Factors Influencing Travel Intention among Domestic Recreational Vehicle (RV) Travellers in Malaysia

Abstract

Recreational vehicle (RV) tourism has been identified as an emerging niche within Malaysia's domestic travel sector, yet the factors that motivate Malaysian travellers to consider undertaking an RV trip have not been sufficiently examined. This study was conducted to address that gap by investigating the determinants of travel intention among domestic RV travellers in Malaysia. Ajzen's (1991) Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) was adopted as the guiding theoretical framework, within which three constructs — attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control — were examined as predictors of travel intention. Data were collected from 416 respondents through a structured questionnaire administered both online and in person, and the relationships among constructs were assessed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). Attitude was found to be the strongest predictor of travel intention (β = 0.43), followed by subjective norm (β = 0.28) and perceived behavioural control (β = 0.17), with all three constructs found to be statistically significant at p < .01. Taken together, these constructs accounted for 68% of the variance in travel intention (R² = 0.68) — a strong result for a parsimonious three-predictor model. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for the development and promotion of RV tourism in Malaysia.