagoda
Islamic Art Museum
Islamic Centre
Istana Budaya
Masjid Jamek
KL Sentral Station
Kompleks Budaya Kraf
Kuala Lumpur City Centre
Kuala Lumpur Tower
KTM Building
Lake Garden
Malaysian Tourism Centre
Merdeka Square
National Art Gallery
National Library
National Mosque
National Monument
National Museum
National Planetarium
Numismat Museum
Old Railway Station
Orchid Garden
Pasar Rakyat
Parliament House
Putra World Trade Centre
Royal Selangor Club
Sri Perdana Gallery
Sultan Abdul Samad Bldg.
Telekom Museum
Tun Abdul Razak Memorial
Tunku Abdul Rahman
Memorial
Entertainment Area:
Bangsar
Bukit Bintang
Jalan P. Ramlee
Jalan Ampang
Shopping Places:
Ampang Park
Ampang Plaza
Berjaya Time Square
Bukit Bintang Plaza
Campbell Complex
Central Market
China Town
City Square
Imbi Plaza
KL Plaza
Kota Raya
Lot 10
Low Yatt Plaza
Maju Junction
Pertama Complex
Pudu Plaza
Semua House
Shaw Parade
S&M Arcade
Sogo
Starhill Shopping Centre
Sungei Wang Plaza
Suria KLCC
The Mall
The Weld
Images of tourist attraction in KL
From left to right, top row: Chinatown, Lake Gardens, National Museum;
bottom row: Bintang Walk, Old KTM Railway Station, Lot 10 Shopping Centre
47
3.4
Positioning
With reference to KLSP 2020, City Hall of Kuala Lumpur (CHKL) aspire to
enhance the role of KL as an international commercial and financial centre by:
•
developing KL as an attractive international tourist destination; and
•
increase the average length of stay to 3.0 by the year 2010.
To create a distinctive city identity and image, CHKL aims to:
•
create a city which conserves the best of its environmental, architectural and
cultural heritage and which offers a rich blend of both the modern and
traditional;
•
promote culture and the arts, sports, education and health in the City as tourism
products and as factors in enhancing the overall quality of life; and
•
create a tropical garden city sensitive to its natural environment and appropriate
to its tropical regional location.
3.4
Middle East Tourist Arrival
The Middle East tourist market makes up 0.6% of the total tourist population
visiting Malaysia during the months of January to May of 2006 (value = 43,218).
Although nominal, this segment has increased as much as 33% since year 2005
during the same seasons. According to 2005 statistical data, the highest number of
Middle East tourists are found to be during the month of August, where the arrivals
of this market segment start to increase in July and decrease after September. It is
expected that the arrival pattern for 2006 would also be similar as that in 2005, as
these are their seasons for travelling. See Table 3.2, Table 3.3 and Figure 3.4.
48
Table 3.2: Middle East Tourist Arrival in Malaysia (Jan – May / 2005 & 2006)
Country of Residence
January – May
Saudi Arabia
Turkey
UAE
Jordan
Kuwait
Lebanon
Syria
Oman
TOTAL
2005
2006
8,193
2,804
2,993
822
1,367
4,103
2,818
2,494
32,495
13,017
3,747
5,512
1,089
2,444
3,803
2,480
3,317
43,218
(%) Change
Jan – May 2005 /
Jan – May 2006
58.9
33.6
84.2
32.5
78.8
-7.3
-12.0
33.0
33.0
Source: Immigration Department of Malaysia (KL)
Table 3.3: Middle East Tourist Arrival in Malaysia (By Months)
Months
2005
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
TOTAL
8,256
6,898
7,004
5,127
5,210
7,665
24,194
48,985
16,851
4,529
6,867
6,060
147,646
2006
11,178
8,267
8,635
7,738
7,400
10,389
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
53,607
Source: Immigration Department of Malaysia (KL)
Middle East Tourist Arrival 2005 and 2006
60,000
50,000
40,000
2006
30,000
2005
20,000
10,000
A
ug
us
t
S
ep
te
m
be
r
O
ct
ob
er
N
ov
em
be
r
D
ec
em
be
r
Ju
ly
Ju
ne
M
ay
A
pr
il
M
ar
ch
Ja
nu
ar
y
Fe
br
ua
ry
0
Months
Figure 3.4: Middle East Tourist Arrival 2005 and 2006
Source: Immigration Department of Malaysia (KL)
49
CHAPTER 4
DATA ANALYSIS
4.1
Introduction
This chapter is divided into four sections. The first section discusses results
for tourist place experience evaluation, using Model of Attitude Measurement
(MAM) to identify the gaps between expectation and experience.
The second
section examines the tourist routes, while the third section presents the analysis of
tourist demands, which include the respondent’s profile and trip characteristics. The
results and discussion are supported by table, chart and diagram formats.
The survey has been conducted between the month of June and September
2006 at Kuala Lumpur, primarily at Jalan Bukit Bintang, Jalan Sultan Ismail and
Jalam Ampang areas. A total of 100 survey forms that have been returned back are
valid and fully completed, and thus can be used for analysis. Among the difficulties
faced are identification of tourists from the Middle East regions. Prior to the final
survey, a pilot test has been conducted to gather feedbacks regarding the clarity of
the questions asked, the variables measured in the questionnaire and the application
of MAM in analyzing the gathered data.
The pilot survey shows that the
questionnaire is clear and all the data needed is attainable.
50
As noted earlier in Chapter 1, descriptive analysis and correlation of
variables are used to analyze the data gathered from the questionnaires.
The
following sections present the findings of the survey conducted.
4.2
Place Experience Analysis
The analysis of tourist place experience is measured through evaluating the
perceived importance and the actual experience of specific place characters, as
suggested by Steele (1981). These attributes outline the concept of place experience
and placemaking. Settings can be enhanced by identifying the gaps or lack among
these attributes:
1) “Choice” – evaluates whether the place provides choices and options of how
the place can be experienced and the activities offered.
This character
represents the richness of place, where choice and variety of experience
serve a fundamental human need.
2) “Sequence” – evaluates whether the place offers a continuous experience that
builds on one another. This character represents reinforcing patterns and
sequence that is more likely to produce high-quality experience.
3) “Memories” – evaluates whether the place triggers off memories and
fantasies. This character represents the rich material the place possesses to
provide rich place experience. However, memories and feelings still depend
on the users themselves.
4) “Identity” – evaluates whether the place owns a distinct identity, image, and
consistent themes or symbol. This character represents a sense of identity
that will be more likely to produce positive place experience.
51
5) “Awareness” – evaluates how the setting can have an impact on the tourist’s
sense of self and stimulate their perception. This character represents how a
place can highlight personal awareness.
6) “Opportunity” – evaluates whether a visitor can easily know or identify
special places that are not only visible and accessible to the insiders or locals.
This character represents the opportunities highlighted in a particular place,
where settings whose special features are visible are more likely to stimulate
use of those features than the ones that are hidden or not known.
7) “Active” – evaluates whether the place is also actively used by other people
as well, which generates a pattern of users’ activities.
This character
represents the visible vitality of a place, which creates and reinforces the
experience for people and one another.
Model of Attitude Measurement (MAM) is used as a tool to evaluate
evaluate the gaps between expectation and experience. The mean scores and gaps
that result from belief and experience of the place characters are calculated and
tabulated using the model.
The means for both importance and experience of
attributes are used as crosshairs so as to establish the four quadrants on the grid.
Table 4.1 and 4.2 indicate the perceived importance and actual experience
ratings of place character attributes in KL as perceived by the Middle East tourists.
The survey has found that all of the place characters were considered “important” by
the tourists. The means scores of importance of attributes range from 4.035 to
4.291, where 1 = Very Unimportant and 5 = Very Important.
52
Table 4.1: Importance of Place Characters to the Middle East Tourists
Rank
Rank 1
Characters
“Memories”
Rank 2
“Active”
Rank 3
Rank 4
“Identity”
“Opportunity”
Rank 5
“Awareness”
Rank 6
“Sequence”
Rank 7
“Choice”
Description
The place gives them valuable images, fantasies,
memories or feelings.
The place is active and used by other people as
well for their activities.
The place has its own identity and image.
The special places and places of interest there are
easily known.
The place gives them new knowledge or
awareness.
The place gives them a continuous experience,
one after another.
The place offers a variety of experience and
activities for them to choose.
Mean Score
4.0349
4.0465
4.2907
4.0930
4.0595
4.0706
4.0941
Note:
a
Mean scale: 1=Very Unimportant, 2=Unimportant, 3=Neutral, 4=Important, 5= Very Important
Table 4.2: Experience of Place Characters in KL by the Middle East Tourists
Rank
Rank 1
Characters
“Active”
Rank 2
Rank 3
“Awareness”
“Choice”
Rank 4
Rank 5
“Identity”
“Memories”
Rank 6
“Opportunity”
Rank 7
“Sequence”
Description
KL is experienced as an active place that is used
by other people as well for their activities.
KL gives them new knowledge or awareness.
KL offers a variety of experience and activities
for them to choose.
KL has its own identity and image.
KL gives them valuable images, fantasies,
memories or feelings.
The special places and places of interest in KL
are easily known.
KL gives them a continuous experience, one after
another.
Mean Score
4.0349
3.8140
3.9419
3.9302
3.6706
3.9186
3.8372
Note:
b
Mean scale: 1=Strongly Disagree, 2=Disagree, 3=Neutral, 4=Agree, 5=Strongly Agree
“Memories” is noted as possesing the highest importance among other
attributes. Following “memories”, in order of importance are “active”, “identity”,
“opportunity”, “awareness”, “sequence” and finally “choice”. This indicates that in
any place, these characteristics are valued as important in ensuring that the Middle
East tourists have the best experience.
These attributes are then assessed based on their presence in KL through the
tourists’ own experiences. It is found that KL has been experienced by the Middle
53
East tourists as an “active” place, followed by being a place that gives them
“awareness”, “choice”, possesses own “identity”, gives them “memories”,
“opportunity” and finally, continous “sequence” of experience, in descending order.
The following diagram displays the comparison of ranking between perceived
importance and actual experience (Figure 4.1).
Important
Character
Less Important
Character
Perceived
Importance
Actual
Experience
Memories
Active
Active
Awareness
Identity
Choice
Opportunity
Identity
Awareness
Memories
Sequence
Opportunity
Choice
Sequence
Experienced to
be Present
Less
Experienced to
be Present
Figure 4.1: Comparison between perceived importance and actual place
experience by the Middle East tourists in KL
From the diagram above, it can be pointed out that KL is experienced as a
place with active vitality, which gives them awareness or new knowledge. Although
the choices and options of activities are visible to them, however, there is a lack in
opportunities for knowing special places of interest. Additionally, the sequence of
experience has the least mean score in evaluation, which possibly shows the lack of
integration in their tourist routes or continuity of activities that they are engaged in.
