Tourist friendly destination perceived as an approach to addressing the concept of customer-oriented tourists. According to [1], the tourists choose a destination when guided by a desire to learn, to explore new experiences and expand their meaning of life through the experience of travel. This concept is necessary to ensure that the supply in tourism destinations always meets the demand and experience that preferred by the tourists. Tourists choose a tourism destination that can respond their expectations and demand [2,3]. Tourists tend to respond well to tourist friendly attractions, where tourists want services at a destination is easy to use [4]. This concept also needed for city tourism. According to [5], city is a center of attraction, main entrance and tools of promotional. Tourist friendly destination concept is required for city tourism because many activities, products, and spaces, which offered in the city that can meet the tourist’s demand and experienced [6]. In Malaysia, cities are not excluded from being a tourist icon and attraction. Kuala Lumpur for example, is an attraction city since in the last five decades. Thus, the introduction of Kuala Lumpur Tourism Policy, Tourism Development Strategy of Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2020 and Kuala Lumpur City Plan 2020 [7] are seen as the basis policies and strategies for developing tourist friendly destination concept in Kuala Lumpur. However, efforts to develop this concept should be evaluated according to the perspective of domestic tourists. This is because domestic tourists not only seen as dominant in tourism activities, moreover who directly affected by the development and provision of infrastructures, superstructures, facilities, amenities, services, hospitality, activities and tourism product marketing. Therefore, recognizing that tourist friendly destination is a very relevant concept in Malaysia, it is appropriate that this article aims to develop of tourist friendly destination concept’s focusing on city tourism from the perspective of domestic tourists.

Framework of tourist friendly destination concept

Tourist friendly destination is a concept that can give satisfaction to meet tourist’s demand and supply through contact and maximum use of activities, products and spaces [7]. This concept not only for the tourists, but to the interested parties through tour packages that offer facilities for a reasonable prices, use of infrastructure developments, accommodations, transportation, the use of the internet that to meet the tourist’s expectations; and finally distributed the target income to target groups of operators, local residents and stakeholders [8]. Generally, the concept of tourist friendly destination arises because of five factors: changes in the concept of tourism, capacity of tourists to travel, tourism and destination selection to motivate tourists, tourist’s tastes change, and the involvement of public and private sectors [8]. Thus, these factors influence the tourist friendly destination concept through the provision of three dimensions in the tourism system. Tourism system consists of three elements that intertwined with each other such as activity [9,10], space [11,12] and product [12]. Tourism destination should have these three elements such as place, activity, and product to develop a tourism destination that can provide many options and produce a real image [13]. In establishing a tourist friendly destination concept, tourism system comprising of three elements: activity, product, and space are interrelated to generate a new experiences and satisfaction to tourists [14].

Data collection method

The primary data through quantitative method used in this study. In the determination of sampling size, this study used non-probability sampling through purposive sampling. Purposive sampling is a type of sampling that selects a sample based on particular characteristics for the specified purpose [15]. Approximately 2,639,000 domestic visitors and domestic tourists visited Kuala Lumpur in 2012 [16]. For this reason, the researcher decided to proceed with 420 respondents from domestic tourists as a sample size to answer a questionnaire. Respondents were selected from the main tourism six sub-sectors in Kuala Lumpur: food and beverage, transportation, accommodation, shopping, recreation and theme park. Thus, a total of 70 respondents were selected for each sub-sector. This sub-sector plays a significant role in the development of the tourism industry, in addition to the primary revenue-generating services of a country through tourist spending [17]. Through a review by the [16], it was noted that these six subsectors were the top subexpenditures by domestic tourists in Malaysia.

The distribution of questionnaires in the field continued for three months, between October and December 2013. The distribution of questionnaires using face-to-face approach were conducted at strategic locations around the city of Kuala Lumpur based on the six selected sub-sectors such as food and beverage sector (Kampung Baru, Saloma Theatre Restaurant, Bijan Restaurant, and Petaling Street), transportation sector (Puduraya, KTM KOMUTER station, STAR station and PUTRA station), accommodation sector (Ancasa Hotel, Tune Hotel, Vistana Hotel, Kuala Lumpur International Hotel and Berjaya Times Square Hotel), shopping sector (Suria KLCC, Pertama Complex, SOGO Complex, Berjaya Times Square, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur and Lot 10 Shopping Centre), recreation sector (KLCC Park and Titiwangsa Lake Garden) and theme parks (Waterpark Theme Park and Berjaya Times Square Theme Park).

