The role of tourism happiness and satisfaction on sustainability of East Java Halal tourism

Halal Tourism in East Java is attracting increasing attention as an integral part of the global tourism industry. This research aims to explore the impact of meaningful experiences, cultural elements, and quality expectations on customer happiness and satisfaction in sustainable religious destinations in East Java. The concept of meaningful experiences involves spiritual and emotional moments that create deep value and significance in travel. Cultural elements refer to the heritage, traditions, and religious values that enrich the experience of Muslim tourists. Meanwhile, quality expectations include aspects of services and facilities anticipated by tourists. The focus on sustainable religious destinations highlights the need to maintain cultural and religious values in tourism development. This research employs a quantitative approach, collecting data through a questionnaire distributed to 300 tourists who visited halal tourism destinations in East Java. The data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with Partial Least Squares (PLS) through the SmartPLS statistical tool. The findings reveal that meaningful experiences (β = 0.35, p < 0.001), cultural elements (β = 0.42, p < 0.001), and quality expectations (β = 0.31, p < 0.001) each have a significant positive influence on tourism happiness and satisfaction. Moreover, tourism happiness (β = 0.29, p < 0.001) and satisfaction (β = 0.34, p < 0.001) significantly contribute to the sustainability of halal tourism in East Java. This research contributes to understanding the factors that influence customer happiness and satisfaction in the context of Halal tourism in East Java. Combining these factors creates a holistic view that enriches tourism literature and Halal tourism studies.