Comparing Food’s Tourism Hotspot Before and After MCO 3.0 Lifted via Data Mining in Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Movement Control Order (MCO) was implemented in Malaysia in phases from 2020 to 2021. MCO has had an impact on the tourism industry, particularly in the area of food tourism, where several eateries have temporarily or permanently closed. Several sectors were opened during CMCO (Conditional MCO), and people began looking for delicacies inside the same state, but it was difficult to find information, particularly the locations of the delicacies and the most recent status of these restaurants. In addition, people began to move across states after MCO 3.0 was entirely lifted in 2021, and hotspot locations for delicacy food were altered. Using social data mining techniques and the hashtags #maqanjohor, #visitjohor, #johorfoodie, and #johorfood on Instagram, this study aims to discover and compare the hotspot areas of food delicacies in the Johor Bahru area before and after MCO 3.0 lifted. According to the study's findings, there were slightly different hotspot regions in Johor Bahru before and after the lifting of MCO 3.0 via using different hashtag, with more individuals frequenting these locations prior to the lifting and fewer subsequently. These findings, which were based on people's information from social media, can be used by the tourism agencies or other parties to market the region.