| Summary: | This paper aims to investigate tourists’ perceptions of crowding and factors influencing
those perceptions. The effects of visitor socio-demographic characteristics, economic
factors, and destination situational characteristics are investigated. Questionnaire data
were collected from a sample of 362 tourists at Pantai Cenang Beach, Langkawi Island.
The results confirmed the significant effect of visitor socio-demographic characteristics
on perceived crowding. Among the economic factors, although the findings did not
confirm an effect for level of income, the results showed a positive effect for spending
money per day on perceived crowding. Furthermore, the hypothesized effect of situational
characteristics on perceived crowding could not be verified. In light of the absence of
studies investigating the factors influencing perceived crowding using partial least
squares–structural equation modeling, this study contributes theoretically and methodologically
to the perceived crowding literature. Moreover, the results can assist the local authorities
to understand the perceptions of tourists for future development.
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