Success of Ecotourism Sites and Local Community Participation in Sabah (original) (raw)
Related papers
2011
This paper outlines the process of developing success indicators for local community participation in ecotourism ventures by using qualitative approach. Success indicators are also known as performance indicators, traditionally developed through the process of translating the mission, vision and goals all the way through the strategies, process, actions and targets. Mission, vision and goals that are philosophical such as ecotourism need to be translated into success indicators by using qualitative approach, as there are several stakeholders involved in this sector with different views of success for local community participation. The stakeholders that also made up as respondents to provide the holistic view of success where their perceptions of what constitute success were explored and the results were analysed using thematic clustering and triangulated with reviews to the same respondents to ensure the validity and reliability of the result. The paper also reviews the challenges in developing qualitative-based indicators where this research innovates a method of ranking the indicator based on selected variables i.e. stakeholders and site.
Success Indicator’s for Sabah Ecotourism Sites
BIMP-EAGA Journal for Sustainable Tourism Development
Sabah, one of the thirteen Malaysian states, is located in the northern part of Malaysian Borneo. It is a melting pot of many different cultures and traditions, being home to about 2.9 million people with more than 30 ethnic groups. It is also known as one of the twelve mega-diversity sites in the world with its rich living heritage, ethnic makes it ideal for the ecotourism industry. Sabah enjoys a steady flow of eco tourists from domestic and international markets with a gradual increase in the number of visitor arrival each year. Sabah‟s ecotourism is categorized by its natural attraction, wildlife, and wilderness habitats. This paper sets out to interpret and develop the indicators for success ecotourism sites in Sabah and measures its‟ development stage. The long-term viability of tourism can be assured only when the limitations and favorable opportunities of the overall environment for tourism development are understood and ways to measure changes induced by tourism are identif...
2006
The issues of ecotourism development in Malaysia, which could benefit the local communities in remote areas, were rarely mentioned in the federal government’s tourism policies. The issues that were mentioned are often limited to factors such as supplementing income in (eco)tourism activities which was regarded as a priority, but never beyond that. This was the dilemma in the early phase of the implementation in the 1990s of sustainable (eco)tourism development in Malaysia, particularly in the state of Sabah. This is a qualitative research approach or specifically case study approach based on the critical theory paradigm or perspectives. Two villages were observed in this research: namely Batu Puteh village and Sukau village. These villages are located in the floodplain of Lower Kinabatangan River. This area is an extremely important site for ecotourism in Sabah and/or Malaysia: especially through ecotourists activities such as river boating, jungle trekking and wildlife viewing. The...
Sustainability, 2021
Recognizing the importance of local community participation in responsible tourism and its benefits, this case study explores and analyses the local community participation and responsible tourism practices at Lower Kinabatangan, Sabah, a premier ecotourism destination from the stakeholders’ perspectives. It also describes the perception and attitudes towards tourism development including the key issues and challenges faced by the local communities. The case study adopted multiple methods involving focus-group interviews and survey questionnaires with the respective local communities residing in Lower Kinabatangan. Findings reveal that local communities recognized that Lower Kinabatangan has great potential to be developed as a sustainable ecotourism destination and to generate economic benefit. Despite this, there is limited participation of local communities in ecotourism development and responsible tourism practices among the local communities. The socio-economic demographic of t...
This paper outlines the process of developing success indicators for local community participation in ecotourism ventures by using qualitative approach. Success indicators are also known as performance indicators, traditionally developed through the process of translating the mission, vision and goals all the way through the strategies, process, actions and targets. Mission, vision and goals that are philosophical such as ecotourism need to be translated into success indicators by using qualitative approach, as there are several stakeholders involved in this sector with different views of success for local community participation. The stakeholders that also made up as respondents to provide the holistic view of success where their perceptions of what constitute success were explored and the results were analysed using thematic clustering and triangulated with reviews to the same respondents to ensure the validity and reliability of the result. The paper also reviews the challenges in developing qualitative-based indicators where this research innovates a method of ranking the indicator based on selected variables i.e. stakeholders and site.
