Azizan Marzuki

Public participation shortcomings in tourism planning: the case of the Langkawi Islands, Malaysia

Public participation in decision-making processes is regarded as important for successful tourism planning. This paper presents the findings of a study examining the public participation approach to tourism planning in the Langkawi Islands, Malaysia. The study was conducted between 2004 and 2008 to assess public participation during the preparation of the Langkawi Structure Plan 1990–2005 and the Langkawi Local Plan 2001–2015. Interviews were conducted with local stakeholders in the tourism industry and analysed using a “framework technique”. The results indicate that there were limitations in public participation in the tourism planning process due to (1) inadequate information, (2) an ineffective approach, (3) residents’ attitudes and (4) exclusion from participation processes. Public participation also occurred only at an early stage due to structural and operational limitations in the planning process. This included weaknesses in the Town Planning Act (Act 172), as under the Malaysian Planning System, all participation processes for Structure Plans and Local Plans in the country need to follow the participation approach suggested by the Act. The paper suggests that improvements can be made in tourism public participation processes in the Langkawi Islands and in their relationships with the Malaysian Planning System.

Towards a Public Participation Framework in Tourism Planning

Public participation in planning is regarded as a good and progressive exercise because it offers the opportunity for the diverse interests of stakeholders to be incorporated, and it accords with peoples right to participate in decisions that affect their lives. Various models and typologies, such as those developed by Arnstein, Brager and Specht, and Pretty reflect similar basic characteristics. It is commonly agreed that a complete public participation process will not exist without the elements of information availability, consultation and empowerment. However, additional elements such as knowledge of the planning process, representativeness of participants, and a high degree of political sophistication also contribute to effective public participation. This paper reviews existing typologies of public participation and evaluates the public participation process for tourism planning in the Langkawi Islands, Malaysia, against them. The paper concludes by proposing an alternative public participation framework for tourism planning for Langkawi Islands.

Travel motivations and the influential factors: the case of Penang, Malaysia

Travel motivations have been one of the focal points of tourism research for several decades. This study aims to delineate travel motivation of international tourists to Penang, Malaysia. The results of factor analysis indicated that “novelty and knowledge seeking” and “cultural and historical attractions” were the most agreed upon push and pull travel domains for international tourists travelling to Penang.

An analysis of push and pull motivational factors of international tourists to Penang, Malaysia.

This study identifies the travel motivations of international tourists to Penang, Malaysia, using the theory of push and pull motivations as a conceptual framework. The methodology was comprised of quantitative research based on 400 self-completed questionnaires. A principal component factor analysis was used to identify the underlying dimensions of push and pull motivational items. The results revealed three push and three pull factor dimensions. Among the identified motivation factors, Novelty and Knowledge-Seeking and Cultural and Historical Attractions were regarded as the most important push and pull factors, respectively. Based on the study’s findings, practical implications for tourism marketers are suggested and future research recommendations are provided.

Impacts of tourism development.

INTRODUCTION Tourism is an important mechanism for economic development and the creation of employment opportunities in many countries. Many developing countries have also tried to exploit the tourism industry for economic stimulation by getting foreign investment, capital and surplus from currency exchange. In particular, government involvement in tourism development in Malaysia began in the 1970s following an economic downturn and the decline in popularity and demand for commodity products. Beginning with the establishment of the Tourism Development Corporation (TDC) in 1972, the first Tourism Master Plan was completed in 1975. The federal government also outlined several strategies for tourism planning and development in the national Five Year Plan by providing statistics and budget allocations for tourism development in every state in Malaysia.

