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International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences

Open Access Journal

ISSN: 2222-6990

Online Information Search Behaviour During Pandemic Covid – 19 among Young Travellers in Malaysia

Maisarah Abd Hamid, Noralisa Ismail, Norazlina Rahmat, Wan Nazriah Wan Nawawi, Fauziah Deraman

http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v12-i4/12921

Open access

During the Coronavirus illness (COVID-19) epidemic, young generations became accustomed to searching for travel and tourism information on the internet. As a result of the pandemic's limits on movement, Internet usage has risen dramatically. The developments in online information search related to travel and tourism must be investigated in order to aid the tourist industry's sustainability. During the Movement Control Order (MCO) period, this study looked at how young Malaysians searched for travel and tourism-related information online. The descriptive study was used to evaluate four variables: prior travel experience, online information participation, content, and travelling needs. An online poll was used to gather information from Malaysians across the country's 14 states. The replies of 348 people were analysed to see how the younger generation in Malaysia uses the internet to find information. According to the findings, nearly 90% of those surveyed have travelled at least once. Trivago.com is the most popular travel site, and Facebook is the most popular social networking platform, according to the statistics. In terms of content, the majority of searches are for travel destinations, although the majority of travellers' needs are for domestic travel. The findings of this research can be used to design marketing tactics for tourism products as well as recovery measures for the travel and tourism industry. This research can also add to our understanding of Malaysia's information search systems. This will assist Malaysia's tourism industry in making more informed decisions.