Nevertheless, the city was still experienced as having its own identity, but with some
need for a more memorable experience. Enhancement of these characters through
placemaking is further discussed in the next chapter.
54
Interestingly, the study has also found that the search for a memorable
experience is highly seeked by Middle East tourists aged between 20 and 29 years
old (38.5%).
Percentage of Tourists
(%)
Tourists Who Rank "Memories" as a
Very Important Character (Value=5)
38.5
40.0
35.0
30.0
25.0
20.0
15.0
10.0
5.0
23.1
15.4
12.8
7.7
2.6
0.0
<20
20-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
60>
Age Group
Figure 4.2: Tourists Who Rank “Memories” as a Very Important Character
Source: Field Survey (2006)
This age group also makes up the highest population of the surveyed Middle
East tourists (30%). Their purposes of visit to KL are mostly for vacation (30%),
shopping and vacation (23%), honeymoon (15%) and pure shopping (12%).
Therefore, it is no surprise that they expect a memorable experience in KL, as their
purpose of visit is vacationing and honeymoon, followed by shopping.
Shopping
Purpose of Visit for Tourists Aged 20-29
Vacation
Academic Visit
8%
Honeymoon
VFR
4%
Shopping+Vacation
Shopping
12%
Shopping+Vacation+
Honeymoon
8%
Shopping+Vacation+
Honeymoon
VFR
Academic Visit
Vacation
30%
Shopping+Vacation
23%
Honeymoon
15%
Figure 4.3: Purpose of Visit for Tourists Aged 20-29
Source: Field Survey (2006)
55
4.2.1
Analysis of Place Characters Using MAM
Although the place characters received different evaluations, nevertheless, all
of the attributes are “important” attributes perceived to be present in the destination.
The mean scores from both the importance and experience evaluation are tabulated
in Table 4.3 and Figure 4.4.
Table 4.3: Place Characters Mean Scores
Keywords
“Choice”
“Sequence”
“Memories”
“Identity”
Meana
(Importance of
Attributes)
4.0349
4.0465
4.2907
Meanb
(Experience of
Attributes)
3.9419
3.8372
3.6706
4.0930
3.9302
4.0595
3.8140
4.0706
3.9186
4.0941
4.0349
“Awareness”
“Opportunity”
“Active”
Note:
a
Mean scale: 1=Very Unimportant, 2=Unimportant, 3=Neutral, 4=Important, 5= Very Important
b
Mean scale: 1=Strongly Disagree, 2=Disagree, 3=Neutral, 4=Agree, 5=Strongly Agree
56
Model of Attitude Measurement
Important attributes perceived
not to be present in the
destination
5.00
Important attributes perceived
to be present in the destination
4.50
Importance of Attributes
4.00
Choice
Sequence
3.50
Memories
Identity
1.00
1.50
2.00
3.00
2.50 3.00
3.50
4.00
4.50
5.00
2.50
Awareness
Opportunity
Active
2.00
Unimportant attributes
perceived not to be present in
the destination
1.50
Unimportant attributes
perceived to be present in the
destination
1.00
Experience of Attributes
Figure 4.4: Model of Attitude Measurement
on the Middle East Tourists’ Place Experience
As presented above, all of the attributes of place characters fall into the same
quadrant, which is “important attributes perceived to be present in the destination”.
At this stage, the analysis indicates that KL indeed possesses the entire important
place characters perceived by the Middle East tourists, which in return produce a
positive experience.
This data supports the findings for the overall tourist
experience in Section 4.2.3.
57
4.2.2
Gap Analysis
Although all of the attributes of place character are classifed as “important”
and “present in the destination”, it is noteworthy to distinguish the difference of
mean scores between importance evaluation and experience evaluation. Futhermore,
none of the place experieces are found to surpass their expectation, which
demonstrates that there is still room for improvements in refining the Middle East
tourist experience in KL, and most importantly, in ensuring that they visit the city
again in the future. The gaps identified is analyzed to assist the formulation of
recommendations for this study. See Figure 4.5 and Tables 4.4 and 4.5.
Differences of Mean Scores
5.0000
4.5000
Evaluation Scores
4.0000
3.5000
3.0000
2.5000
2.0000
1.5000
1.0000
The place gives The place gives The place gives The place has The place gives
a variety of
me a
me valuable
its ow n identity
me new
and image.
know ledge or
experience and
continuous
images,
fantasies,
aw areness.
activities for me experience, one
to choose.
after another.
memories or
feelings.
The special
places and
places of
interest here
are easily
know n.
Place Characteristics
Importance of Attributes
Experience of Attributes
Figure 4.5: Differences of Mean Scores
The place is
used by other
people as w ell
for their
activities.
58
Table 4.4: Differences of Mean Scores (Values)
Keywords
“Choice”
“Sequence”
“Memories”
“Identity”
Meana
(Importance of
Attributes)
4.0349
4.0465
4.2907
Meanb
(Experience of
Attributes)
3.9419
3.8372
3.6706
4.0930
3.9302
- 0.1628
4.0595
3.8140
- 0.2456
4.0706
3.9186
- 0.1520
4.0941
4.0349
- 0.0592
Difference
(Gap)
- 0.0930
- 0.2093
- 0.6201
“Awareness”
“Opportunity”
“Active”
Table 4.5: Gap Values in Ascending Orders
Gap 1
Gap 2
Gap 3
Gap 4
Gap 5
Gap 6
Gap 7
“Memories”
“Awareness”
“Sequence”
“Identity”
“Opportunity”
“Choice”
“Active”
- 0.6201
- 0.2456
- 0.2093
- 0.1628
- 0.1520
- 0.0930
- 0.0592
The analysis has found that the widest gap between expectation and
experience is placed in “memories”.
This difference shows that the attributes
considered important and desired by the Middle East tourist was lacking in KL. As
noted previously, this is probably because they have certain expectations to the types
of experience they can gain from vacationing KL. However, an in depth study is
needed to discover the extent of memorable experience searched by the Middle East
tourists.
Nevertheless, the other attributes have closer gaps when compared to each
other, which means that their expectations are somewhat attainable, although their
experiences do not go beyond their beliefs of importance. On the other hand,
“active” is found to be the most attainable place experience as this attribute has the
narrowest gap, and is considered the second most important place character.
59
4.2.3 Analysis of Overall Tourist Experience
The measurement of overall tourist experience is adapted from Steele’s high
quality place experience (Steele, 1981). The criteria also support Ryan’s tourist
experience, which embraces the degree of satisfaction gained from the experience.
The evaluation of tourist experience is based on the following factors.
The
respondents are asked to rate their experience by agreeing or disagreeing to the
given statements (1=Strongly Disagree, 5=Strongly Agree).
1) They like being at the place.
2) They enjoy doing activities at the place.
3) They get to do what they want to do at the place.
4) They are satisfied with their visit to the place.
5) They would revisit the place again.
6) They would recommend the place to their friends or relatives.
All of the experience surveyed to the Middle East tourists are evaluated
between the scores of 3.9 to 4.2, which is close to the “agree” rating. This signifies
that the respondents are overall satisfied with their visit to KL. It can be noted that
their overall experience does not only include place experience alone, but other
factors such as services, hospitality, price, lifestyle and their own personality.
Nevertheless, it is evident that there is still an opportunity to enhance their
experience of visiting the city through refining their place experience, where their
current evaluation on the overall experience can still be considered as above
average, as the assessment did not reach or get close to the “strongly agree” rating.
The mean scores for each factor are shown in Table 4.6 and Figure 4.6.
60
Table 4.6: Overall Tourist Experience Evaluation
Keywords
“Recommend”
“Revisit”
“Satisfied”
“Enjoy”
“Achieve”
“Like”
Mean
(Tourist Experience)
4.1429
4.1310
4.0353
4.0000
3.9881
3.9529
Note:
Mean scale: 1=Strongly Disagree, 2=Disagree, 3=Neutral,
4=Agree, 5=Strongly Agree
Tourist Experience Evaluation
4.1429
Revisit
4.1310
Experiences
Recommend
Satisfy
4.0353
Achieve
3.9881
Enjoy
4.0000
Like
3.9529
1.0000 1.5000 2.0000 2.5000 3.0000 3.5000 4.0000 4.5000 5.0000
Mean Scores
Note:
Mean scale: 1=Strongly Disagree, 2=Disagree, 3=Neutral, 4=Agree, 5=Strongly
Agree
Figure 4.6: Overall Tourist Experience Evaluation
Source: Field Survey (2006)
61
4.3
Analysis of Tourist Route
One of the significant findings of this research is discovering the Middle East
tourist routes in KL. Determining the tourist route is important as it will provide this
study valuable information on the places they mostly visited and those which are
included in their range of touristic experience. Data collected is categorized into
three parts of route, which are tourist attractions, shopping places and entertainment
areas visited, all of which are listed based on the places promoted by Kuala Lumpur
Tourism Action Council and Kuala Lumpur City Hall. However, Arab Street, or
also known as Ain Arabia, is not included in the city map, but from the observation
done during the pilot survey, it is found that many Middle East tourists visit this area
as well. Therefore, Arab Street is included in the list of tourist attractions.
Remarkably, Arab Street stands to be the second most visited tourist
attraction at 18%, following KLCC (20%), which is the highest visited tourist
attraction. KLCC is indisputably ranked high because of its shopping facilities and
it being an international icon. This data is strongly supported by the response of
mostly visited shopping places which is Suria KLCC (16%). A great percentage of
tourists that go to Arab Street during their visit is most likely due to the availability
of Middle Eastern restaurants, shop and travel agency.
However, from the
observation made on site, the Ain Arabia Square is found to be of no use by the
tourists. Data gathered on tourist routes are as depicted in Figures 4.5, 4.6 and 4.7,
while tourist route map is as displayed in Figure 4.8.
