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Word of mouth (WOM) is becoming recognized as an important form of promotion and an important source of information influencing consumer's attitudes and purchase behavior. WOM is especially important in the tourism industry, whose intangible products are difficult to evaluate prior to their consumption. The purpose of this paper is to survey the effect of WOM on tourists' decision for travelling to an Islamic destination.

Data were collected through a field research among 224 inbound tourists who have visited Isfahan as an Islamic destination, and the data were analyzed using regression and correlation. Additionally, analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applicable for the inference relationships between tourist characteristics and using WOM. The survey period was from June 2 to June 29, 2010.

Two findings have been concluded in this survey. First, WOM affects the decision of tourists for travelling to Isfahan. Second, nationality, gender, purpose of trip, and previous experience of travelling were associated with using WOM among prospective tourists.

Managers should develop complete understanding of WOM and try to stimulate WOM about destinations among tourists, because most tourists are influenced by information from informal sources.

The paper shows that customer‐oriented tourism programs improve the numbers of inbound tourists to a particular destination.

This chapter examines destination risk perceptions of domestic pilgrims in Mashhad, Iran. Self-reported questionnaires were distributed to visitors of Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad through a time-based systematic random sampling method. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used for data analysis. Results indicate that perceived risk was associated negatively with the quality of past visits, nonvictimization experience, and destination loyalty. Having past visit experiences did not moderate the strength of the model’s structural links except for the perceived risk to loyalty. The findings provide insights into distinct risk perceptions that can be leveraged by destination planners to tailor business strategies to meet quality expectations.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of the following factors: image, awareness, Shariah compliance and individualism, on the attitude and intention of customers to use Islamic banking among Bank customers in UAE, and the mediating role of attitude in that model, using a theoretical model based on the multi-attribute attitude model, the theory of reasoned actions and the theory of planned behaviour.

The research will focus on surveying bank customers living in UAE. The researcher will use structural equation modelling to analyse the data.

Results show that attitude and awareness affect intention directly, while image, awareness, Shariah compliance and individualism affect attitude directly and intention indirectly mediated by attitude.

The sample size includes 178 bank customers living in three cities in UAE, hence, the rest of the country is not included.

The research shows the importance of Shariah compliance, individualism and image on attitude and intention and provides suggestions for banks to benefit from these aspects to widen their customer base.

The study provides an insight into individuals’ decision making and the importance of a social approach by banks when advertising.

The research is the first empirical attempt to test new factors affecting attitude towards Islamic banking in UAE.