DEVELOPING SUCCESS INDICATORS FOR ECOTOURSIM INNOVATIVE METHOD THROUGH QUALITATIVE APPROACH
Ecotourism is and will be the significant tourism product of Sabah, Malaysian Borneo for the next decade. Sabah, otherwise known as North Borneo, a part of the Federation of Malaysia, are blessed with nature that has high biodiversity with more than 30 distinctive native cultures that made the state colourful and attractive. The ecotourism segment has been growing since the 1990s and this was indicated with the inception of the National Ecotourism Master Plan in 1997 where Sabah published a specific guideline for the state based on the master plan shortly after that. Sabah has positioned itself very strongly in the ecotourism segment with the image of nature and culture with iconic flora, fauna and community such as the Rafflesia flower, Proboscis Monkey and Rungus tribe. Stakeholders in this industry constantly need to evaluate and re-evaluate their ventures in ecotourism and ensure the investment that they made gives the desired outcomes and deemed successful. However, with the complexity of the stakeholders' characteristics, the success context usually varied. This paper explores the research that sets out to interpret and develop indicators for ecotourism sites in Sabah with qualitative approach. The stakeholders consist of four groups, which are the ecotourism advocates, the private sectors, the tourist and the local community. These four groups are selected as ecotourism defines them as the stakeholders in its definition where it focuses on enjoyment of the tourist, safe-guarding the welfare of the local people and promote conservation. While many indicators are developed through quantitative method, this research innovate ways to establish success indicators using the stakeholders perceptions with qualitative approach. The research also reviews and outlines the approach to the challenges in developing indicators through qualitative approach where indicators are output-based and essentially required to establish measurement or parameters of the indicators, which should make it more quantifiable and more meaningful.
The Identification of Criteria for Ecotourism Practice in Peninsular Malaysia
Journal of Hotel and Business Management
Ecotourism is defined as a sustainable tourism which it is promoted the responsible travel specifically on natural areas to enjoy while appreciates the nature. The richness of natural areas in Malaysia makes ecotourism become one of the essential industries rapidly growing in this country. The purpose of ecotourism is not only focusing on the conservation of natural area but also considered the importance of the economy and society of local people. Ecotourism practice plays a crucial role in sustaining nature area for its intended function. Therefore, there is a need to fully understand the ecotourism practice to plan, develop and manage resources sustainably and appropriately to avoid adverse impact on the environment. The objective of this study is to identify the criteria that essential to be practiced by the ecotourism agencies in Peninsular Malaysia. The result shows whether the ecotourism agencies comply with the criteria. This research had been conducted through questionnaires survey distributed to 204 respondents which are the ecotourism agencies that provide ecotourism travel in their services. It is believed that this research can directly help to identify sustainability criteria in evaluating sustainable ecotourism. It is also an attempt to develop a standard evaluation of ecotourism from the theoretical concept of sustainable development.
2014
Many Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) have been participating in ecotourism development with their own agenda, especially where tourism is linked with local communities and the environment. Community-Based Ecotourism (CBET) considers not only environmental but also economic and social goals. This study assumes that NGOs focus more on environmental conservation rather than other aspects of CBET while implementing CBET projects for rural communities. To this end, the aim of the study is to assess the success and shortcomings of NGOs in executing CBET projects by performing an inclusive research on the performance of the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) as the main NGO implemented the CBET project for Orang Asli community at Ulu Geroh village using the triangulation method. Considering all aspects of CBET is the best way to distinguish and implement it; therefore, it is essential to recognize the indicators forming CBET. Regarding literature review, 63 tentative CBET indicators unde...
2019
This study aimed to analyze the orientation of the stakeholders in the development of ecotourism in Siberut National Park. The framework of the approach used in this research was phenomenology, which was then enriched with the data collection techniques of study documentation, observation and qlose ended questionnaire. The analytical method utilized was One Score One Indicator, which was an analysis model that was used through developing elaboration of questionnaires in collecting data and evaluating various variables that had been determined by researchers. The results of the study revealed that various actors (communities, govenrment and tourists) stated high scores or were meaningful both for the development of ecotourism in Siberut National Park area. Data on perception, motivation, and ecotourism reference showed high scores on the distribution of economic, ecological and socio-cultural benefits. The high economic orientation of the community and government was an important det...
Exploring potential ecotourism products in Sabah, Malaysia
2020
In line with the vision of sustainable development goals, ecotourism may be regarded as a tool for human awareness to protect the natural environment and local community development. Since ecotourism relies on natural resources and setting in rural areas, community participation is considered as a viable method to achieve sustainable ecotourism development as well as to enhance local community sustainable livelihoods. This study aims to investigate the potential of ecotourism products in the Ramsar site of the lower Kinabatangan area of Sabah, East Malaysia, as a sustainable livelihood activity for the villagers. The fieldwork was conducted between September to November 2014. This study used multiple data collection methods such as indepth and focus group interviews, household survey through questionnaire, and field observation in order to support the research findings. There are many potential ecotourism products based on the natural environment that could be developed in the Ramsa...