Title: How do Bahraini residents perceive tourism in Bahrain? A cluster analysis

Authors: Farid Elsahn; Heba Aziz; Omneya Mokhtar Yacout

Addresses: Doha Institute for Postgraduate Studies, P.O. Box 200592, Zone 66, Street No. 826, Villa 59, Al-Mabahej Street, Doha, Qatar ' GUtech, P.O. Box 1816, Athaibah, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman Halban, next to Southern Expressway, Muscat, Oman ' Faculty of Commerce, Alexandria University, ElShatby, Egypt

Abstract: Tourism plays a major role in the economic development of many countries but many Muslims perceive some activities traditionally related to tourism as against Islamic beliefs. These perceptions affect residents' behaviour toward tourists and this will eventually affect tourists' satisfaction and intentions to revisit. Understanding these perceptions and finding effective ways to overcome residents' fears is a prerequisite for implementation of tourism development policies. This paper examines the residents' perceptions of tourism in Bahrain and factors that might be related to it such as demographics and involvement with tourism. Samples of Bahraini residents were collected and data was analysed using cluster analysis. Three clusters appeared from the cluster analysis: ambivalents, enthusiasts and realists. Both ANOVA and Schefee's test revealed the existence of significant differences among the three clusters with respect to occupation, age, following tourism events, spending holidays outside Bahrain and interest in tourism. Academic and practical implications are discussed and suggestions for future research are presented.

Keywords: resident perceptions; Muslims; Bahrain; sociodemographics; tourism industry; cluster analysis; Islamic beliefs; tourist satisfaction; intention to revisit; tourism development.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIMB.2016.075860

International Journal of Islamic Marketing and Branding, 2016 Vol.1 No.3, pp.252 - 271

Received: 29 Sep 2015
Accepted: 20 Dec 2015
Published online: 09 Apr 2016 *

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