Purpose: This study explored the antecedent and consequent relationship between information and communication technology (ICT) competency, sustainability tourism marketing and brand equity in rural community-based homestays in Malaysia. This study also examined how the political support by local authorities benefitted this sustainable rural tourism product development.Design/methodology/approach: Homestays operators from three states in Malaysia–Kuala Lumpur/Selangor, Pahang and Pulau Pinang–participated in the study. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect responses and to test research hypotheses.Findings: The study's model empirically demonstrated ICT competency, sustainability tourism marketing practices and political support by local authorities' construct which are essential explanatory variables of homestay brand equity. The model shows high levels of consistency between the theoretical design and the empirical results of its constructs, contributing as a new step in the tourism sustainability literature.Research limitations/implications: This study enables us to explain the “triple bottom line” theory when applied in combination with ICT competency, brand equity and newly introduced construct “political support by local authorities”.Practical implications: The study results in evidence of crucial implications for policymakers. Policymakers should enhance cost-effectiveness, policy integration (integration of economic, environmental and social goals), and transparency and accountability to achieve United Nations' and Malaysia's sustainable tourism goals.Originality/value: This study is an early attempt to highlight the importance of sustainable tourism marketing and brand equity in rural community-based homestays in Malaysia. This study also emphasizes that the local political authorities are the most crucial rural tourism stakeholders, and they play a key role in sustainable rural tourism transformation.

Community groups in historic cities and their generational socio-cultural practices are important living heritage that carries educational value. Hence, historic cities, particularly those which are inscribed as the UNESCO World Heritage Site, are usually famous tourist destinations. Nevertheless, the potential of heritage tourism tends to attract capital (re)investments that would trigger evictions, displacements and gentrification. A case in point is the George Town World Heritage Site (GTWHS) in Malaysia, in which a case study was conducted to assess the impacts of inscription on its intangible living heritage. The findings unfold that the listing has generated unprecedented capital appreciation, rent spike, and an increase in the transactions of pre-war shop houses. Inevitably, they have triggered gentrification in the GTWHS, in that the original inhabitants and their traditional trades have been replaced with new residents and tourism-related businesses. Furthermore, the street art, instead of the heritage, has boosted its tourism industry, enabled some locals to make tourism money, and revived the historic core. This paper examines how gentrification has undermined the intangible living heritage that partly projects the Outstanding Universal Values for the GTWHS, and why it should be safeguarded for the knowledge of the future generations and heritage tourists.

Food service industry is growing rapidly as a result of the changing consumer lifestyle. The food service industry is highly competitive due to the increasing number of new entrants offering inventive food products and services. In order to be outstanding in such competitive industry, retailers nowadays opt to emphasize on their store environment. Past studies discovered that store environment stimulates emotions that significantly boost customer revisit intention. As a result, retailers attempt to differentiate their store by combining various environmental stimuli to create an attractive ambience that will in turn draw in the customers. Hence, this study attempts to investigate the impact of various café ambience factors on the patrons’ revisit intention. The patrons of cafes in Ipoh, Perak were selected using purposive sampling technique to be the respondents of this study. 250 questionnaires were collected and Partial Least Square technique was used to analyse the data collected. Findings show that all the five factors of café ambience namely lighting, music, decoration, cleanliness and layouts were significantly influencing the patrons’ revisit intention. Of these five factors, lighting was most influential while music was the least influential in affecting the patrons’ revisit intention. Accordingly, this study lists several recommendations for practitioners and academics with regards to the store environment and its impact on the repurchase intention.

Foodborne illness, as reported in the news, is a persistent public health problem in Malaysia. Reports have suggested that workers in Indian Muslim food eateries in the country were observed to be unhygienic during meal preparation – raising concerns on the consequence of such exposure to diners’ overall health and well-being. Therefore, this study hopes to emphasize the determinants of diners’ satisfaction towards Indian Muslim restaurants based on their experience and expectation. The Expectation Disconfirmation Theory primarily employed in this study with an interest in developing a good understanding of issues concerning hygienic foodservices. This study also helps to highlight the priority restaurant operators should put on both food and dining satisfaction. Food marketers who are interested in customer happiness and hygiene compliance at work should benefit from this body of knowledge on diners’ satisfaction based on experience and expectation with restaurant atmospherics. JEL Classification: L83, I310

Indian Muslim eateries are a prominent part of Malaysian food culture and gastronomic tourism. However, according to the local the news, these eateries are plagued with negative hygienic issues. As this could endanger the diner’s overall health and well-being, it is a serious concern. Therefore, this study posits hygiene expectation and hygiene experience as the primary determinants of diner satisfaction. Expectation Disconfirmation Theory was used as a theoretical base for this study, as it allows the researcher to postulate the interaction between expectation and experience and its effect on issues concerning hygienic food service. The body of knowledge and ethical practice of Halal food literacy contributed by this study will benefit food operators that are interested in consumer dining satisfaction from a hygiene perspective. Keywords: Dining Satisfaction, Expectation, Experience, Hygiene JEL Classifications: L66, L83 DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/irmm.7871