The influence of electronic word of mouth on theory of reasoned action and the visit intention to the world monument fund site

The traditional Chinese shop houses in Kampung Cina, Kuala Terengganu have been awarded a grant of USD 50, 000 bythe World Monument Fund (WMF) to improve and preserve the building structures in this area. In line with the changes, the community and the state administrator have conducted many activities in this area and promoted Kampung Cina which WMF deemed as a major tourist attraction in this area. This study was conducted to understand the electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) and to close the gap for the lack of literature regarding the intention to visit the WMF site. This exploratory study focused on modelling the influence of eWOM on the attitude, subjective norm, and the visit intention to this world monument site. A survey based on the theory of reasoned action was distributed to 155 tourists at the WMF site, and only 123 responses can be used for the analysis purposes. This study has used aquantitative approach of self-administered questionnaire. The results showed that eWOM has a positive relationship with attitude and subjective norm. Besides that, the study also found that attitude, subjective norm, and benefits have a positive relationship with the visit intention. The findings of this study could help the government and private sector to develop better planning to enhance this WMF site as a major tourist attraction. It is hoped that this study could attract the interest of others to conduct more studies on tourism in Terengganu and also other WMF sites around the world.