Abstract

The purpose of the study was to establish the effects of service recovery on the image of the destination and
post-trip behaviour intention. The causal relationship between the image of the destination and post-trip behaviour
intention was also ascertained. A hypothetical model was proposed illustrating the relationships among these
constructs. Four hypotheses were formulated and tested using structural equation modelling on survey data
collected from 168 international tourists visiting Malaysia. The empirical findings reveal that hotel service
recovery has direct effects on destination image and post-trip behaviour intention. In addition, the study suggests
that there is a relationship between destination image and post-trip behaviour intention. Generally, Malaysia’s
destination image was perceived as positive by the respondents. The study reveals that international travellers
experienced a trip to Malaysia as one which can be truly adventurous, as it not only offers the opportunity to
have a glimpse at wildlife in their natural habitat, the country is also blessed with many places of natural beauty.
This paper uncovers the importance of the local hotel service-recovery practices and proposes that destination
management office should collaborate with them. This is to ensure that concerted efforts can be devised to
encourage dissemination of positive word-of-mouth and intention to revisit among tourists who experienced
failures with hotel service deliveries.

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