Images of Ain Arabia that is unused by tourists even during the weekends
62
4.3.1
Tourist Attractions
Tourist Attractions Visited in Kuala Lumpur
KLCC, 20.3
20.0
Arab Street/Ain Arabia, 17.6
25.0
KLCC
Arab Street/Ain Arabia
Chinatow n
KL Tow er
Bird Park
Butterfly Park
Masjid Jamek
Deer Park
KL Sentral Station
15.0
National Museum
Merdeka Square
Islamic Centre
KTM Building
Parliament House, 0.3
Orchid Garden
Pasar Rakyat, 0.3
Old Railway Station, 0.3
Numismat Museum, 0.3
National Art Gallery, 0.3
PWTC, 0.6
Lake Garden, 0.3
Orchid Garden, 0.6
National Planetarium, 0.6
Islamic Centre, 0.9
National Planetarium
KTM Building, 0.6
National Monument, 1.2
Chan See Shu Yuen Temple, 0.9
National Museum, 1.8
Merdeka Square, 1.2
National Mosque, 2.4
Islamic Art Museum, 1.8
Malaysia Tourism Centre, 2.4
Deer Park, 2.9
Chan See Shu Yuen Temple
KL Sentral Station, 2.6
Masjid Jamek, 5.6
National Monument
Central Market, 4.4
5.0
Islamic Art Museum
Bird Park, 5.9
10.0
National Mosque
Butterfly Park, 5.6
Chinatown, 10.6
Malaysia Tourism Centre
KL Tower, 7.9
Percentage of Tourists (%)
Central Market
0.0
PWTC
Lake Garden
National Art Gallery
Numismat Museum
Old Railw ay Station
Pasar Rakyat
Parliament House
Places
Figure 4.7: Tourist Attractions Visited in Kuala Lumpur
Source: Field Survey (2006)
As shown in the Figure 4.7, other attractions also visited by the Middle East
tourists are Chinatown (10.6%), KL Tower (7.9%), Bird Park (5.9%), Butterfly Park
(5.6%), Masjid Jamek (5.6%) and Central Market (4.4%). The other attractions
listed have less then 4% visitation by the Middle East tourists.
63
Images of Tourist Attractions in KL Visited by the Middle East Tourists
KLCC (20.3%)
Arab Street (17.6%)
Chinatown (10.6%)
KL Tower (7.9%)
Bird Park (5.9%)
Butterfly Park (5.6%)
Masjid Jamek (5.6%)
Central Market (4.4%)
64
4.3.2
Shopping Places
Suria KLCC
Berjaya Time Square
KL Plaza
Ampang Park
City Square
Ampang Plaza
Central Market
Imbi Plaza
Low Yatt Plaza
Kota Raya
The Mall, 0.2
S&M Arcade
Sogo, 0.2
S&M Arcade, 0.2
Maju Junction, 0.2
Pudu Plaza, 0.7
Maju Junction
Kota Raya, 0.5
Imbi Plaza, 1.7
2.0
Pudu Plaza
Low Yatt Plaza, 1.2
Ampang Plaza, 2.4
KL Plaza, 8.4
China Tow n
Central Market, 2.2
4.0
Sungei Wang
Ampang Park, 3.6
6.0
Bukit Bintang Plaza
City Square, 3.1
8.0
Lot 10
China Town, 5.5
10.0
Starhill
Sungei Wang, 9.8
12.0
Lot 10, 11.5
14.0
Starhill, 12.2
Percentage of Tourists (%)
16.0
Berjaya Time Square, 8.9
18.0
Bukit Bintang Plaza, 11.0
20.0
Suria KLCC, 16.3
Shopping Places Visited in Kuala Lumpur
Sogo
The Mall
0.0
Places
Figure 4.8: Shopping Places Visited in Kuala Lumpur
Source: Field Survey (2006)
According to the above data in Figure 4.8, Suria KLCC was highly surveyed
as the most visited shopping place by the Middle East tourists, with a percentage of
16.3%. As noted previously, KLCC is without a doubt an iconic tourist attraction
(Petronas Twin Towers) that is also a shopping place (Suria KLCC), which enables
it to attract and capture the exact purposes of visit of the Middle East tourists –
shopping and sightseeing. Other shopping places visited are found to be located at
Jalan Bukit Bintang (above 8% of the respondents).
65
Images of Shopping Places in KL Visited by the Middle East Tourists
Suria KLCC (16.3%)
Bukit Bintang Plaza (11.0%)
Star Hill (12.2%)
Lot 10 (11.5%)
Sungei Wang (9.8%)
Berjaya Times Square (8.9%)
Images of Entertainment Area in KL Visited by the Middle East Tourists
Jalan Bukit Bintang (45.7%)
Jalan Ampang (32.6%)
Jalan P. Ramlee (19.6%)
66
4.3.3
Entertainment Area
Entertainment Area Visited in Kuala Lumpur
50
Bukit Bintang
25
20
15
Jalan Ampang
Jalan P. Ramlee
10
5
0
Bangsar
Bangsar, 2.2
30
Jalan P. Ramlee, 19.6
35
Jalan Ampang, 32.6
40
Bukit Bintang, 45.7
Percentage of Tourists (%)
45
Places
Figure 4.9: Entertainment Area Visited in Kuala Lumpur
Source: Field Survey (2006)
The survey later finds that the most visited entertainment area in Kuala
Lumpur is Bukit Bintang (45.7%), as depicted in Figure 4.9. This is expected from
this survey as a number of hotels, shopping places and eateries, especially Middle
Eastern restaurants, are located along Jalan Bukit Bintang.
Although shopping venues are theorized to be the most visited places in
Kuala Lumpur by the Middle East tourist, it is fascinating to discover that those are
not the only attractions visited by the respondents. Themed parks at the Lake
Gardens (Butterfly Park, Bird Park, Dear Park and Orchid Garden) and Kuala
Lumpur Old Town (China Town, Central Market and Masjid Jamek) are also
included in their tourist routes. This interesting finding indicates that the Middle
East tourists go to a variety of places during their stay in Kuala Lumpur City Centre.
See Figure 4.10: Tourist Route.
Most Visited Attraction and
Shopping Venue: Petronas
Twin Towers and Suria KLCC
31
JA
J
IP
OH
30
JAL
AN
R
AJA
L
AUT
L
AI
ISM
JA
SULT LAN
AN IS
MAIL
JALAN RAJA UDA
JA
AN A
J AL
KUCHIN
G
D
E
P
NGK
AT B
U
JALAN
21
NN G
LA A N
JA INT
B
JALA
N PU
DU
3
KITVB
INTA
NG
KIT
BU
CHINATOWN
M
36
L
IL
MA
22
2
44
43
41 42
N
LA
JA
K
S
BI
IM
11
J
AN
AL
AV
TR
JA
LA
NM
AH
AR
AJA
LE
LA
JA
LA
NL
OK
EY
EW
S
ER
TO BANGSAR
12
Most Concentrated Area of
Tourist Attractions Visited
Figure 4.10: Tourist Route
Source: Field Survey 2006
H
J
BUKIT ALAN
BINT
ANG
I
PUDU
38
HA JA
NG LAN
TU
AH
TO DESA SRI
HARTAMAS
G
37
O
17
PEN
J
40 39
14
15 16
N KIA
G
N IS
PE
RA
K
LTA
N
HULA
JA C
N RA
JALA
CHA
SU
TU
N
JALA
AN
10
A
B
R
18
AR
A
JALAN AMPANG
1
JAL
JA
LA
N
6
13
34 35
33
ANG
AMP
G
N
NA
IMEN
LAN PARL
5
C
AZ
AK
RA
ZA
K
AHAM
ERU
E
N
UN
R
PI
LEBU
HRAY
AM
LE
M
RA
AN
MA
NS
P.
1
NT
F
7
DA
K
A
JAL
4
19 20
8
AP
N
WA
G
N
LA
JA
28
OLD TOWN
9
N
MPA
32
23
JA
LA
N
Y
LAN
NG
SE
U
JALA
N DAN
G WA
NGI
24
LAKE GARDENS
JA
LA
L
JA
JA
Tourist Attraction
Shopping Venues
Hotels
JA
LA
N
TU
N
UN
AT
29
Q
26
AN
AL
AK
AR
M
SE
JALAN RAJA MUDA
27
25
LEGEND:
JALAN TU
N RAZAK
JA L
AN
N
LA
JA
HI
NG
JALAN RAJA ABDULLAH
KU
C
LA
N
JAL
ABD AN TU
A
UL
RAH NKU
MA
N
JA
LA
N
67
PU
DU
Most Concentrated Area of
Shopping Venues Visited
and Hotels Accommodated
T
Names of Places
1. KLCC
2. Arab Street / Ain Arabia
3. Chinatown
4. KL Tower
5. Bird Park
6. Butterfly Park
7. Orchid Garden
8. Deer Park
9. Lake Gardens
10. National Planetarium
11. National Museum
12. KL Sentral Station
13. Islamic Art Museum
14. National Mosque
15. Islamic Centre
16. KTM Building
17. Old Railway Station
18. Chan See Shu Yuen Temple
19. Central Market
20. S&M Arcade
21. Kotaraya
22. Numismat Museum
23. Merdeka Square
24. Masjid Jamek
25. Parliament House
26. National Monument
27. Maju Junction
28. Sogo
29. The Mall
30. PWTC
31. National Art Gallery
32. Malaysian Tourism Centre
33. Ampang Park
34. Ampang Plaza
35. City Square
36. Pasar Rakyat
37. Berjaya Times Square
38. Pudu Plaza
39. Imbi Plaza
40. Low Yatt Plaza
41. Sungei Wang Plaza
42. Bukit Bintang Plaza
43. Lot 10
44. Star Hill & KL Plaza
Hotels
A. Micasa Hotel
Apartments
B. Nikko Hotel
C. Corus Hotel
D. Mandarin
Oriental
E. The Ascott
F. Equatorial
Hotel
G. Prince Hotel
H. Dorsett
Regency
I.
Ritz Carlton
Hotel
J.
Berjaya Times
Square
K. Royale
Bintang
L. The Regent
M. Fortuna Hotel
N. Cardogan
Hotel
O. Swiss Garden
Hotel
P. Istana Hotel
Q. Sheraton
Imperial
R. PNB Darby
Park
S. The Westin
T. Holiday Villa
Apartment
Suites
U. The Zone in
the Park
V. Radius
International
68
From the tourist routes plotted on the KL Map, the highly visited attraction
and shopping venue is the Petronas Twin Towers and Suria KLCC. Most of the
other tourist attractions visited are found to be concentrated near Lake Gardens,
most of which were parks and historical or monumental attractions. This finding
shows that the Middle East tourists are attracted to visit parks and garden, and places
of heritage values in during their vacation in the city. This again supports their
evaluation of KL as having choices and options of things to do. On the other hand,
the most concentrated area of shopping venues visited and hotels accommodated are
situated around Jalan Bukit Bintang.
