When Halal Becomes a Baseline Expectation: Destination Service Attributes, Tourist Satisfaction, and Loyalty in Indonesia and Malaysia

Abstract

Although halal tourism has expanded rapidly, previous studies often treat Islamic attributes as direct satisfaction drivers, while giving less attention to how conventional and Muslim-friendly destination service attributes jointly shape satisfaction and loyalty in mature Muslim-friendly contexts. This study examines the effects of accommodation service quality, halal food, transportation service quality, cleanliness, hospitality/friendliness, value for price, and traveler facilities on tourist satisfaction, and the subsequent effect of tourist satisfaction on tourist loyalty. Grounded in Service Quality Theory, data were collected from 573 Indonesian and Malaysian respondents through a structured questionnaire and analyzed using PLS-SEM. The finding presents value for price, traveler facilities, hospitality/friendliness, and transportation service quality significantly enhance tourist satisfaction, whereas halal food, accommodation service quality, and cleanliness are not significant. Tourist satisfaction strongly increases tourist loyalty. The findings suggest that in established Muslim-friendly destinations, halal food and cleanliness may function as baseline expectations rather than differentiating satisfaction drivers. The study contributes by showing that destination service attributes operate differently depending on tourists’ expectations and destination maturity, and recommends strengthening value, facilities, hospitality, and transportation accessibility.