Islamic city image factors through view of visitors of Kota Bharu

Destination image formation is a fundamental concept in destination selection processes. The initial step in a city branding campaign is the determination of its image. Islamic city image is an attribute perceived by a visitor and portrayed by the Islamic built environment in the city. Kota Bharu was declared an Islamic city in 2005 and is chosen as the research area because its Islamic image is unclear, thus making the city as a transit point and not as a tourist destination. This research’s purpose is twofold. Firstly, to evaluate the Kota Bharu Islamic city image from the view of visitors. Secondly, to identify the factors of the Islamic city image so that the city image could be improved and attract the visitors to visit the city as a destination and not only as a transit. The objectives of this research are to evaluate the Kota Bharu Islamic city image, to identify the factors of Islamic city image, and to examine the effect of Religious Identity towards the relationship between other factors and Islamic City Image. This research adapted the Destination Image model and Islamic Built Environment factors as the Islamic City Image constructs. Implementing a quantitative approach, self-administered survey questionnaires were distributed among 450 domestic and international visitors. Data collection was made in Kota Bharu using proportional stratified random sampling from April to August 2018. SPSS 24 is used to produce respondents’ descriptive profiles and research variables. To test the validity of the overall model and the relationships between variables hypothesised in the model, SmartPLS 3.0 was employed. The findings through descriptive results demonstrated that the current Islamic city image in Kota Bharu is at a moderate level. Confirmatory factor analysis was proven to possess validity in all tested aspects. Analysis of the structural relationships supports three out of nine hypotheses. The relationships between Hygiene, Landscape and Natural Environment, Order, and Religious Identity with Islamic City Image are statistically supported. However, the relationships between Element of Jannah, Economic System, Intellectual & Knowledge, Social Need & Human Comfort, Safety Setting, and Tolerant with Islamic City Image are not statistically supported. A moderation test was done to test the effect of Religious Identity on the relationship between factors of Landscape and Natural Environment, Order, and Elements of Jannah with Islamic City Image. It was found that Religious Identity is not significant. IPMA is finally used to expand the results of PLS-SEM to identify major areas of improvements for managerial purpose, which also highlights Religious Identity at a satisfactory level. The main finding of this research is the identification of the Islamic city image factors. The results of this research should assist: (1) administrators as policymakers to direct the image development, (2) professionals to concretely act on the design process, and (3) destination marketers to develop marketing strategies to attract visitors and encourage revisit of the city so that visitors are delighted as the city really represents the Islamic city image. The research’s fundamental contribution is the formulation of the Islamic City Image Index (ICII) to evaluate other Islamic tourist destination, and in practice, offers some suggestions to revive the glorious history of Islamic civilisations through the uniqueness of the Islamic city image. This research concludes that by forming the correct Islamic city image factors into the built environment of the city will make Kota Bharu that is already rich in cultural uniqueness to also represent Islam in physical development that is recognised by visitors. It is also hoped that Kota Bharu Islamic City will become a reference to other Islamic branded cities in branding and highlighting the authenticity of the city as a tourist destination.