Similary, this data also supports their
evaluation on KL as an active place, where Bukit Bintang indeed is in the heart of
the Golden Triangle, a place for business and shopping complexes.
The distances between their hotels and areas of attractions visited suggest the
probable absence of sequence and continuity of experience, as assessed by the
Middle East tourist in place character evaluation. The reasoning for such is further
elaborated in the analysis of the tourists’ trip characteristics in the analysis of tourist
demand section.
69
4.4
Analysis of Tourist Demand
4.4.1
Profile of Tourists
4.4.1.1 Country of Origin
The tourist survey reveals the highest percentage of Middle East tourists in
the study areas are from Saudi Arabia (20%), followed by Qatar (14%). Tourists
originating from other countries in the Middle East regions that range between five
to ten percent of the demographic composition are Cyprus (7%) Yemen (7%),
Quwait (6%), Iran (6%), Sudan (6%), and UAE (5%). See Figure 4.11.
25
20
15
10
5
0
Sa Ye
ud m
i A en
(
ra
bi 7%
)
a
Ku (2
w 0%
a
)
Q it (6
at
%
ar
)
(1
4%
Ira
)
Jo n (6
rd
%
a
Ba n ( )
hr 4%
ai
n )
Li (5%
by
)
a
Su (1
d a %)
C n (6
yp
ru %)
s
(7
Ira %)
q
(
O
m 2%
an )
Tu
(
rk 4%
ey
)
(
U 2%
Le AE )
ba (5%
no
n )
Eg (4
y p %)
t
Sy (4%
r
ia )
M
or
(
oc 1%
co )
(1
%
)
Percentage of Tourists (%)
Country of Origin
Countries
Figure 4.11: Country of Origin
Source: Field Survey (2006)
70
4.4.1.2 Demographics
The evidence from the survey samples 62% male and 38% female
respondents. The survey has also found that majority of the Middle East tourists are
made up of those within the age range of 20 to 29 (30%), and closely followed by
tourists within the ages of 30 to 39 (26%). See Figures 4.12 and 4.13.
Age Group
Tourist Gender
Female
38%
Male
Female
Male
62%
Percentage of Tourists (%)
35
30
30
26
25
20
15
17
13
10
10
5
5
0
< 20
20-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
60 >
Age
Figure 4.12: Tourist Gender
Source: Field Survey (2006)
Figure 4.13: Age Group
Source: Field Survey (2006)
The survey also shows that over 40% of the respondents have attained their
degree or higher levels of education. The high number of tourists with degrees is
perhaps due to their affordability to travel abroad and the likelihood that they are
university students or former students traveling in their semester holidays.
Interestingly, the second highest education background of the surveyed tourists are
those who do not have formal education (25%). The relationship of education
attainment and occupation of respondents are found to be correlated, as the majority
of the respondents are students (24%) followed by self-employed respondents
(20%).
Other occupations that do not fit into the surveyed categories are
professional football players, programmers, doctors and pilots. Refer Figures 4.14
and 4.15.
71
Highest Education Background
43
Degree or higher
16
Certificate/Diploma
Secondary
11
5
Primary
No formal education
25
0
10
20
30
40
50
Percentage of Tourists (%)
Figure 4.14: Highest Education Background
Source: Field Survey (2006)
Occupation
Others
13
Retired
7
Professional
11
Executive/Managerial
9
Clerical/Supervisory
1
Housew ife
15
Self-Employed
20
Student
24
0
5
10
15
Percentage of Tourists (%)
Figure 4.15: Occupation
Source: Field Survey (2006)
20
25
30
72
4.4.2
Trip Characteristics
4.4.2.1 Purpose of Visit
Near to half of the respondents have come to Kuala Lumpur for the purpose
of sightseeing and vacation (42%). More than one-third of the tourists have chosen
to visit Kuala Lumpur to go shopping. This appears to be the most evident purposes
of visit for Middle East tourists to Malaysia, as the same result has also been
generated from the previous researches by MTPB (1998) and Wong (2001), where
the main ranked acitivites are sightseeing in cities and shopping. Other reason that
is found to be coupled with sightseeing and vacation is honeymoon (9%). Other
purposes of visiting Kuala Lumpur are visiting friends and relatives (6%), academic
visits (4%) and business (2%). See Figure 4.16.
Main Purpose of Visiting Kuala Lumpur
Others, 9%
VFR, 6%
Business, 2%
Academic Visit, 4%
Sightseeing /
Vacation, 42%
Shopping, 37%
Sightseeing/Vacation
Shopping
Academic Visit
Business
VFR
Others
Figure 4.16: Main Purpose of Visiting Kuala Lumpur
Source: Field Survey (2006)
73
4.4.2.2 Party Composition
This study has discovered that 60% of the respondents travelled to KL with
their family or relatives. This party composition stands as the highest percentage
among other forms, such as traveling with friends or partner (17%) and in a big
group of more than five (16%). Only a small number of Middle East tourists come
to Kuala Lumpur along (6%). See Figure 4.17.
Party Composition
70
50
40
30
17
20
16
6
10
5
>
gr
ou
p
ig
In
ab
ily
/R
el
at
iv e
s
ds
/P
Fr
ien
Fa
m
ar
tn
er
on
e
0
Al
Percentage of Tourists (%)
60
60
Figure 4.17: Party Composition
Source: Field Survey (2006)
74
4.4.2.3 Length of Stay
Approximately comparable percentages of the tourists visit Kuala Lumpur
for five to seven days (43%) or more than seven days (42%). Only 15% of the
tourists stay in Kuala Lumpur for two to four days, which illustrates that a high
majority of Middle East tourist visit the city for a longer period of time (see Figure
4.18). This phenomenon is found to be typical among the Middle East tourists as it
is during this season that they travel to escape the summer season in their countries
(Wong, 2001).
Interestingly this season also coincides with Malaysia’s Mega
Shopping Carnival in August, which perhaps attract them to stay longer in Malaysia
and enjoy the shopping promotions offered.
Length of Stay
2 to 4 days
15%
More than 7
days
42%
5 to 7 days
43%
Figure 4.18: Length of Stay
Source: Field Survey (2006)
75
4.4.2.4 Mode of Transport
The Middle East tourist survey has also found that traveling around the city
with rented vehicles to be the most popular mode of transport chosen. With a total
percentage of 44%, rented transport is the highest selected option, compared to using
public transport (25%), tour coach or van (14%) and walking (17%), as displayed in
Figure 4.19. In reference to the previous data collected in this study, this is perhaps
due to the fact that most of the tourists come with family and relatives, thus it is
easier for them to travel in such size of group using a rented vehicle. Additionally,
rented vehicles give them more freedom and option on choosing their very own
tourist route at their own time pace.
M ode of Transport
Tour
Coach/Van
14%
Walking
17%
Public
Transport
25%
Rented
Transport
44%
Figure 4.19: Mode of Transport
Source: Field Survey (2006)
76
4.4.2.5 Accommodation
A large proportion of the respondents stay at 3-star, 4-star and 5-star hotels.
Locations of the accommodations are also found to be located within the vicinity of
city centre and shopping outlets. This data once more support the previous data
which declared that the Middle East tourists come to KL largely for the purpose of
shopping and sightseeing. More interestingly, according to previous Figure 4.13 on
‘Occupation’, majority of the tourists are either students or self-employed. This
shows that the affordability standards of the Middle East tourists are considerably
high as they stay at 3-star to 5-star hotels for the average length of stay of five to
seven days or more. See Table 4.7.
Table 4.7: Accommodation
Accommodation
Location
Berjaya Time Square
Jalan Imbi
PNB Darby Park Hotel
Jalan Binjai
The Westin KL
Jalan Bukit Bintang
Fortuna Hotel
Jalan Berangan
Holiday Villa Apartment Suites
Jalan Ampang
The Zon All Suite Residences on
Jalan Ampang
the Park
Corus Hotel
Jalan Ampang
Istana Hotel
Jalan Raja Chulan
Mandarin Oriental Hotel
KLCC
Micasa Hotel Apartments
Jalan Tun Razak
The Ascott
Jalan Pinang
JW Marriot Hotel
Jalan Bukit Bintang
Prince Hotel and Residence
Jalan Conlay
Royale Bintang
Jalan Bukit Bintang
Dorsett Regency
Jalan Imbi
Radius International
Cangkat Bukit Bintang
Other Hotels
-variedTotal
Source: Field Survey (2006)
Star
5
4
5
3
3
4
%
8
7
7
6
6
6
4
5
5
4
5
5
5
4
4
3
3 to 5
5
5
5
5
5
4
4
4
4
4
18
100%
77
4.4.2.6 Prior Experience in Kuala Lumpur
More than half of the overall respondents are first time visitors (52%) to KL.
Nonetheless, the proportion of repeat visitors is noticeably in substantial amounts, in
which 29% of the tourists have visited the city for the second time, while 19% are on
their third or more visits (see Figure 4.20).
Previous Experience in Kuala Lumpur
60
52
Percentage of Tourists (%)
50
40
29
30
19
20
10
0
First visit
Second visit
Three or more visits
Figure 4.20: Previous Experience in Kuala Lumpur
Source: Field Survey (2006)
78
4.5
Conclusion
As a growing tourist market in Malaysia, the Middle East tourists have great
prospective to become quality tourists, as they tend stay longer than other mass
tourists. Their liking for shopping and sightseeing as visiting purposes can be taken
as advantages and used as directions as to how their tourist experience can be further
refined. The identified routes of their activities while staying in Kuala Lumpur City
Centre are also significant finding that can assist future planning of tourism routes
and possible places that can be further enhanced in terms of inculcating quality
placemaking.
The study acknowledges several important findings in relation to the tourists’
profile, trip characteristics and experience in Kuala Lumpur City Centre. Presented
henceforward are the summaries of the findings.
The Middle East tourists to Kuala Lumpur City Centre were generally young
adults between the ages of 20 to 39 and those who are either students or those that
have completed their college or university education.
These are the emerging
markets, in which the new typology of tourists are made up of youth tourists. Their
main purpose of visit also differs slightly from tourists of other age groups, where
their purpose of visit is for vacation rather than purely for shopping.
Additionally, tourists who do not obtain formal education and are selfemployed also compose the large proportion of the respondents.
