Drivers of Muslim interest in Islamic medical tourism destinations in Indonesia

Fostering Muslim-Friendly Tourism in Minority Destinations: Insights from North Sulawesi, Indonesia

This research aims to analyze the community’s response to the development of halal tourist destinations in the Muslim-minority region of North Sulawesi Province and to identify appropriate strategies for developing halal tourism, based on internal and external conditions in this region. This study employed a quantitative, explanatory research design to examine Muslim consumers’ intentions to choose Muslim-friendly tourist destinations in North Sulawesi Indonesia, a Muslim-minority. This study uses the Partial Least Squares (PLS) equation model to analyze people’s preferences for halal tourism in North Sulawesi Province. The independent variables are attitudes, subjective norms, behavioral control, and religiosity. Meanwhile, the dependent variable is the intention to choose a halal tourist destination. This research reveals that attitude, subjective norms, and religiosity positively and significantly affect travel intentions, whereas subjective norms have a negative effect. Furthermore, effective strategies for developing Muslim-friendly tourism include adjusting marketing and product development, implementing larger, more effective marketing campaigns, improving access to information and amenities, and developing religious infrastructure in tourist areas. This study contributes to the literature on halal tourism by extending the understanding of Muslim travel intentions in a Muslim-minority context and demonstrating the significant roles of attitudes, subjective norms, and religiosity. The findings imply that halal tourism development in North Sulawesi should adopt context-sensitive strategies that integrate targeted marketing, improved information and tourism amenities, and strengthened religious infrastructure.

The Role of Consumer Confidence in Effect of Islamic Business Ethics on Religius Tourism Marketing

How Muslim-Friendly Tourism Attributes Shape Visit Intention in Nature-Based Destination: The Roles of Destination Image and Religiosity

This study investigates whether tourism provisions aligned with Islamic principles shape Muslim travelers’ willingness to select a nature-based destination. Visitors’ overall perception of the place was positioned as a mediating mechanism, whereas personal religiosity was examined as a boundary condition. The investigation took place at Bantimurung Bulusaraung National Park in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, and involved Muslim travelers who had previously visited the site. Using an explanatory quantitative approach, survey responses were obtained from 235 participants selected through purposive criteria. SmartPLS 4 was used to estimate a partial least squares structural equation model. The empirical evidence reveals no significant direct pathway between Muslim-friendly tourism provisions and travelers’ future visitation willingness. However, faith-sensitive facilities and services improve visitors’ overall evaluation of the location, which subsequently increases their likelihood of choosing it. Indirect-effect testing shows that perceptions of the site connect Muslim-oriented attributes with travel willingness. Moreover, this relationship becomes stronger among individuals with higher religious commitment, confirming religiosity’s conditional role. Overall, Muslim travelers appear to respond less to the mere presence of Islamic-oriented facilities than to the favorable impressions generated through them. These findings extend Muslim-oriented tourism literature and offer destination administrators practical considerations for strengthening services, destination management, and public perceptions.

Predicting boycott intention and participation among urban Muslim consumers in Indonesia

Purpose – This research aims to extend the classic theory of planned behavior (TPB) framework by incorporating social media influence and religiosity as key predictors, thereby providing a more comprehensive explanation of boycott intention and subsequent participation among Muslim consumers in a high-digital-penetration, Muslim-majority emerging market context. Methodology – A quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted among 250 Muslim consumers aged 18 years and above in Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia. Respondents were purposively selected based on their recent fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) purchases and awareness of ongoing boycott campaigns. Data were collected via questionnaires and analyzed using structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) in SmartPLS 4.0.Findings – The results show that attitudes towards boycotting, perceived behavioral control, and social media influence have a significant positive effect on boycott intention, and the latter has a strong predictive power for actual boycott participation. Social media influence was the most powerful predictor. Religiosity did not significantly moderate boycott intention.Implications – Multinational FMCG companies operating in Muslim-majority emerging markets should prioritize digital reputation management, transparent ethical and halal communication, proactive engagement with social media influencers, and rapid response strategies to mitigate boycott risks. Local brands can leverage digital momentum to strengthen their market position.Originality – This study pioneers the integration of social media influence as a distinct antecedent and religiosity as a moderator within an extended TPB framework in the context of geopolitically motivated boycotts in Indonesia’s digitally advanced Muslim-majority market. The finding that social media influence outweighs religiosity challenges the prevailing assumptions in the Islamic marketing literature.

Determinants of purchase intention in the context of Islamic housing: an empirical investigation of Muslim consumers in Indonesia

The interplay of Islamic marketing areas and Muslim consumer behavior, which are often overlooked despite their close relationship emphasizing Islamic principles on individual belief (IB), is a critical focus of this study. Therefore, this research aims to address the gaps in the literature on Islamic marketing and Muslim consumer behavior by highlighting the nexus between product quality (PQ), promotion and price on IB and the intention to buy (ItB) among Muslim consumers. A quantitative approach was used by distributing questionnaires as a research instrument and 150 respondents as a sample of three Islamic housing in Malang City. The structural equation modeling-partial least squares (PLS) approach was used in this study for data analysis processing. This study finds that PQ and price positively and significantly influence IB, while promotion shows a positive but insignificant effect. IB positively and significantly impacts purchase intention. Mediation analysis reveals that PQ and price indirectly affect purchase intention through IB, while promotion remains insignificant. PLS-multi-group analysis results highlight gender differences: males align with overall findings, whereas females exhibit cautious purchasing behavior, influenced by emotional, family and social factors despite positive product perceptions. These results underscore the importance of tailoring marketing strategies to address gender-specific factors in influencing purchase decisions. Muslim consumer behavior has been widely discussed; however, certain areas of Islamic marketing remain overlooked, despite being acknowledged in the literature as closely interrelated. This study addresses the research gap by holistically exploring the nexus between Islamic marketing and Muslim consumer behavior. Specifically, PQ, promotion and price are examined as key areas of Islamic marketing, while IB and ItB represent aspects of Muslim consumer behavior. Thus, this research contributes significantly to the fields of Islamic marketing and Muslim consumer behavior.

Determinants of electric vehicle purchase intentions among Malaysian young Muslim consumers

This study aims to investigate the correlation between young Muslim consumers’ intention to purchase electric vehicles (EVs) and their attitude, subjective norm and perceived control behaviour. It also investigated the moderating role of religiosity in the link between independent and dependent variables. Drawing data from a sample of 210 young Muslim consumers, the current study used a cross-sectional survey design. To analyse the data, moderated mediation structural equation modelling using SPSS 28 and SmartPLS 3.0 was used. The results showed a significant direct relationship between attitude, subjective norm and perceived control behaviour, all of which were associated with the intention to purchase an EV. However, the researchers discovered that religiosity’s moderating role is insignificant for attitudes and subjective norms, but significant and negative for perceived behavioural control. This research was limited to a survey among the young Malaysian Muslim respondents. In the future, research should broaden the sample to encompass older generations, more countries and both Muslim and non-Muslim communities to comprehend their behaviours about green mobility. The EV company can capitalize on the positive attitude of consumer green behaviour by highlighting EV’s environmental benefits and fully use marketing strategies via social proof, influencers and community leaders. Besides, to improve consumers’ perceived behaviour control, policies to support the use of EV need to be enhanced such as tax rebates, expanding charging infrastructure and constructing more service centres across the country. This study is original as the findings provide evidence from a non-Western developing context, contributing to the global knowledge base by providing new evidence on the interaction between religiosity and environmental behaviour. The authors discuss the implications for theory and practitioners.