Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
M. Hafiz, M.R. Jamaluddin, M.I. Zulkifly & N. Othman
Faculty of Hotel and Tourism, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam, Malaysia
ABSTRACT: Island tourism sector is regarded as an essential economic generator, creating employ-
ment, job and revenue. However, this conventional economic development mechanism affects the econ-
omy, socio-cultural and environment, especially in the aspect of quality of life negatively. Thus, responsible
tourism management strategy had been widely adapted to embrace the planning, management, product
development and marketing in order to churn out the positive impact towards the destination in terms
of economic, social, cultural, and environmental. The responsible tourism framework has been identified
as an ideal framework to sustain the development and minimize the constructive effects. This research
focused on developing the responsible tourism practices dimension by exploring the community perceives
value. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to the Pangkor Islands' local community using
quota sampling method. This study utilized quantitative approaches to analyze 214 local residents' feed-
back. Through a series of descriptive and factor analyses, various useful understandings on the issues of
interest revealed. The study results contribute to the existing literature and recommend future research to
explore the concept of responsible tourism, particularly in Malaysia.
Keywords
:
Responsible tourism; development, framework, local community, Pangkor Island
1 STUDY BACKGROUND
and coastal pollution. This comes through waste
waters released from human settlements and poor
waste disposal practices.
Pangkor Island is one of the island resorts that
require further research and exhaustive feasibility
studies due to the increasing number of popula-
tion. 1.7 million tourists have visited the Perak
State and total numbers of arrival to Pangkor
Island were more than 400,000 tourists in 2012
and this number is predicted to grow every year.
The increase in tourist visits was due to the ongo-
ing tourism development from 1995 until 2015
under Draf Pembangunan Pulau Pangkor (Majlis
Perbandaran Manjung, 2000). However, it has led
to some issues specifically in ecological, social-cul-
tural and economic such as natural degradation,
cleanliness, marine pollution, over coastal develop-
ment as well as improper waste management.
Toriman and Shukor (2007) stated that due
to the increasing population in Pangkor Island,
a feasibility study must be done to support the
island especially in the water conservation. Fur-
thermore, if coastal resources are to be used sus-
tainably, coastal residents are also responsible for
conserving natural resources and the environment.
Authorities should put the residents' quality of
life in the utmost matter where, if the quality of
life perceived is lesser, residents may be reluctant
to endorse tourism activities in their community
(Kim, 2002). In line with prior notion, it is clear
1.1
Introduction
Tourism products are extremely diverse, and they
contribute to the overall development towards the
potential range of business, cultural exchange, and
other earnings (Cottrell & Vaske, 2006). Despite,
tourism developments offer opposite effect towards
a destination. This implication may arise from the
visiting tourist behavior, improper planning, and
development by the government, which neglected
the importance of local residence viewpoint. There-
fore, it is due to the government role as the main
stakeholders in planning the tourism development,
boosting tourists' satisfaction and also promoting
the destination (Nunkoo & Gursoy, 2012). Fur-
thermore, it is essential for the individuals, particu-
larly residents, to incorporate in environmentally
responsible behavior as a step in preserving natural
resources and the environment.
According to Badaruddin (1996), Malaysia is
extremely delighted with the economic benefits
gained from nature tourism, but also cried for
the harmful effects left. This focused on uncon-
trolled visitation, overuse of beaches, degrading
the beach conditions and destroying the flora and
fauna (Priskin, 2003). Furthermore, Honey (1999)
argued that one of the consequences of such
tightly populated areas is human-induced marine
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