2391 3rd INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH ( 3rd ICBER 2012 ) PROCEEDING 12 - 13 MARCH 2012. GOLDEN FLOWER HOTEL, BANDUNG, INDONESIA ISBN: 978-967-5705-05-2. WEBSITE: www.internationalconference.com.my TOURISTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF MALAYSIA AS A TRAVEL DESTINATION AND THEIR SATISFACTION Mahadzirah Mohamad, Ahmad Rusdi Abdullah, Abdul Manan Ali and Nur Izzati Ab. Ghani Faculty of Management and Economics Univerisiti Malaysia Terengganu mmohamad@umt.edu.my ABSTRACT This study was conducted to ascertain the image of Malaysia as a tourist destination and examines the influence of tourists’ perception of Malaysia as a travel destination on their satisfaction. Every country has its own authentic image by design or default. However, in the current globalisation era, a nation must be able to distinguish itself from the other competing countries to attract the incoming of international tourists who have several selections of travel destinations in their choice set. Literatures suggest that Malaysia has an image problem. Malaysia faces stiff competition from several neighbouring countries that also regard tourism as a very good vehicle for economic development. Data were collected using personal interviews performed by trained interviewers at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and the Low Cost Carrier Terminal Airport (LCCT) using self-administered questionnaires among departing foreign tourists and analyzed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The findings of the study indicate that foreign tourists perceived Malaysia as providing an adventurous holiday with the chance to see wildlife, nice beaches for swimming and offering a lot in terms of natural scenic beauty. The study also suggests that there is a positive significant relationship between destination image and tourist satisfaction. Field of Research: Destination image, tourist satisfaction, Malaysia’s Destination Image, structural equation modelling. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Introduction Globally, tourism is the largest service industry in terms of foreign exchange earnings and a major jobs provider at the national level (United Nations, 2007). In addition, tourism industry has become the fastest growing economic sectors globally over the past six decades (Tourism Malaysia, 2011). Similarly, tourism industry has become one of the important sectors that contributed to the nation’s economy in Malaysia. It is the fifth largest industry after Oil, Gas and Energy, Financial Services, Wholesale and Retail, and Palm oil (Jabatan Perdana Menteri, 2010). Tourism is a multi-sector industry consisting of a collection of activities, services and industries that delivers a travel experience, as well as transportation, accommodations, eating and drinking businesses, retail shops, entertainment businesses, activities,