The Malaysian Tourists’ Behaviors in Hat Yai Municipality, Songkhla Province: Voice from Hotel and Restaurant Stakeholders

Abstract

The tourism business in Hat Yai Municipality, Songkhla Province, has been threatened by the disorder in three provinces in Southern Thailand. Knowing the current Malaysian tourist behavior is a key to recovering it. This study investigates Malaysian tourist behavior when they come to hotels and restaurants in Hat Yai. Six hotel and restaurant stakeholders were interviewed and a questionnaire was administered to 400 Malaysian tourists for each business. The findings were grouped and shown according to 4P marketing strategies. Regarding the product factor, Malaysian tourists prefer standard service and various products. Malaysian tourists prefer a cheap, but reasonable, price in regards to price. For the place factor, Malaysian tourists prefer a location close to the accommodation, transportation, convenient, clean, safe and standard facilities for tourism service. Regarding the promotion factor, Malaysian tourists prefer promotions in advertisements and brochures. In general the results of the study are similar to the studies in Thai and foreign research. To increase the competitive advantage in the tourism business, the government of Hat Yai Municipality should control the quality of product, price, and hygiene. The tourism stakeholders should train and develop human resources about service skills, advertising skills, personality, and communication skills.