Determinants of visit decisions at Al-Jabbar Grand Mosque: social media, visitor experience, and e-wom

Abstract

Purpose: to examine the influence of social media, visitor experience, and electronic word of mouth (e-WOM) on visit decisions at the Al-Jabbar Grand Mosque as a contemporary religious tourism destination.

Method: this study employed a quantitative approach using a survey involving 390 visitors to the Al-Jabbar Grand Mosque, selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analyzed using multiple linear regression with SPSS to examine the effects of social media, visitor experience, and electronic word of mouth (e-WOM) on visit decisions.

Findings: social media, visitor experience, and electronic word of mouth (e-WOM) significantly influence visit decisions at the Al-Jabbar Grand Mosque. Among these factors, visitor experience and e-WOM represent the most influential determinants, indicating that meaningful on-site experiences and credible online information play essential roles in shaping visitors’ decisions.

Implications: extending the application of the theory of planned behavior in understanding religious tourism behavior and offering managerial insights for improving digital communication, enhancing visitor experiences, and managing online visitor engagement to support sustainable destination development.

Originality: lies in integrating social media, visitor experience, and electronic word of mouth (e-WOM) into a single framework to explain visit decisions in the context of a contemporary mosque as a religious tourism destination, which remains underexplored in previous tourism research.