How Visitor and Environmental Characteristics Influence Perceived Crowding

This paper aims to investigate tourists’ perceptions of crowding and factors influencing those perceptions. The effects of visitor socio-demographic characteristics, economic factors, and destination situational characteristics are investigated. Questionnaire data were collected from a sample of 362 tourists at Pantai Cenang Beach, Langkawi Island. The results confirmed the significant effect of visitor socio-demographic characteristics on perceived crowding. Among the economic factors, although the findings did not confirm an effect for level of income, the results showed a positive effect for spending money per day on perceived crowding. Furthermore, the hypothesized effect of situational characteristics on perceived crowding could not be verified. In light of the absence of studies investigating the factors influencing perceived crowding using partial least squares–structural equation modeling, this study contributes theoretically and methodologically to the perceived crowding literature. Moreover, the results can assist the local authorities to understand the perceptions of tourists for future development.

Factors affecting international students’ travel behavior:

This article attempted to find out important factors influencing international students’ travel behavior. A total of 409 international postgraduate students studying in five Malaysian research universities (Universiti Putra Malaysia, Universiti Malaya, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Universiti Sains Malaysia, and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia) participated in this quantitative study through a self-administered questionnaire. A structural equation modeling–partial least squares using Warp PLS 3.0 was applied to analyze data. The study revealed that a number of demographic characteristics including age, marital status, nationality, and source of finance significantly affect preferred travel activities and preferences. In addition, travel behavior (as a third-order factor) was also affected by age, marital status, nationality, and source of finance. The moderating effect of information source on relationship between nationality and travel behavior has also been identified, with its main function being adjusting the strengths of relationships between nationality and travel behavior.

What Women Want: Hotel Characteristics Preferences of Women Travellers

The tourism industry depends by and large on travellers and tourists. While it has become a practical precept that most travel decisions are made by males, women travellers of late, have become a very important consumer segment within the tourism industry. As recent as 2005, women travellers accounted for approximately 43% of the business travellers worldwide and are seen as a growing lucrative demographic by industry experts. Marketing experts opine that 85 % of all buying decisions are made by the fairer sex. In addition to this, the majority of corporate purchasing agents and managers are women. This translates to the fact that women make approximately 70% of travel decisions for the family as well as for other people, for instance employers or employees. With the inherent distinctiveness of the female psyche, there is bound to be a rather specific preference or inclination on accommodation characteristics that these women travellers would look for. Women travellers are perceived to be especially interested in security, cleanliness, communication facilities, style and ambience of space, smooth check-in/check-out procedures as well as in comfortable access and/or transfers.

Disputes on nature-based tourism development in northern Peninsular Malaysia.

Nature-based tourism is an increasingly significant economic resource for developing countries. However, in such countries the development and management of nature-based tourism destinations are bedeviled by structural and operational limitations in local planning processes. The Malaysian experience provides a salient case in point. This article outlines the problems and constraints facing local and national decision makers during the development and promotion of nature-based tourism in the State of Perlis. Three key governance issues constraining the effective development of natural tourism opportunities are discussed. These issues are identified as (1) weaknesses of government policies, (2) disorganized administration systems, and (3) limited operational budget. The article proposes that in order for the State of Perlis to pursue and develop a sustainable nature-based tourism industry these issues must be urgently addressed.

Community participation of cultural heritage tourism from innovation system perspective

Nowadays, tourism has become the second largest source of revenue after the manufacturing industry in Penang. In 2010, Penang received almost six million tourist arrivals. In Penang, cultural heritage is the most important tourism attraction especially after Georgetown, the state capital of Penang, was inscribed as a World Cultural Heritage site by UNESCO in 2008. However, cultural heritage tourism would not be able to achieve sustainable development unless local communities participate in the development process. As such, it has become increasingly important to drive local communities to participate positively in tourism activities under the rapid development of cultural heritage tourism in Penang. In constructing an appropriate community participation model of cultural heritage tourism from the perspective of the innovation system, this research initially reviews the previous studies on community participation in tourism and innovation system, and subsequently analyses the specific characteristics and current situation of cultural heritage tourism by using Penang as an example. Finally, based on the research findings and analysis of secondary data, this article constructs a community participation model of cultural heritage tourism from the perspective of the innovation system.