International Tourists Interest in Street Vendors Souvenirs: A Descriptive Study

Faculty of Business, Multimedia University, 75450 Melaka, Malaysia

Abstract

The aim of this study is to analyse international tourists’ interests on street vendors souvenirs sold in Melaka UNESCO sites. Their interests are then matched with the actual souvenirs sold by the vendors. Selling the wrong types of souvenirs creates a misfit between buyers and sellers and will neither benefit the tourists nor the vendors. The study was implemented in two phases. In the first phase, using judgmental sampling the survey questionnaires was distributed to international tourists walking around Christ Church and A Formosa. Of the 181 data collected, only 127 tourists expressed that they were interested in street vendors’ souvenirs. This cohort of tourists and their interests were analysed using SPSS. In the second phase, using structural observations, the researcher used smart phone digital camera to capture pictures of street vendor’s stores items. The photographs were uploaded in computer and the details of the items sold were zoomed in for analysis. The latter was then compared with international tourists’ interests. The findings indicated that only two categories of souvenirs fulfilled the tourists’ interests. This implies that the vendors have room for enhancement to include different categories of souvenirs to capture the tourists’ attention.