These two
segments are seen as the dominant group. Visiting the city for the purposes of
shopping and sightseeing are the main reasons for about 70% of the tourists. This
finding supports the findings made by Wong (2001) where majority of the visitors
who visit Malaysia come for shopping and sightseeing.
The Petronas Twin Towers and Suria KLCC are found to be the most visited
attraction and shopping venues. It is clear that these two attractions are able to
79
fulfill the most evident travel motivation of the Middle East tourists, which are
shopping and sightseeing. Interestingly, areas around the Lake Gardens are also
plotted as the most concentrated attractions visited. This finding supports the data
which presents that other than shopping, their main purpose of visit is vacationing.
These tourists are characterized by those traveling with family and relatives
and are likely to go around the city in rented transports. However, the use of public
transport, tour van and walking are also utilized alternatives. This information may
suggest the probable reason for the lack of continuity in experience and sequence of
activities, due to the fact that their traveling route may not trail in sequential order as
it is mostly decided by themselves during their drive around the city. Additionally,
the lack of memories or memorable experience is also possible to be the result of
absence in diversification of participated or proactive activities.
A high majority of the Middle East tourists stayed for more than five days
and some even more than seven days. Almost all of them choose to lodge in hotels
of 3-star and above, and most of these hotels are also found to be located within the
vicinity of the city and shopping centres. This clearly shows how KL is evaluated as
as an active city that offers variety of choices and options of activities, as the most
concentrated area of hotels accommmodated by the Middle East tourists is in the
heart of the Golden Triangle. Half of the respondents are visiting KL for the first
time, while the rest are already in their second, third or more visits. This shows that
the rate of repeat visitors from the Middle East tourist market is considerably
increasing.
Model of Attitude Measurement has been used to evaluate the variation
between what is considered important and what is actually experienced during their
visit to KL. Overall, all place characters perceived to be important are successfully
noticed and experienced by the tourist in KL. The place experiences are rated
‘above average’ by the tourists (grand mean experience = 3.8782). Nonetheless, not
one of the place characters is experienced above the expectations of the tourists,
80
although the gaps are very narrow. This indicates that the perceived place characters
that give positive experience do not meet tourists’ expectations, however close they
may be.
Table 4.8 shows the importance-experience gaps that appear in the
evaluation of place experience. Ability of place to perform as an active place with
vitality registers the smallest gap with (-) 0.0592.
This may imply that their
expectation in relation to the liveliness of the city is easily attainable. Activeness of
place is perceived as the second most important place character and certainly this
character is seen and experienced without difficulty. On the other hand, choice of
experience and activities also display smaller gap with (-) 0.0930. This means that
their expectation in relation to choices and options of activities and experience is
lower, as it is ranked last in their evaluation of importance.
On the other hand, the widest gap is recorded for the ability of place to
trigger or give memories, fantasies, images or feelings with (-) 0.6201. Higher
anticipation is expected for this place character as it is evaluated as the most
important character to ensure they have the best experience when visiting any place.
This is an exceptional finding, as further probing is needed in finding as to how a
place can give a memorable experience for an individual, which is discussed in the
next chapter.
Table 4.8: Importance-Experience Gaps for the Middle East Tourists
Meana
(Importance of
Attributes)
4.0349
4.0465
4.2907
Meanb
(Experience of
Attributes)
3.9419
3.8372
3.6706
“Awareness”
4.0930
4.0595
3.9302
3.8140
- 0.1628
- 0.2456
“Opportunity”
“Active”
4.0706
4.0941
3.9186
4.0349
- 0.1520
- 0.0592
Grand Mean
4.0985
3.8782
- 0.2203
Keywords
“Choice”
“Sequence”
“Memories”
“Identity”
Difference
(Gap)
- 0.0930
- 0.2093
- 0.6201
81
From Model of Attitude Measurement grid analysis, all of the attributes
evaluated are detected to be in the “important attributes perceived to be present in
the destination” quadrant. Furthermore, the overall experience of the Middle East
tourists in Kuala Lumpur are also rated “above average” with a grand mean score of
4.0417.
In conclusion, significant findings of the study can be summarized as in the
following table (Table 4.9):
Table 4.9: Summary of Significant Findings
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
The entire place characters evaluated is important attributes perceived to be
present in KL.
The most important place character to the Middle East tourist is for a place to
give them “valuable and memorable experience”, and this attribute is found to
have the widest gap between expectation and experience. Lack of memorable
experience is perhaps due to the lack of proactive activities that can stimulate
their feelings and emotions.
Tourists between the ages of 20 and 29 considers “memories” to be “very
important” (30.5%), as they come to KL mainly for “vacation” (30%),
“vacation+shopping” (23%) and honeymoon (15%).
The respondents have experienced KL as an active place that is used by other
people for activities, in which “active vitality” is the second most important
criteria of place evaluated by them.
There is a lack in sequence and continuous experience. This is possible to be
due to their extensive length of stay in the city that may break their pattern of
activities at some point, and the distance between one attraction and another.
43% stay from five to seven days, while 42% stay for more than seven days.
44% travel within the city using rented transportation.
The most visited attraction is KLCC and the Petronas Twin Towers.
The most concentrated area of attractions visited is around the Lake Gardens.
The most concentrated area of shopping venues visited and hotels
accommodated are around Bukit Bintang.
Majority of the respondents were between the ages of 20 and 39, who are mostly
students and self-employed, and their main purposes of visit are shopping and
sightseeing.
82
CHAPTER 5
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
5.1
Introduction
This chapter is divided into three sections. The first section discusses the
summary of tourist place experience, supported by the results of the analysis from
the previous chapter. Next, the second section presents practical recommendations
in relation to refining tourist’s place experience through placemaking.
Finally,
suggestions for future research are given.
5.2
Discussion of Results
5.2.1
Tourist’s Place Experience
From the concept studies conducted at the beginning of this study, the
elements of place experience are found to include the interactions of physical
context, activities, setting and meaning. The physical context and activities combine
to give the tourists a sense of location within their functional circle. Setting and
meaning combine in the direct and definite experience of landscape or townscape,
while activities and meaning combine in many social acts.
83
The types of place experience that occurs to a person, such as a tourist, take
into account their immediate feelings and thoughts, view of the world, intimate
knowledge of one spot, and memories or fantasies. Their ability to recognize or
sense newness is also a part of their place experience, together with being aware or
personal identification with someone’s spot. Additionally, place experience also
includes the sense of accomplishment or blockage caused by the setting, and the
sense of enjoyment, fun or any displeasure.
Settings can be made better by identifying place characters that can be
sensed by the users and influence their place experience. This study has tested
Steele’s identified characters that can create better settings. These characters are:
•
Place that provides choices and options of how it can be used and experienced.
•
Place with sequences of experience that build on one another to produce a highquality experience.
•
Place that has rich material for images, memories or fantasies to provide rich
place experience.
•
Place that has a sense of identity.
•
Place that highlights personal awareness and stimulate perception.
•
Place that is active and generate visible vitality, produced by the patterns of
users’ activities.
When these place characters are sensed by the tourists, experiences in the
setting are more likely to be higher quality. The various characters of place tested
are in fact the fundamental elements as how to a tourist becomes attracted to visit a
certain place, with or without them realizing it. Basic but vital aspects of high
quality place experience concern with the visitor like being there, enjoy the activities
there, and able to do what they want to do there in the first place. Moreover, a high
quality place experience can be generated when the tourists have a sense of being
somewhere specific that has an identity and image, and do not feel as if they are
nowhere.
84
5.2.2
The Middle East Tourist’s Place Experience
5.2.2.1 Importance of Place Characters
The study has revealed that all of the place characters tested during the
survey are perceived to be “important” to the Middle East tourists in ensuring that
they gain the best experience possible when visiting any place (grand mean
perceived importance = 4.0985).
The analysis has found that “memories” is the most important place character
to the tourists, which indicates that the Middle East tourists anticipate a place to give
them valuable images and memorable experiences. However, this study falls short
in uncovering the extent of memorable experience expected by the tourists while
visiting KL. Their purposes of visit, which are sightseeing and shopping, are made
obvious from data collected, but on the other hand, their motivation for choosing KL
is still left unanswered. It can be assumed that they have chosen KL because it is a
safe modern city in a Muslim-dominated country, as an alternative to choosing
holiday destinations in the Western countries. Still, this is an assumption that is yet
to be proven until further research is conducted.
The Middle East tourists also seek for a place that is “actively used” by other
people as well for activities. Their choices of location for lodging and place of visit
clearly show the significance of this character as a part of their important criteria in
choosing a destination. Furthermore, the respondents seek for a place that has its
own “identity and image”. This again confirms their selection of visiting KL, as this
city is globally known as being home to the world’s tallest twin towers and also a
dynamic metropolitan city in Asia. Additionally, the fact that the city and the
country is populated by a majority of Muslims, but is a multi-cultural and multiracial nation also complements its image and identity.
85
“Opportunity” is the following place character considered to be important, in
which the Middle East tourists expect to easily know the special places and places of
interest in the particular place. On the other hand, “sequence” and “choice” result to
be important place characters that are ranked the lowest when compared to the other
characters. However, the differences in mean scores are very minimal. It seems that
continuity of experience and choice of activities are second priorities when choosing
a place. Apparently, these circumstances are true as the survey has gathered that
their purposes for coming to KL are highly for shopping and sightseeing.
5.2.2.2 Experience of Place Characters
The next significant finding of the study reveals how KL is evaluated by the
Middle East tourists. This assessment is noteworthy as there is currently a lack of
study on place evaluation by tourists. All in all, the place characters are “close to
agree” to be present in KL (grand mean experience evaluation = 3.8782). These
evaluations, however, are not able to pinpoint any specific places in KL, as the
Middle East tourists are asked to assess the place characters of KL in general.
Therefore, it is impossible to identify specific places in relation to the place
characters evaluated, as the survey is conducted at varied places and the primary
intention is to gather an overall evaluation of place characters in KL as a tourist city.
KL has been experienced as an “active” place. This result is somewhat
predictable as KL is undoubtedly a busy city that is full of diverse activities. This
character also has the least gap between expectation and experience, which means
what is expected was attainable, although it still does not exceed their level of
expectation (gap value = - 0.0592).
The city is next evaluated as giving them new knowledge and “awareness”.
