9. Exploring the Rationales of Souvenir Purchase Behaviour and Roles of Behavioural Belief and Perceived Authenticity Among International Tourists in Malaysia

Tourist attractions are associated with souvenirs; most tourists purchase souvenirs when travelling. In this study, we investigated the reasons for tourists purchasing souvenirs. In addition, we explored the factors that contribute to purchasing souvenirs. The two-way ANOVA results indicated that there was no significant difference in souvenir purchase between male and female tourists, and no difference was found between the tourists’ origins (North America, South Africa, Europe, or Asia-Pacific). The multiple regression results showed that purchasing souvenirs as gifts significantly contributed to purchase frequency, while purchasing souvenirs as evidence and memories were not significant predictors of purchase frequency. Further, we evaluated the roles of behavioural belief and tourists’ perceived authenticity about the souvenirs in the three purchasing behaviours: as gifts, evidence, and memories. Our findings extended knowledge of the importance of souvenirs for tourists, especially in Malaysia, and we concluded that tourists mostly purchase souvenirs for gifts compared to other purposes and that tourists’ behavioural beliefs are a more significant factor than the souvenirs’ perceived authenticity. The results of this research contribute to the development of the souvenir industry specifically and the tourism industry in general.