The influence of Malaysian students’ travel motives on their intentions to discover new places and things

Abstract

According to the WTTC [2015. “Travel and Tourism Economic Impact 2015 Malaysia”] Economic Impact Report on Malaysia, outbound tourism expenditure in 2014 was 37.3 billion Malaysian Ringgit (approximately USD 9 billion). It is expected to reach 78.7 billion Malaysian Ringgit by 2025 (approximately USD 19 billion). This study adapts the Leisure Motivation Scale and proposes a theoretical model with seven hypotheses. Structural equation modelling with maximum likelihood method is used to test all relationships simultaneously from the 569 responses using Amos 20.0. The findings suggest that pursuing challenge and exploration, relaxation and building relationships on vacation influence the perception of the importance of experiencing adventure. Additionally, the positive effect of the perception of the importance of experiencing adventure on the intention to discover new places and things was also verified. The new insights generated from these test findings are unique as they reflect on an unexplored market segment in the Association of South East Asian Nations Region.