Helping and Tolerance Behaviour Among Malaysian Residents in Rural Tourism: The Mediating Role of Resident-Tourist Interaction Quality

Year 2026, Issue: Advanced Online Publication

Hasnizam Shaari , Norzieiriani Ahmad , Shahrin Saad , Yaty Sulaiman , Selvan Perumal , Johan Afendi Ibrahim , Pensri Jaroenwanit , Muhammad Alif Aiman Azman

https://doi.org/10.30519/ahtr.1629677

https://izlik.org/JA59JF36JL

Abstract

Rural tourism is a key driver of social, economic, cultural, and environmental growth within the nation. This study examines residents’ attitudes toward rural tourism (economic, cultural, and social impacts) and how these attitudes influence supportive behaviours such as helping and tolerance. It also investigates the mediating role of resident-tourist interaction quality on the relationship between attitude toward rural tourism and supportive behaviours. This study employed a quantitative approach involving 380 residents from eight different rural areas in the northern and eastern regions of Malaysia. The findings revealed that cultural and social impacts are significantly related to helping behaviour, while only perceived social impact affects tolerance behaviour. Perceived social impact significantly influences the quality of interaction between residents and tourists. Further analysis also revealed that the quality of these interactions has a notable effect on helping behaviour. The mediation analysis revealed that the quality of resident-tourist interactions serves as a bridge between perceived social impact and helping behaviour. This study expands the knowledge on the multidimensionality of attitudes toward rural tourism by investigating both active resident engagement (helping) and passive resident engagement (tolerance). The study further concludes that residents' perceptions of rural tourism impacts are context-specific to the local area.

Keywords

Rural tourism , resident's supportive behaviour , tolerance behavior , interaction quality , post-pandemic tourism

Supporting Institution

Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia (FRGS/1/2020/SS01/UUM/02/32)

Project Number

This research was supported by the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) of Malaysia through Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS/1/2020/SS01/UUM/02/32) with SO code : 14880.

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