Exploring the Linguistic Landscape of Kuching Waterfront to Enhance Arab Tourist Experience: Opportunities and Challenges

This study investigates the potential of Arabic as a tourism language in Kuching Waterfront, Sarawak, Malaysia. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the research examined the current linguistic landscape, including signage, advertisements, and tourist information materials. Findings revealed a sig...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mohd Azhar, Ali, Mohd Sham, Kamis, Roslan, Ali, Yahya, Bakeri, Sandra Ying Khoo, Ying
Format: Article
Language:en
Published: Knowledge Words Publications 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/47933/1/Ali%20et%20al.%20%282025%29.pdf
http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/47933/
https://kwpublications.com/journals/archive_detail/IJARBSS/306
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Summary:This study investigates the potential of Arabic as a tourism language in Kuching Waterfront, Sarawak, Malaysia. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the research examined the current linguistic landscape, including signage, advertisements, and tourist information materials. Findings revealed a significant lack of Arabic language presence, including limited Arabic�language information, insufficient Arabic-speaking staff, and an absence of dedicated Arabic�language tourism packages. A total of 149 valid responses were analysed and the results indicated that language visibility and language comprehensibility play a significant role on tourist satisfaction. This study emphasizes the need for strategic initiatives to integrate Arabic into the tourism sector, such as developing Arabic-language tourism packages, providing language training, raising community awareness, and enhancing the visibility of Arabic language in the tourism landscape. By addressing these issues, Kuching Waterfront can effectively attract Arabic-speaking tourists and enhance its competitiveness in the global tourism market.