Determinant Factors of International Tourists' Length of Stay: Survival Analysis in the Case of Malaysia

Malaysian government intended to transform tourism sector into a high-yield industry through Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) by 2020. Length of stay is a variable of the special interest for Malaysia to achieve ETP, due to its positive relationship to the tourism yield. Therefore, this paper analyzes to what extent the personal demographic, travel characteristics and purpose of travel are significant in determining the tourists' length of stay. A total of 385 completed questionnaires were used for data analysis. The results show that tourist longer stay is associate with mature, married, repeated visitation, tourist who stay in low cost accommodation, and those who travel for business and education. However, tourists short stay is associated with male, single, those who stay in 4 to 5 stars hotel, tourist travel companion with business associate, and travel for conference and event. The study is therefore advised that stakeholders like government and tour operators should consider these significant factors in planning their marketing strategies.