Shida Irwana Omar

The tourism life cycle: an overview of Langkawi Island, Malaysia

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the tourism life cycle of Langkawi Island, Malaysia. The paper seeks to investigate the stages of life cycle that the island has passed through and at what stage the island is in today. Design/methodology/approach – The paper adopts Butler’s Tourism Area Life Cycle model as the research framework to describe the characteristics of each stage of the island’s tourism life cycle and determine the time scale of the stages. The evidence presented in the stages is derived from secondary sources dating from 1642 to present. Findings – The findings indicate that the tourism life cycle in Langkawi Island has undergone four stages of development and that it is currently in the consolidation stage. Numerous characteristics suggested by Butler’s model for each stage are clearly discernible in the island’s tourism growth. The government serves as the major player and catalyst for tourism expansion in the island from one stage to the next. Practical implications – It is...

Expectations and experiences gap for Penang Island tourists: an application of the HOLSAT model

This study adapted the holiday satisfaction model to assess the satisfaction level of tourists in Penang Island, Malaysia, with regards to 20 holiday attributes, by measuring the gap between experiences and expectations of the same attributes. The attributes were categorised into four groups, namely accessibility, accommodation, tourist amenities, and food/meals. The results were drawn from a questionnaire survey of 4,170 tourists who visited Penang Island in 2014. The data were analysed quantitatively using matrices. The mean score of expectations was then plotted onto a two-dimensional axis against the mean score of experiences. The significance of the results was determined using the paired t-test at a scale of 1:1000. The patterns of tourist satisfaction and dissatisfaction were detected and findings provided important insights for tourism stakeholders to take measures to provide better services and facilities to improve the experience of tourists visiting the island.

Coastal Resort Life Cycle: An Overview of Tioman Island, Malaysia

Abstract The increasing demand of holidaymakers for vacations in Malaysian Island destinations has resulted in a rapid increase in the number of coastal resorts. To explain the growth of coastal resorts, the approach of the life cycle model by Butler [(1980). The concept of a tourist area life cycle of evolution: Implications for management of resources. The Canadian Geographer, 24(1), 5–12] is adopted. This paper describes the life cycle of coastal resorts in Tioman Island by providing the evidences of historical and fieldwork data from the start of the 1890s up to the present. The findings demonstrate that tourism has resulted in substantial changes in the islands coastal resorts. The resorts in the island have passed through subsequently four stages of development as suggested in Butlers model and are currently in the consolidation stage. In each of the stage, the changes in resort morphology and types of tourist visitation are evident. Government and private incentives are the two main factors that stimulate the transformation of the resorts from one stage to the next.