An expansion of the technology acceptance model applied to the halal tourism sector

Purpose The increasing number of tourists in the Muslim world every year has encouraged digital business developers and the Sharia banking industry to integrate halal product and service apps with the Sharia mobile banking system. The fourth wave of the industrial revolution has changed the consumer paradigm, creating a young generation that uses digital service transaction systems in their daily lives. This paper aims to investigate the factors that determine intention to use halal tourism apps amongst Muslim tourists to provide insights promoting the development of halal tourism in Indonesia. Design/methodology/approach The research was conducted using an online survey approach. The sample comprised 205 Muslim Millennial and Generation Z travellers. The data collected were analysed using partial least square structural equation modelling. There were three analysis stages: evaluation of the measurement model, assessment of the structural model and hypothesis testing. Findings The findings indicated that trust mediated the relationship between perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness on individual intentions and that halal knowledge positively and significantly impacted individual intentions. In contrast, religiosity was not a significant influence on individual intentions. Originality/value The paper expanded the technology acceptance model by incorporating the key constructs of halal knowledge, religiosity and trust into an integrated research framework; this represented a novel step, especially in the context of halal tourism. The finding that trust mediated the relationship between perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness fills a gap in previous research, which has rarely included the trust construct in technology acceptance models.