EXAMINING THE IMPACT OF RELIGIOUS COMMITMENT ON ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORAL INTENTIONS TOWARDS HALAL HOTELS

This study is aimed at examining the impact of religious commitment on Malay Muslim behavior to select a halal hotel which attitude is considered a mediating variable. The research findings are beneficial for both academicians and practitioners in the domain of Islamic tourism.The study is based on the Theory of Reasoned Action , arguing that religious commitment affects the willingness of Malays to note their intention and dislike the halal hotel selected.A Structural Equation Modeling approach was adopted to analyze the data drawn from the survey of 492 respondents at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Respondents who agreed to participate in the survey had to sign the consent form.It was discovered that religious commitment has a significant impact on the attitude as well as the behavioral intention of consumers when the obtained effect sizes are equal to.306 and.443, respectively. On the other hand, the attitude serves as a partial mediating factor with an effect size of.129. The research findings may be useful for hoteliers wishing to develop their marketing strategies to attract Malay Muslim customers who consider the intention to select a halal hotel as well as their attitude.