REGULATORY REFORM FOR PROTECTING THE INTERESTS OF UMRAH PACKAGE TRAVELLERS IN MALAYSIA Norhasliza binti Ghapa Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Leeds Centre for Business Law and Practice School of Law November 2018 ii The candidate confirms that the work submitted is her own and that appropriate credit has been given where reference has been made to the work of others. This copy has been supplied on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. © 2018 The University of Leeds and Norhasliza binti Ghapa iii Acknowledgements In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. No person’s success comes without the help, support and wisdom of others. In this regard, I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to the following persons and institutions: To my esteemed supervisor, Dr Sarah Brown, for her trust in me, her excellent supervision, invaluable support and guidance over the last four years. To Dr Qi Zhou for his kind assistance throughout this research. To the Government of Malaysia and Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (Unisza) for the scholarship and study leave. To my best friends Nor Fadihlah, Zuraidah, Liza Isyqi and Nik Roselina, colleagues in Unisza, the Leeds’ Hotmamas and elsewhere for their support and encouragement. To my siblings, brothers and sisters in law Era, Norman, Nor, Ana, Alia, Die, Izat, Nadia, Nadya, Ateh, Achik, Adik Ika, Ekin and Shah for their constant support and prayers. To my parents in law, Haji Rasli and Hajjah Norimah for their support. To my beloved husband, Mohd Hairiezan bin Rasli; my children Tisya and Hariz for their love, forbearance and inspiration. Last but not least, to my father, Ghapa bin Ismail, and my mother, Nor’aini binti Hassan for everything. I dedicate this thesis to them. iv Abstract Umrah package travel has been recognized as one of the important contributors to the Malaysian tourism industry. Muslims in Malaysia travel by package to Mecca and Medina for their specific purpose: to perform a religious obligation (Umrah) for fulfilling the unity of soul, spirit and heart. Malaysian Umrah package travellers come from different social, economic, educational, geographical and age backgrounds. All those differences raise many issues and the very important issue within it is potential information vulnerability where it has an impact on the decision-making process. Due to that problem, they may suffer financial, emotional and spiritual loss when an inappropriate purchasing decision is made. Therefore, this research is aimed to provide the most appropriate mechanism for protecting Malaysian Umrah package travellers from any potential information vulnerability that might defeat their interests. This research investigates specific information vulnerabilities of Malaysian Umrah package travellers and specific need of information as to protect Umrah package travellers. It identifies the appropriateness of information regulation as an initial protective measure for Malaysian Umrah package travellers. It examines the policies and laws governing the protection of package travellers in the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK) to identify progressive ideas for Malaysia’s adoption. It scrutinizes the current Malaysian legal framework in relation to the protection of Umrah package travellers as consumers. It presents a specific model purposely to protect Malaysian Umrah package travellers. It is hoped that specific model of regulatory approach which requires the tour operators and travel agents to provide essential information in relation to Umrah package travel at the pre- contractual stage will be the most appropriate protection measure for Malaysian Umrah package travellers. v Table of Content Acknowledgements ................................................................................................. iii Abstract....................................................................................................................... iv Table of Content ........................................................................................................ v List of Cases .............................................................................................................. xi List of Legal Instruments ..................................................................................... xiii List of Tables ............................................................................................................xv List of Figures .........................................................................................................xvi Chapter 1 : Introduction........................................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Statement of Problem .............................................................................. 5 1.3 Objectives and Research Questions ..................................................... 7 1.4 Methodology .............................................................................................. 9 1.4.1 Doctrinal Research ....................................................................10 1.4.2 Qualitative Analysis ...................................................................11 1.4.3 Legal Transplant ........................................................................14 1.5 The Originality of the Research............................................................18 1.6 An Organisation of the Research .........................................................20 Chapter 2 : Tourism, Muslim Religious Tourism, Umrah Travellers and Umrah Package Travel ...........................................................................................24 2.1 Introduction ..............................................................................................24 2.2 Conceptual Definitions ...........................................................................25 2.2.1 Tourism and Travel ...................................................................26 2.2.2 Types of tourism ........................................................................31 2.2.3 The Concept of Package Travel..............................................34 2.3 Religious Tourism and Umrah ..............................................................43 2.3.1 Umrah: Muslim Religious Tourism ..........................................48 2.3.2 Umrah Travellers .......................................................................51 2.4 Umrah Package Travel Framework .....................................................54 2.4.1 Travel Agent ...............................................................................56 vi 2.4.2 Tour Operator.............................................................................58 2.4.3 Service Provider.........................................................................59 2.5 Malaysian Umrah Package Travel: Current Market and Problems 60 2.6 Specific Vulnerabilities of Malaysian Umrah Package Travellers ...67 2.7 Conclusion ...............................................................................................71 Chapter 3 : The Theory of Information Regulation ........................................74 3.1 Introduction ..............................................................................................74 3.2 Minimization Consumer Detriment Through Information .................75 3.2.1 Consumers: Who are they? .....................................................75 3.2.2 The Concept of Consumer Detriment ....................................77 3.3 The Necessity of Information In the Context of Umrah Package Travel ........................................................................................................80 3.3.1 General Concept of Information ..............................................81 3.3.2 The Significance of Information to the Umrah Package Travellers ....................................................................................83 3.3.3 Information and Consumer Behaviour ...................................85 3.3.4 Information Obstacles ...............................................................88 3.4 The Concept of Consumer Protection .................................................90 3.4.1 Intervention In the Context of Consumer Protection ............93 3.5 Theory of Regulation..............................................................................96 3.5.1 Interpretation of Regulation......................................................97 3.5.2 The Function of Regulation ................................................... 100 3.5.3 Criticisms of Regulation ......................................................... 102 3.5.4 Alternatives to Traditional Regulatory Approach ............... 103 3.6 Information Regulation: A Particular Form of Intervention for Consumer Protection .......................................................................... 107 3.6.1 Information Regulation: It’s Notion and Role In the Context of Consumer Protection ......................................................... 108 3.6.2 Information Provision: Specific Technique of Information Regulation................................................................................ 109 3.6.3 Costs and Benefits of Information Regulation ................... 112 3.7 Conclusion