Data analyzed method

In the quantitative method, data from the questionnaires were analyzed and processed through the Statistic Package for Social Science (SPSS) Version 19 which involving frequency, percentage and mean. Analysis of the reliability was conducted by Alpha Cronbach scale (a scale coefficient or coefficient of reliability by using SPSS software). According to the Alpha Cronbach scale, reliability was poor if the analysis obtained a scale of less than 0.6, and high reliability if the value approached 1.0. Therefore, this study used a high scale value of 0.6 as the scale of reliability. The analysis of questionnaires focused on Questions 27, 28, and 29, in Part E; because these questions led to the aim of this study. Alpha Cronbach values for Questions 27, 28, and 29 were 0.851, 0.956, and 0.959 respectively; meaning that their reliability was very high. In order to answer the aim of this study, the mean score range is used to identify the importance of the attribute in each component of tourist friendly destination through scale rating as below: Table 1.

Table 1: Mean score range towards the importance of the attribute in each component of tourist friendly destination [18,19].

Respondent’s demographic

Based on the analysis, slightly more than half of domestic tourists were female (56.2%), and the rest are male (43.8%). Majority of the respondents are Malay (87.6%), Chinese (6.7%) and Indian (4.5%). Most of the respondent’s age are 20-29 years old (41.8%) and the single (52.1%). In terms of occupational, students and self-employment represent the biggest group which is 36.9% and 14.8%. In terms of education levels, more than 83.8% of the respondents achieve at least tertiary education (holding a diploma, bachelor degree and above). In term of monthly income (evaluated in RM), majority of the respondents has monthly income below 999 with 33.1%. That is closely followed by who have a monthly income around 2,000-2,999 and 3.000-3,999 which is 19.8% and 18.8%.

The important attribute in tourist friendly destination concept

The results of the analysis revealed that there are different perspectives of respondents on the importance of each attribute in the component dimensions of activity, product and space in tourist friendly destination. These attributes, not only gauge the level of interest, but also act as a measurement of tourist friendly destinations (such as Kuala Lumpur) as city tourism. A summary of the overall picture, as well as the important of attributes in each component of activity, product and space dimensions in tourist friendly destination, can be seen in Table 2. Table 2 presents the overall mean value for each attribute in component of activity, product and space that include a range of 3.61 to 4.04. It reveals the entire attributes are “important” to develop tourist friendly destination concept in city tourism. The highest mean value 4.04 is the attribute of “providing an adequate and quality of accommodation” in infrastructure and superstructure component, the dimension of space. While the lowest mean value 3.61 is the attribute of “providing an adequate and quality of mix activities” in component of mix activity, the dimensions of activity. To view the attributes in each component of the most dominant in every dimension, cultural and historical component through the attribute of “the cultural and historical sites have been developed as a tourism product” is higher mean value of 3.76 and classified as “important” in the activity dimension. In the product dimension, shows the components of freedom of choice through the attribute “product offerings are meet the needs and desires of tourists” is higher mean value of 3.90 and classified as “important”. While, for the dimensions of space, infrastructure and superstructure component through the attribute “providing an adequate and quality of accommodation” is higher mean value 4.04 and classified as “important”. From this analysis, reveals that the entire of attributes are “important” to develop tourist friendly destination concept mainly in city tourism.

Table 2: Analyses the importance of the attribute in each component of tourist friendly destination.

Tourist friendly destination perceived as a concept that desired by domestic tourists to meet their needs and wants in the form of activity, product, and space. The necessities of tourist friendly destination identified through a questionnaire using 420 domestic tourists as respondent in Kuala Lumpur. Analysis reveals that the positions of each attribute have changed which established by the tourism provider. This change is due to the different levels of attribute importance based on the needs and wants of domestic tourists when travelling in Kuala Lumpur. Even though there is a change in the attributes of each component, the importance of each attribute in the each component is believed by respondents to measure the level of tourist friendly destination concept in city tourism. This acceptance based on the reliability analysis using the Alpha Cronbach scale. Therefore, for this study the scale indicates 0.851, 0.956, and 0.959, which equates to a very high reliability. To identify the important attribute in tourist friendly destination concept, the analysis reveals that the attribute in infrastructure and superstructure component (in spaces dimension) have been most selected by respondent with mean value 4.04 contrasted with all attributes in others two dimensions (activity and product). Nevertheless, the overall mean value of attributes in each dimension indicates a range of “3.61 to 4.04”. It shows that all attributes are “important” in measuring tourist friendly destination in city tourism. Therefore, the analysis shows that the attributes of each component in the activity, product, and space dimension are important to developing tourist friendly destination concept especially in Kuala Lumpur.