However, the gap value between their expectation and experience is second widest
(gap value = -0.2456). From the analysis of the respondents’ tourist routes and trip
characteristics, most of the attractions visited are located around the Lake Gardens,
86
which include themed gardens, monuments, museum and historical buildings. The
lack of awareness and new knowledge could possibly due to the insufficiency of
interpretation or interactive activities. Casual sight seeing alone may not be enough
to give a positive impact on the tourist experience. A more involved participation is
probably needed to give the tourists a more proactive experience that can stimulate
their minds and emotions. Moreover, other than sightseeing, shopping venues are
also highly visited by the Middle East tourists to fulfill their prime motivation for
visiting KL. Absence of knowledge and awareness is somewhat expected in these
venues as they are without a doubt place for leisure and purchasing. Even so, new
knowledge still has the potential to be infused in their shopping experience through
the means of placemaking, which is further discussed in the next section.
Following “awareness” is “choice”, where KL is experienced as a place that
offers a variety of experience and activities for the tourists to choose. Surprisingly,
choice and option has the second narrowest gap between expectation and experience
(gap value = -0.0930). This is most likely due to “choice” not being the top most
priority compared to the other attributes. Therefore, choice and option are not
highly expected from the tourists, but the presence of choice and option in the city is
attainable, and it is up to the tourists to fully utilize the options that they have if they
want to diversify their experiences in the city.
KL is averagely assessed as a place that gives them valuable images,
fantasies, feelings or “memories”.
Unpredictably, this character is the most
expected character to be present in the destination visited by the Middle East
tourists. “Memories” has the widest gap between expectation and experience (gap
value = -0.6201). It is evident that there is a lack in activities or doings that are able
to give a memorable experience or certain impact to the tourists. Memories and
feelings can be evoked from activities that stimulate their minds and emotions.
However, it is still up the individual whether to absorb or disregard what is around
them to be considered as memorable. Nonetheless, refining the tourist’s place
87
experience through creating a memorable experience is also discussed in the next
section.
Next, the special places and “opportunities” in KL are averagely rated as
easily known. The gap between expectation and experience for this character is
slightly narrow (gap value = -0.1520). From the survey conducted, it has been
revealed that the tourists have visited most of the tourist attractions promoted by
KLTAC, even some of which that is less popular to the locals. However, there is
also a probability that the Middle East tourists seek famous local known places,
which are not necessarily formal tourist attractions, to add up to their touristic
experience. If that is the case, it is most likely that these special local places are not
easily known, unless the tourists take the initiatives to ask the locals, or browse
through local magazines or publications.
Finally, the continuity of experience and “sequence” that the city offers is
ranked last compared to the other place characters. Although “sequence” is ranked
sixth in expectation and seventh in experience, this character has a difference in gap
of (-) 0.2093. From the tourist survey, it is found that places of attractions that they
visit encompass areas of Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur Old Town and the Lake
Gardens. The distances may be the cause for the break of sequence of experience.
Moreover, the survey has also discovered that a high percentage of the tourist tour
around the city using rented cars. This may also cause the disruption of continuous
pattern of activities when the experience is made up of patches of shorter
experience.
88
5.2.2.3 Overall Tourist Experience
Overall, the Middle East tourists agree that they will recommend KL to their
friends or relatives and they will revisit the city again in the future. They are also
satisfied with their stay in KL and agree that they enjoy activities in the city. With a
mean evaluation of “close to agree” (slightly less than the “agree” score of 4), they
feel that they have achieved what they want to do and they like being in KL. Thus,
these results have indeed shown that the Middle East tourists have experienced a
positive experience in Kuala Lumpur.
5.2.2.4 Attitude Measurement
All in all, all of the place characters tested fall into the same quadrant of
attitude, which is “important attributes perceived to be present in the destination”. It
can be concluded that KL indeed possesses all of the important place characters
considered by the Middle East tourists, which in the end, produces a positive
experience.
5.2.3
Tourist Route
The tourist route analysis is also yet another fascinating finding of this study.
Information acquired from this portion can now be used to elaborate the level of
sightseeing and shopping done by the Middle East tourists. Areas that they visited
are identified, which give insights to potential enhancement areas in refining their
tourist experience. The study finds that the most visited place for both sightseeing
and shopping is KLCC. Other tourist attractions included in their routes during their
visit to the city include parks at the Lake Gardens and Kuala Lumpur Old Town
areas. Most of shopping venues and hotels accommodated by them are also found to
be concentrated at Jalan Bukit Bintang. This is most likely due to the availability of
89
shopping malls, dining outlets and entertainment area within Bintang Walk, which
are all within walking distance from each other.
Additionally, Arab Street is also included in the survey to measure the extent
of usage of this square by the Middle East tourists. Arab Street is primarily built for
the Middle East tourists so they could ‘feel at home’ with the Middle Eastern
cuisines offered and availability of Arabic speaking staffs at the restaurants, shop
and travel agency. However, the success of Arab Street is still open to discussion as
the street has been deliberately designed with Middle Eastern inspired theme
through its carvings, design motifs and sculpture. The question to whether Middle
East tourists seek a piece of their home in Malaysia is now resolved, as the survey
has found that Arab Street is the second highest visited place (at 17.6%) next to
KLCC (at 20.3%). However, further analysis could be conducted in the future to
evaluate their perception on Middle Eastern inspired designs in KL.
5.2.4
Tourist Demand
As specified in the previous chapter, Middle East tourists to KL are generally
young adults between the ages of 20 and 39 that can also be categorized as the
dominant group. It is probable that students and self-employed tourists are more
inclined to form this dominant group due to their ability to take long breaks or
holidays, such as during semester breaks or their own free time from their own
business. It is also evident that their traveling season is very high between the
months of July and September, where arrivals are usually at its peak in August.
As expected, their main purposes of visit to Kuala Lumpur are sightseeing
and shopping. These are the major purposes of coming to the city compared to other
purposes such as honeymoon, academic visits, business, and visiting friends and
relatives. Interestingly, coming to Kuala Lumpur for the purpose of honeymoon
also overlapped with sightseeing or shopping. This purpose perhaps could also be
90
used to attract potential demands of Middle East tourists in the future. However,
this study acknowledges that purpose of visit by no means reveal their traveling
motivations. The push and pull factors that attract the Middle East tourists to
Malaysia could be further studied in the future.
Interestingly, a large proportion of the Middle East tourists travel with their
family members or relatives, and this is also made clear from their choice of
transport mode to get around the city, which is by using rented vehicles. This data is
important as it could indicate to the types of activities that tourists of this type is
most likely to do, which could in all probability be those activities that are catered
for groups and families. Their extensive length of stay of more than five days in
Kuala Lumpur also suggests that they might have engaged themselves in a range of
activities. This information is also well supported by the outcome of the tourist
route, which has been discussed earlier.
5.3
Refining Tourist’s Place Experience Through Placemaking
The initial aim of this study is to learn how tourist’s place experience can be
refined through the means of placemaking. From the conceptual studies conducted
previously, designing a place alone does not ensure that a place is created (PPS,
2003). Placemaking is an approach that aspires to create a place that has a strong
sense of “place ness” and a comfortable image to its dwellers as well as outsiders.
Additionally, the place shall also perform as a setting for activities and uses that
collectively add up to the character of the place.
Placemaking in totality is
undeniably hard to accomplish as this approach must take into account the needs of
the local community as its priority. These characters then shall be the elements that
attract the tourist to come and experience a place that is new or different to them,
which in return, the lack of sameness may produce a more memorable and special
place experience.
The following recommendations are suggested based on the
findings of this study. Although this particular study is conducted on the Middle
91
East tourists, nonetheless the findings can still be applied to the broader concept of
placemaking. Figure 5.1 shows the Study’s Working Model once again, which
illustrates that a positive tourist experience pushes the enhancement of place
characters in order to produce a more refined tourist’s place experience.
The
Tourist
Importance of belief &
expectation
The
Place
&
Place
Characters
Improve/Augment
Place Characters
Enhance Place
Characters
Evaluation of belief
Negative
Experience
Placemaking
Place
Experience
Positive
Experience
A More Refined
Tourist’s Place
Experience
Figure 5.1: Placemaking as a Process to Enhance Place Characters
Source: Working Model by Researcher (2006)
92
5.3.1
Choices and Options
Activities are the basic essentials of a place. Without activities a place will
be empty and that generally implies something is wrong. Offering things to do give
people a reason to come to that place and possibly return again. The variety of
activities also gives various alternatives of activities for tourists with different levels
of needs. For example, in this study the major purposes for coming to KL are
shopping and sightseeing. Although shopping experiences are conventionally done
in indoor complexes, there is still room for improvement in taking shopping
experiences to a different level. These can be achieved through the following
suggestions:
•
As shopping can be an absorbing experience that may also end up in a tiring one,
spaces for relaxing and sitting down without the obligation of purchasing
anything can be provided more.
It is noticeable that inside the shopping
complexes in Bukit Bintang area not many seating area is provided, other than in
the cafes. The same condition applies to Suria KLCC where inside the shopping
mall, the number of benches can still be added.
•
Another means of refining their shopping experience is to create a ‘different’
type of shopping such as the outdoor market or bazaars. Although KL already
has Petaling Street in Chinatown, the quality of the products is not to the
standards searched by the Middle East tourist, who prefer to shop for branded or
exclusive product with also a somewhat hefty price tags.
This shopping
experience can be found at upper-class suburban malls such as the Curve, which
is designed with an outdoor avenue that opens a high standard of flea market,
and at Mont Kiara’s weekend flea market which also offers creative artworks,
clothing and accessories that are of commendable standards and prices. The
tourists must be provided with these options to diversify their shopping
experiences.
93
•
Activities that can be done during sightseeing must also be refined and designed
to be more proactive, rather than just a go-see experience. Activity packages at
the attraction of visit can be further polished to encourage more participation and
involvement such as through hands-on experience by the tourists.
5.3.2
Reinforcing Patterns and Sequence
Experience that build upon one another is yet another character that shall be
carefully planned and thought. Even without offering experience in tour packages,
the setting itself is able to give the experience of patterns and sequence when
designed with this aim in mind. Some of the ways to achieve this are through the
following suggestions:
•
Accessibility of a place can be judged by its connections to its surrounding, both
physically and visually.
Through landscape and urban design, certain
consistency of form, materials, items and arrangements can give an identity to
that particular spot, which when the tourists traverse to the next spot, they will
be able to feel and experience the transitions and difference. For example,
Bintang Walk has been designed with street cafes, outdoor public arts and
exciting features such as water bubbles, oversized planting pots and colourful
paving materials. These design features have given a lively identity to Bintang
Walk.
