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The primary aim of this research is to investigate the application of open source geographic information system software, geographical resources analysis support system (GRASS) for landslide hazard assessment.

Five parameters affecting landslide occurrence derived from topographical, geological and land use maps of Cameron highland were used for the assessment.

The results showed that about 93 percent of the study area falls under zone II that is of low hazard, with less than 7 percent on zone III with moderate hazard and only less than 1 percent falls under zone IV, which is of high hazard.

The accuracy of the landslide hazard map needs to be assessed by cross‐correlation with landslide occurrence in the field.

The map produced showed the potential application of GRASS as a tool for producing landslide hazard assessment map.

The major outcome of this research is the possible use of open source GIS software in the application of landslide hazard assessment. The capability of GRASS in performing such environmental assessment will certainly attract many researchers and organizations with limited budgets, especially in developing countries such as Malaysia.

This study empirically assessed the determinants of halal tourism to Japan while focusing on Muslim-friendly facilities and Japanese cultural sites.

The study uses data from 2013 to 2018 and the Spatial Econometrics–Random Effect estimation technique, which allows for controlling for regional dependency. Furthermore, it extends the traditional Gunn and Tripartite Model which describes tourism attractiveness by considering the influence of historical sites on inbound tourism alongside regional gross domestic product (RGDP) and infrastructural availability.

The findings of the study reveal the existence of spatial autocorrelation among the prefectures in Japan in attracting tourists. The empirical results show that the availability of Mosques or prayer rooms positively influences Muslim tourists inflow in Japan. However, we find no significant impact of halal restaurants on tourism demand. Furthermore, our findings confirm the effectiveness of the components of the Tripartite and Urban Tourism Attractiveness models. Specifically, we find that historical sites and regional GDP significantly influence Muslim tourists visit to Japan.

Our study makes novel contributions to the literature on halal tourism. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to apply the spatial econometric technique to study the determinants of tourism demand. The application of spatial econometrics allows us to provide evidence of regional dependence in formulating policies that affect tourism. Secondly, we offer a unique augmentation of Gunn’s tripartite model by including the effect of Muslim-friendly facilities as determinants of tourism demand. Lastly, this is the first study to offer insight on halal tourism in Japan by studying all the Japanese prefectures at the macro-level. Previous studies only consider small samples of tourists in specific prefectures, raising concerns about their external validity.