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ABSTRACT
This study aims to examine the effect of communication factors (e.g. uses of questions and multisensory media) and visitor factors (e.g. high level of interest and visualisation) on visitors’ mindfulness. Mindfulness refers to a state of mind in which an individual is actively processing information from their environment. Past literature has suggested that being mindful helps increase visitor understanding, learning and satisfaction. While a number of studies have explored the effects of communication factors on mindfulness, little is understood about the effects of visitor factors. Moreover, most previous studies of mindfulness have employed qualitative research methodologies. The present study relies on a survey of 390 local and international tourists to George Town, Penang (Malaysia) – a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) has been employed to analyse the data. The results demonstrate the significant effect of both communication factors and visitor factors on mindfulness. The findings of the study suggest that visitor mindfulness might be improved by incorporating questions, multisensory media, level of interest and visualisations in the design of the visitor experience at the heritage sites.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes on contributors
Dr Poh Ling Tan is a lecturer at the School of Media and Communication, Taylor’s University. Currently she teaches both undergraduates and graduate level modules especially in Public Relations. In addition to teaching, she is involved in dissertation supervision at the graduate level. She received her doctorate at the Universiti Sains Malaysia on Tourism Communication with a focus on interpretation. She holds a Bachelor of Communication (Hons) Public Relations (University Tunku Abdul Rahman) and completed her Masters in Universiti Sains Malaysia specialising in Science and Environmental Journalism. Her research interests include heritage communication, persuasive communication and environmental communication.
Dr Shuhaida Md Noor is currently a senior lecturer at the School of Communication, Universiti Sains Malaysia. Her areas of research, publication, supervision and interest include branding, tourism marketing communication, integrated marketing communication and consumer psychology. She has served as a consultant for a number of organisations, working on areas in tourism, branding and local community entrepreneurship. She now teaches persuasive communication and integrated marketing communication courses in Universiti Sains Malaysia. She has previously served as a corporate and public relations officer in various public and private organisations.
Dr S. Mostafa Rasoolimanesh is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Hospitality, Tourism, and Events of Taylor’s University. His research interest areas contain sustainable tourism, heritage tourism, residents’ perceptions toward tourism development, and advanced quantitative analysis approaches. He has published several articles in high impact journals such as, Tourism Management, Journal of Travel Research, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, International Journal of Tourism Research, and International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management among others. Mostafa serves as a member of editorial board of some reputed international journals.
Dr Hasrina Mustafa is an associate professor at the School of Communication, Universiti Sains Malaysia. She obtained her Ph.D. from the Universiti Putra Malaysia in 2005 in the field of mass communication. Her research interests include integrated marketing communication, tourism marketing and health promotion. She has been involved in research and consultancy projects related to tourism i.e. tourist experience in Langkawi, the impact of tourism on social and economic development in Langkawi, Langkawi Benchmarking study and Langkawi Tourism Blueprint while carrying out active supervisory duties and functions towards her postgraduate students in the areas of volunteer tourism, heritage tourism and Islamic tourism.