•
Edges of space are important as well, where it is more interesting to provide
walkways close to shops and places of activities, rather than being too separated
away. A stroll from one location to another through several of activities that can
give a walking experience. However, the comfort and safety measure must also
be taken into account as a rich walking experience will break if one feel unsafe
or uncomfortable in the situation. For example, pedestrian walkways at KL Old
Town area has been widen to cater for the crowd of pedestrians walking through
94
Chinatown, Central Market and Masjid Jamek. These pedestrian walkways
could also reinforce its design characters as a nostalgic part of town through the
use of materials that resemble KL in the older days.
•
Additionally, urban trails for tourists can be designed and promoted to tourists in
KL City Guides or even as a package to navigate their sightseeing experience.
With a sound knowledge in tourism, tourism planners should be able to in some
way direct the tourist’s routes, building on one experience to another, by
suggesting the places that they should visit first, or what they should do next, in
some order.
5.3.3
Rich Materials for Fantasies and Memories
Memories and fantasies without a doubt depend on the users themselves.
However, placemaking can help to refine the memorable experience of tourists
through activities that give an impact to them. This again relates to “choices and
options” which is by providing them with diverse alternatives of activities,
depending on the level of experience that they seek. Recommended ways to give a
memorable experience are as follows:
•
Adding up new and creative approaches to their sightseeing and shopping
experience that can also be enhanced through dining experience. Eateries that is
designed with local ambience should be promoted more to tourists, such as
places that is created with a tropical theme or setting. Eateries such as TupaiTupai and Naili’s Place are only some of the many Malay-themed local eateries
which offer Halal food that are creditable. Locally known places such as these
have great opportunity to enhance gastronomic experiences for tourists and
should be added into the KL City Guide.
95
•
The study has also found KLCC as the most visited tourist attraction and
shopping venue. Being at the foot Petronas Twin Towers, the world’s tallest
twin towers, is an experience of its own, provided that tourists are allowed to
escalate the towers, such as the experience offered at KL Tower.
The
information whether tourists are allowed up on the towers are not easily known.
Taking pictures alone with KLCC in the background may not be substantial
enough to provide a memorable experience because the tourists are not involved
directly with the towers.
•
Many proposals have been made and studied on the revitalization of the
Gombak-Klang River in Kuala Lumpur. From this, a river cruise experience
from the old town to other parts of city areas may also give a different kind of
experience to the tourists. Being in a traditional boat such as the ‘sampan’ in the
middle of a busy metropolitan city can provoke or stimulate a different feeling,
or a slower-paced view of the city seen from the river. However, easier said than
done, there are many other aspects to consider in revitalizing the urban river
system. Nonetheless, transforming the river into a useful touristic site in the
future has its benefits.
5.3.4
A Sense of Identity
KL is perceived by the Middle East tourists as having its own identity. The
details of the identity supposed, however, is not acknowledged. Generally, KL is
known as an active urban area. This identity must be maintained as it is what makes
KL unique when compared to other major cities in the country. But there is no need
to worry as the world’s tallest twin towers at the moment can only be found in Kuala
Lumpur. However, the country professes to be a ‘Garden Nation’ by the year 2020.
This image and new identity is still in the process of building and its success can
only be measured when other people as well perceive KL as a Tropical Garden City.
96
Therefore, in gearing towards this aspiration, some the means to complement the
image of the city are:
•
Landscape and urban design in Kuala Lumpur shall be in consistent themes, in
terms of form, materials, items and arrangements, so the larger picture is clearly
identifiable. For example, signature planting can be made known throughout the
city, and known to people of the world as well, as buildings and larger structures
are much harder to augment. City Hall Kuala Lumpur has currently initiated a
requirement in planting Bunga Raya around the landscapes of KL, and this
shows an effort in shaping a landscape identity for the city.
•
The provision of urban parks near shopping malls, such as in KLCC, will not
only encourage local citizens to appreciate the outdoor space more, but will also
strengthen the garden city image.
Furthermore, parks can always serve as
transition points, resting place or alternative venues to conduct activities and
festivals, and its location near shopping malls enable it to attract instant crowds.
Ain Arabia has the potential to become a pocket park for the Bukit Bintang
areas, not only for the tourists but for the locals as well. However, more design
development is needed to improve the conduciveness of the square and ensure it
can attract people to utilize it.
•
Consistency does not mean conformity; therefore there is no need to ‘Malaysianize’ everything. The identity of Malaysia is a multi-racial, multi-cultural and
multi-religious nation, and it should sustain that way to retain its uniqueness.
The visitors themselves should play their role as tourists to become more aware
and identifying the differences of the Malaysia Indian, Malaysian Chinese,
Malaysian Portuguese and even Malaysia Arab-descend from those at the
country of their origins, such as in India, China, Portugal or Arab. Therefore, a
place like Ain Arabia can be further developed to be related to the characters and
possibly history of Arabs in Malaysia, rather than just merely imitating Middle
Eastern design influences.
97
5.3.5
Highlighting Personal Awareness
Personal awareness depends on the consciousness of the tourists themselves.
Differences in cultures, or similarities in religion, to name a few examples, may
stimulate various perceptions or give new knowledge to individuals. Awareness can
be stipulated up not only through formal presentation of information such as in
museums or galleries, but also through publications and descriptions of the daily
lives of the local people. From conversations with local people, or from reading
local magazines, tourist can be learned individuals, with a sound knowledge of the
place they are visiting. Personal awareness can be highlighted through:
•
Distribution of local publications to tourists and a more locally-tuned description
of places in brochures and pamphlets, rather than merely touristic informations.
Information distributed should be constantly updated. Local places of interest
and local Halal eateries should be promoted more to the Middle East tourists.
•
Creating more involving activities so the tourists can understand the meaning of
their activities as part of the experience in Kuala Lumpur. For example, while
visiting Chinatown, Masjid Jamek, the Hindu Temple and the Buddhist Temple
tourists can be made to understand how people of diverse culture and religion are
able to live in harmony for hundreds of years. This can be achieved through
interpretation from tour guides or written informations.
5.3.6
Highlighting Opportunity
Places with special features that can be easily identified are more likely to
attract more use by tourists than the ones that are only known by the insiders of the
place. This again relates to providing choices and options, and making known of the
different alternatives to the tourists.
through these recommendations:
Opportunities can be made more visible
98
•
Other than the typical tourist attractions, local places such as eateries, shopping
bazaars and entertainment spots should also be promoted.
•
Signage, access and transportation linkage also play major role in connecting
these less familiar places to the more familiar places. Signage and transport
linkage are important in linking the accommodation areas of the tourists with
attraction areas that they visit.
5.3.7
Active Vitality
Kuala Lumpur has no problem with being an active city.
It is clearly
perceptible that the city is generated by the patterns of users’ activities, be it the
local dweller, or even the tourists. As long as Kuala Lumpur retains its function as a
metropolitan, its activeness could only increase.
5.4
Recommendations for Future Research
For future research, there are two important areas that could be undertaken as
follows:
a)
Study on space utilization by tourists
The aim of this study is to evaluate the place experience of the Middle East
tourists in Kuala Lumpur City Centre. This type of study is usually undertaken to
get a general feeling on how place characters influence tourist’s place experience,
and to identify which place characters are considered important. However, it does
not cover the details of activities conducted by the tourists, which may give further
99
insights on how placemaking can be used as a mean to refine their tourist
experience. Further studies are suggested to investigate how urban spaces are used
by tourists for their activities, and which specific places need more attention in
enhancing its place characters.
b)
In depth study on each of the place characters tested
An important finding in this study reveals that all the place characters tested
are important characters in ensuring that the tourists gain the best experiences. The
above finding demands an immediate investigation concerning the details as to how
precisely their experiences can be refined. For example, how can a memorable place
experience be created for the Middle East tourists, or other types of tourists? A
qualitative research approach should help identify and address the problem in greater
detail.
100
5.5
Conclusion
A place is made up of physical and social attributes, activities and is used by
people. In the context of tourism, tourists come to a place to experience what the
place has to offer, and from this, the tourists are engaged in “place experience”.
Place experience deals with the behaviours, actions, responses and feelings of the
tourists when they interact with the place characters. The place characters determine
the level of place experienced gained by the tourists, where a place that lacks in
character may fail to produce a high-quality place experience to the tourists as
opposed to a place with strong characters and sense of place.
The process of placemaking enhances, improves or modifies place
characters.
It is a tool to strengthen place characters in order to refine place
experience. Placemaking is not limited to refining tourist experiences only, but is an
approach that could be applied in any place-creation for all types of users.
Placemaking is an important tool for tourism destinations, such as Kuala
Lumpur, to ensure that the tourist attractions do not lose their local identity and
design of tourist spots take into account their surrounding context, such as the local
people and places.
The study reveals that the place characters are “important” to the Middle
East tourists, therefore further development should continue from this direction. It is
vital to provide what is important to the tourists to ensure that they make a return
visit in the future. But what is equally important is to strengthen the local place
characters of KL. Through this approach, the needs of the tourist can be fulfilled,
while the characteristics and uniqueness of the destination is retained.
101
REFERENCES
AC Nielsen (2002). Study on Promoting Malaysia as a Tourist Destination for the
Middle East Market. Malaysia: ACNielsen.
Asra Zaliza bte Asbollah (2005). Kajian Sumberjaya Landskap Pelancongan di
Taman Awam Lumut Waterfront. Universiti Teknologi Malaysia: Master
Thesis. (Unpublished).
Bell, S. (1999). Landscape: Pattern, Perception and Process. London: E&FN
SPON.
Bennett, C. (1977). Spaces for People: Human Factors in Design. New Jersey:
Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Botterill, T.D. and Cromption, J.L. (1996). Two Case Studies Exploring the Nature
of Tourist’s Experience. Journal of Leisure Research (First Quarter). Virginia:
National Recreation and Park Association.
Canter, D. (1977). The Psychology of Place. London: The Architectural Press, Ltd.
Canter, D. et al (1988). Environmental Perspectives. Ethnoscapes: Current
Challenges in the Environmental Social Sciences. Vermont: Avebury.
Cary, S.H. (2004). The Tourist Moment. Annals of Tourism Research (Vol. 31, No.
1). Great Britain: Elsevier Science Ltd.
Dann, G. (Ed) (2002). The Tourist as a Metaphor of the Social World. UK: CABI
Publishing.
Garnham, H. L. (1985). Maintaining the Spirit of Place: a Process for the
Preservation of Town Character. Mesa AZ: PDA Publishers Corporation.
Gunn, C. (1994). Tourism Planning: Basics, Concepts, Cases (Third Edition).
