Ecotourism in Malaysia

G. DEVELOPMENT OF ECOTOURISM IN MALAYSIA -Mohd Director, Nawayai Zoo Park Yasak Melaka Malaysia Department of Wildlife and study 1. Historical Background Until the 1970s, touristry was not regarded as an important economic activity in Malaysia. The touristry Development Corporation of Malaysia (TDC) was identify up in 1972, with the responsibility to act as a maturement authority, further the sector was addicted a low priority. Dut partly to limited financial allocations, TDC faced constraints in the effective performance of its catalytic role.As a result, Malaysia remained a relatively un cognise destination, while other countries in the region much(prenominal) asSingapore, Thailand and Indonesia built on their established reputations as mass touristry destinations. During the 1980s, tourism became an increasingly important patience worldwide. Investment in new facilities and capital equipment reached around $US 350 one thousand thousand per year, representing 7. 3 per cen t of sum total worldwide capital investments. Almost 6. 5 per cent of the worlds workforce were employed by the industry.Among the main reasons for this harvest were increased personal income and leisure time, improvement in intertheme transportation systems and greater public sensation of other parts of the world due to improved communications. These developments were felt by Malaysia as well as other countries. Recognizing that tourism can playa role in economic and social development, as well as in fostering national integration and unity, the Malaysian government undertook a series of positive initiatives to let the development of the tourism sector. These implyd the following (a)The government established the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (which became the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Tourism in 1990). This provided an institutional framework for the planning, coordination, and regulation of tourism, and for the first time tourism was accounted for within the framework of recognize economic activities By virtue of the Tourism Industry make for of 1992 and the Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board Act of 1992, the new Ministry of Culture, Arts and Tourism took over from TOC the function of formulation and implementation of policies, licensing and enforcement aspects of the tourism industry.TOC thereafter became k instantern as the Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board (or Tourism Malaysia for short), with a role concentrated on trade and promotion The Investment Incentives Act was revised in 1986 to overwhelm the tourism sector, thereby giving excess stimulus to tourism investment, such as the Pioneer Status Investment Tax Allowance, Industrial twist Allowances, and tax exemption for large foreign group tours In 1990, the federal government set up a Ringgit Malaysia (RM) 120 million special fund for tourism to stimulate its development, including small and medium surpass enterprise. b) (c) (d) During the Fourth and Fifth Malaysia ends (1981-1985 and 1 986-1990) significant attention was given to the tourism sector, with increased public allocations for trade and promotional activities, stem and product development. Expenditure was RM 125. 5 million under the Fourth Plan and RM 132. 1 million under Fifth Plan. The Fifth Plan period culminated in Visit Malaysia stratum 1990, which generated a laid-back international profile for Malaysia and attracted 7. 4 million tourists as well as revenues of RM 4. 5 billion.Under the one-sixth Malaysia Plan (1991-1995), the government therefore increased the public allocation for tourism development to RM 533. 9 million. This allocation has been used to provide and expand the physical and social infrastructure, facilities and services required to conduct the future fruit of the tourism sector. (See Table 1. ) Visitors hold in come to Malaysia for many years to see wildlife, scenery, forests and beaches. The crooks ar truly difficult to assess, except at a few sites such as Taman Negara and Kinabalu Park. on that point, the numbers keep climbed steady over the past 30 years.The well-known sites atomic number 18 mainly large with multiple attractions, exclusively they excessively include one or two places with a single major attraction, notably Rantan Abang in Terengganu with its turtles, or Rafflesia sites in Sabah. Some smaller sites have attracted fewer visitors, but are known internationally among a sector of the potential market. Examples include Frasers Hill and Kuala Selangor, both of which are of particular interest for birdwatchers and are now on the regular itineraries of some specialist and general tour companies. 84 1.Development allocation for tourism under the Fifth and Sixth Malaysia Plans (AM million. ) Fifth Plan (1986-1990) Sixth Plan (1991-1995) Allocation Preservation Beautification of national/historical and environmental heritage apology Tourist accommodation Cultural product development Facilities and infrastructure OtherTotal 1. 5 2. 0 2. 5 2. 5 79. 2 52. 8140. 5 0. 7 0. 0 2. 5 2. 5 76. 7 49. 7 132. 1 *$US = AM 2. 5 4. 1 171. 7 43. 6 112. 9 157. 4 7. 2 533. 