Manohar Mariapan

Characteristics of Malaysian ecotourist segments in Kinabalu Park, Sabah.

This study segments Malaysian ecotourists based on their experiences related to primary ecotourism attributes. The study was conducted in the Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Borneo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which is also listed as one of the hotspots for biodiversity in the region. The respondents for this study comprised 403 Malaysian tourists. Discriminant analysis was able to differentiate the ecotourists into three segments: hard, structured and soft ecotourists. About 82% of the explained variance in discriminating the three segments was mostly contributed by variables measuring the ecotourists’ trip characteristics that included their expectations towards services and preferences for arranged travel. Meanwhile, about 60% of the Malaysian ecotourists were categorized as structured and soft ecotourists. This study was able to find common ecotourists’ traits within a different region that further reinforced the identification of the ecotourist segments along the hard–soft ecotourism spectrum.

Rural Students’ Attitudes Toward the Malayan Tapir

To design an effective environmental education program that is capable of changing attitudes, the target group’s salient beliefs toward the attitude object needs to be identified. This findings abstract identified rural secondary school students’ attitudes toward the Malayan tapir. Pictorial stimulations were used to qualitatively elicit students’ cognitive beliefs and emotions toward the Malayan tapir and its threats. Many beliefs were elicited but only some were selected based on Ajzen and Fishbein’s (1980) recommendations. This study was carried out in 2012, in Jerantut, Pahang, Malaysia. Eighty-one secondary school students were nominated by their teachers for focus group discussions. The results showed that most students had heard of “tapir” but some were more familiar with the local names—tenuk or cipan. Most students regarded the Malayan tapir as favorable because of its unique physical appearance, with specific reference to its body shape and size, body pattern and color, and proboscis. Students also shared their associations of the picture stimulations to the tapir’s natural habitat, its natural role and threats to its population. The students’ cognitive beliefs toward the Malayan tapir were shaped through visits to the National Zoo and Taman Negara National Park, and National Geographic documentaries, as students constantly cited these experiences. Emotions elicited were classified according to Parrot’s (2001) Primary Emotion Classification. Students had positive emotions toward the Malayan tapir. Strong emotions of love and desire for direct contact with the Malayan tapir were prominent. Some were saddened by the declining population and feared that it will go extinct. Several students were angry as the Malayan tapir’s physical characteristics are similar to the wild boar, a