Washington, D.C.: Taylor & Francis.
Hall, C.M. and Page, S.J. (1999). The Geography of Tourism and Recreation:
Environment, Place and Space. London: Taylor & Francis Group.
102
Hayllar, B. and Griffin, T. (2004). The precinct experience: a phenomenological
approach (Online Abstract). Tourism Management (Vol. 26, Issue 4). Great
Britain: Elsevier B.V.
Hasanuddin Lamit (2003). A Comparative Analysis of Perception of Urban
Landmarks between Designers, Non-designers and Laypublic: Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia. University of Sheffield: Doctor of Philosophy Thesis. (Unpublished)
Hough, M. (1990). Out of Place: Restoring Identity to the Regional Landscape. New
Haven: Yale University Press.
Jackson, M. et al (1996). Tourism Experiences within an Attributional Framework.
Annals of Tourism Research (Vol. 23, No. 4). Great Britain: Elsevier Science
Ltd.
Kelly, I. and Nankervis, T. (2001). Visitor Destinations. Australia: John Wiley &
Sons Australia, Ltd.
Kuala Lumpur City Hall . Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2020.
Lehto, X. et al (2004). The Effect of Prior Experience on Vacation Behavior. Annals
of Tourism Research (Vol. 31, No. 4). Great Britain: Elsevier Science Ltd.
Li, Y. (2000). Geographical Consciousness and Tourism Experience. Annals of
Tourism Research (Vol. 27, No. 4). Great Britain: Elsevier Science Ltd.
McCabe, S. and Stokoe, E. (2004). Place and Identity in Tourist’s Account. Annals
of Tourism Research (Vol. 31, No. 3). Great Britain: Elsevier Ltd.
Mogindol, S.H. (2005). Evaluating Interpretation Services Performance: A Case
Study in Sabah Agriculture Park. Universiti Teknologi Malaysia: Master
Thesis. (Unpublished).
Mohd. Fakri Izza Shah b. Abd. Halim Shah (2004). Kebun Sebagai Tarikan
Pelancongan. Universiti Teknologi Malaysia: Master Thesis. (Unpublished).
Page, S.J. and Hall, C.M. (2003). Managing Urban Tourism. London: Prentice Hall.
103
Phillimore, J. and Goodson, L. (Eds) (2004). Qualitative Research in Tourism:
Ontologies, Epistemologies and Methodologies. London: Routledge.
Potteiger, M. et al (1998). Landscape Narratives: Design Practices for Telling
Stories. Canada: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Relph, E. (1976). Place and Placelessness. London: Pion Limited.
Richards, G. and Wilson, J. (2005). Developing creativity in tourist experiences: A
solution to the serial reproduction of culture? (Online Abstract). Tourism
Management (Article in Press). Great Britain: Elsevier B.V.
Ryan, C. (1995). Researching Tourist Satisfaction. London: Routledge.
Ryan, C. (2003). Recreational Tourism: Demand and Impacts. UK: Channel View
Publications.
Shaw, G. and Williams, A.M. (2004). Tourism and Tourism Spaces. London: SAGE
Publications.
Sime, J.D. (2005). Creating places or designing spaces? (Online Abstract). Journal
of Environmental Psychology (Vol. 6, Issue 1). Great Britain: Elsevier B.V.
Smith, S. (1995). Tourism Analysis: A Handbook (Second Edition). Great Britain:
Bookcraft (Bath) Ltd.
Steele, F. (1981). The Sense of Place. Massachusetts: CBI Publishing Company, Inc.
Swarbrooke, J. (2002). The Development and Management of Visitor Attractions.
Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Swarbrooke, J. and Horner, S. (1999). Consumer Behaviour in Tourism. Oxford:
Butterworth Heinemann.
Tourism Malaysia (2006). Malaysia Tourism: Statistics. Retrieved on 26 July 2006
from <http://www.tourism.gov.my>
Uriely, N. (2005). The Tourist Experience: Conceptual Developments. Annals of
104
Tourism Research (Vol. 32, No. 1). Great Britain: Elsevier Science Ltd.
Vision KL (2006). KL Sights.
<http://www.visionkl.com>
Retrieved
on
26
July
2006
from
Vitterso, J. et al (2000). Tourist Experiences and Attractions. Annals of Tourism
Research (Vol. 27, No. 2). Great Britain: Elsevier Science Ltd.
Weaver, D. (2006). Sustainable Tourism: Theory and Practice. Oxford: Elsevier
Butterworth-Heinemann.
Wong, Y.B. (2001). Analysis of Middle East Market in Malaysia: Perception of
MTPB in Positioning Malaysia as a Tourist Destination to Middle East Market.
Taylor’s College School of Hospitality and Tourism: Bachelor Thesis.
(Unpublished).
105
APPENDIX A:
TOURIST SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE
Refining Tourist’s Place Experience Through Placemaking: A Case Study on Middle East Tourists in Kuala Lumpur City Centre
This survey is intended to understand your experience as a visitor/tourist in Kuala Lumpur
City Centre. Please take a moment to complete this form. Your evaluation is our most
valuable sources of information. Thank you for choosing to visit the city of Kuala Lumpur.
1. PLACE CHARACTERISTICS IMPORTANCE EVALUATION
How important are the following place characteristics in ensuring that you have the
best experience when visiting any place? Please [X] your answers.
Rate of Importance (scale):
[1] Very Unimportant [2] Unimportant
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
[3] Neutral
[4] Important
The place gives a variety of experience and activities for me to
choose.
The place gives me a continuous experience, one after another.
The place gives me valuable images, fantasies, memories or
feelings.
The place has its own identity and image.
The place gives me new knowledge or awareness.
The special places/places of interest are easily known.
The place is used by other people as well for their activities.
[5] Very Important
1
2
3
4
5
1
1
2
2
3
3
4
4
5
5
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
4
4
4
4
5
5
5
5
2. PLACE CHARACTERISTICS EVALUATION
How would you evaluate the place characteristics that you experience in Kuala Lumpur City
Centre? Please [X] your answers.
Rate of Evaluation (scale):
[0] No Opinion [1] Strongly Disagree
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
[2] Disagree
[3] Agree
This place gives a variety of experience and activities for me to
choose.
This place gives me a continuous experience, one after
another.
This place gives me valuable images, fantasies, memories or
feelings.
This place has its own identity and image.
This place gives me new knowledge or awareness.
The special places/places of interest here are easily known.
This place is used by other people as well for their activities.
[4] Strongly Agree
0
1
2
3
4
0
1
2
3
4
0
1
2
3
4
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
4
4
4
4
3. TOURIST EXPERIENCE
How would you evaluate your overall experience in Kuala Lumpur City Centre? Please
[X] your answers.
Rate of Experience (scale):
[0] No Opinion [1] Strongly Disagree
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
[2] Disagree
[3] Agree
I like being here.
I enjoy activities here.
I get to do what I want to do here.
Overall, I am satisfied with my visit to Kuala Lumpur.
I would visit Kuala Lumpur again.
I will recommend Kuala Lumpur to my friends or relatives.
[4] Strongly Agree
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
4
4
4
4
4
4
106
4. TOURIST PROFILE
Please [x] as needed or write your answer.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Gender:
[ ] Male
[ ] Female
Age (years):
[ ] < 20
[ ] 20-29
[ ] 30-39
[ ] 40-49
[ ] 50-59
[ ] 60 >
Country of residence:
…………………………………………………………………………….
Highest education background:
[ ] No formal education
[ ] Primary
[ ] Secondary
[ ] Certificate/Diploma
[ ] Degree or Higher
Occupation:
[ ] Student
[ ] Self-Employed
[ ] Housewife
[ ] Clerical / Supervisory
[ ] Executive / Managerial
[ ] Professional
[ ] Retired
F.
G.
H.
[ ] Others: ……………………………………………………..
Main purpose of visiting Kuala Lumpur:
[ ] Sightseeing / Vacation
[ ] Academic Visit
[ ] Business
[ ] Visiting Friends/Relatives
[ ] Others: ……………………………………………………..
Travelling with:
[ ] Alone
[ ] Friends/Partner
[ ] Family/Relatives
[ ] In a big group (more than 5 people)
Main mode of transport getting around Kuala Lumpur:
[ ] Walking
[ ] Own/Rented Transport
[ ] Public Transport
[ ] Tour Bus/Coach
I.
Where are you staying in Kuala Lumpur: ……………………………………………………
J.
How many times have you visited Kuala Lumpur:
[ ] First Visit
K.
[ ] Second Visit
[ ] Third or more visits
Where have you visited in Kuala Lumpur:
Tourist Attractions:
Shopping Places:
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
] Anniversary Theatre
] Arab Street / Ain Arabia
] Bird Park
] Butterfly Park
] Central Market
] Chan See Shu Yuen Temple
] Chinatown
] Dayabumi
] Deer Park
] Experimental Theatre
] Inter: Buddhist Pagoda
] Islamic Art Museum
] Islamic Centre
] Istana Budaya
] Masjid Jamek
] KL Sentral Station
] Kompleks Budaya Kraf
] Kuala Lumpur City Centre
] Kuala Lumpur Tower
] KTM Building
] Lake Garden
] Malaysian Tourism Centre
] Merdeka Square
] National Art Gallery
] National Library
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
] National Mosque
] National Monument
] National Museum
] National Planetarium
] Numismat Museum
] Old Railway Station
] Orchid Garden
] Pasar Rakyat
] Parliament House
] Putra World Trade Centre
] Royal Selangor Club
] Sri Perdana Gallery
] Sultan Abdul Samad Bldg.
] Telekom Museum
] Tun Abdul Razak Memorial
[ ] Tunku Abdul Rahman Memorial
Entertainment Area:
[
[
[
[
] Bangsar
] Bukit Bintang
] Jalan P. Ramlee
] Jalan Ampang
] Ampang Park
] Ampang Plaza
] Berjaya Time Square
] Bukit Bintang Plaza
] Campbell Complex
] Central Market
] China Town
] City Square
] Imbi Plaza
] KL Plaza
] Kota Raya
] Lot 10
] Low Yatt Plaza
] Maju Junction
] Pertama Complex
] Pudu Plaza
] Semua House
] Shaw Parade
] S&M Arcade
] Sogo
] Starhill Shopping Centre
] Sungei Wang Plaza
] Suria KLCC
] The Mall
] The Weld
THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION & ENJOY YOUR STAY!
107
APPENDIX B:
Getting Around in KL Pamphlet
Source: Kuala Lumpur Tourism Action Council (2006)