THE EFFECT OF DESTINATION QUALITY ON TOURIST SATISFACTION: A CASE OF CHINESE TOURISTS IN SABAH, MALAYSIA

This study aims to find out what constitutes the quality of Sabah as a tourist destination and how destination quality affects the satisfaction of Chinese tourists. Influenced by COVID-19, an online self-administered questionnaire was used, and the questionnaire was distributed via prominent Chinese social media software (Douyin, Little Red Book, Weibo, WeChat, QQ, etc.). There were 374 valid questionnaires. Using IBM SPSS 26.0, an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted to determine the components of perceived destination quality. Additionally, the proposed hypotheses were tested. The results confirmed that destination quality comprises core tourism experience, accommodation and food, accessibility, amenities, information, and destination image. Meanwhile, Chinese tourists' satisfaction was influenced by core tourism experience, accommodation and food, information, and destination image. This suggests that there is no positive effect of accessibility and amenities on satisfaction for Chinese tourists in Sabah. The results of the study provide valuable suggestions for managers and related stakeholders of tourist destinations with marine resources to improve the level of service and increase tourist satisfaction.