9 The market in specialist adventure activities (four-wheel drive, microlight, whitewater rafting, etc. is much juvenile but is rapidly expanding. Most of these activities just now marginally qualify as ecotourism when practiced in parucularly studious ways, and some are harmful to the environment. They are indicative of the conflicts that can arise between adventure tourism, nature-based tourism and ecotourism, both in objectives and practice. Despite the fact that some tourists have pursued activities that could be defined as ecotourism for manyyears, attention to this market component from the tourism sector itself has been slight.Only a few tour operators have long and consistent records in ecotourism. Many others have sporadically explored this sector with varyingsuccess, low investment, and low expertise. mixed reasons could be cited for their lack of success. Among the tour operators leading groups to Taman Negara are several very(prenominal) big companies, but as this is only a tiny part of theirtotal business and income, client dissatisfaction may have little stoop upon the companies. Many ecotourism businesses remain small, or face difficulties in obtaining clientele and close down.The sitation for ecotourism in Malaysia is, therefore, very similar to the experience in many other countries. One difficulty in assessing progress in ecotourism is the shortage of reliable data. Tourist numbers as a whole are not leisurely to analyse and not much effort has yet been made to look at the ecotourism or nature-based tourism sector in particular. In 1994/95, for the first time Tourism Malaysia questionnaires included questions intimately whether tourist had visited Taman Negara, Bako field Park, Gunung Mulu National Park, the Niah Caves r Kinabalu Park. No statistics exist on how many visitors like to go fishing, mountain cli mb up or walking in the forest, nor are there detailed visitor profiles of different nationalities in congeneric to nature. Nevertheless, the number of tour operators interested in ecotourism or nature tourism and the number of individuals hoping to be ecotour or nature tour guides are increasing. Interest is also expressed through a number of store and seminars relating to ecotourism.Recent examples are the Institute for Development Studies (Sabah) Seminar on Nature Tourism as a peter for Development and Conservation (Sabah, Malaysia, March 1994), the seventh PATA Adventure Travel and Ecotourism Conference (Balikpapan, Indonesia, January 1995) the ESCAP Expert Group conflict on Ecotourism and Development in Asia and the Pacific (Bali, Indonesia, March 1995) and the PATA Heritage Conference on Tourism A Force for Conservation of Nature and Culture (Phuket, Thailand, September 1995). Two public exhibitions on nature-based and adventure tourism have been held in Kuala Lumpur.A pi lot dressing course for nature guides has been established, and the Malaysian Tourist Guides Council has place a tour guide refresher course with components on ecotourism and agrotourism. If as has been suggested, 7 per cent of get going worldwide is nature-related, then in 1994 Malaysia probably attracted 505,000 ecotourists from overseas. If, however, half of all non-ASEAN visitors to Sabah and Sarawak carry out some nature- or culture-related activity, there may have been as many as 571,000 ecotourist visiting Malaysia in 1994. Revenue would have been active RM 655 million.Current Situation The main thrust of governmental policy on tourism is contained in the Tourism Policy Study by Peat Marwick(1992), together with materials in the Sixth Malaysia Plan, Mid-Term Review and the forthcoming Seventh MalaysiaPlan. Sarawak has a Second State Tourism Master Plan (1993) and the Sabah State Tourism Master Plan was completed in early 1996. 85 2. Expenditure Allocation Programme Table There are about 2,000 registered tour and travel agencies in Malaysia, and it is estimated that about 800 take bookings for travel to nature-related destinations.However, many of these act only as intermediaries and pass on these bookings to a relatively small number of companies which deal with particular destinations. There are thought to be about 30 companies specialising in nature and ecotourism. There are about 3,500 registered tour guides, of whom the majority have full (general) guiding licences. A smaller number are change in specific skills. There is no detailed breakdown of the number of guides with guiding skills for each ecotourism activity, but a basic pool of resources is available in most fields.Some Malaysian specialist guides are of international repute. Participation by non-government organisations in ecotourism is limited but increasing. There are a number of state, regional and national trade organisations and tourist guides associations which are beginning to i nvestigate ecotourism and to provide training. So far, training courses have not been formalised. About 20 sites in peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak account for the vast majority of ecotourism by overseas tourists. The like sites are visited by many Malaysian tourists.Recreation by Malaysians in Peninsular Malaysia takes place in a network of Recreational (Amenity) Forests and a number of sites elsewhere in the forests. It is estimated that about 7 to 10 per cent of all overseas tourists are involved in ecotourism activities, while up to 14 per cent express an interest in walking, hiking and trekking. This amounts to about 512,000 to 1,024,000 overseas tourists per year. The number of Malaysians visiting the same sites is close to or exceeds the number of overseas tourists. The involvement of individuals from local communities is uneven.At some sites (for example, Kinabalu Park) local residents are closely involved in guiding, staffing and gaining financial benefits from the parks operation. Sites exist in which the local friendship forms a inactive component of the tourism product. Sites also exist in which the local community has, in effect, been excluded from tourism development, but these are none of ecotourism developments. Where local residents are involved in ecotourism, there tends to be a shortage of training and perplexity opportunities for them. National Ecotourism PolicyThe National Ecotourism Plan was developed to provide a more integrated approach to achieve specific national objectives, such as those contained in the Five Year Plans and other documents, within the field of ecotourism. It should contribute towards producing a more distinctive Malaysian tourism pic and identity and contribute towards direct involvement of local populations, enhanced training, interagency and inter-sectoral cooperationand, most importantly, fostering environmental protection and preservation. This plan is in the process of adoption by the federal governm ent.The National Ecotourism Plan will include the following elements of implementation (a) adopt and promote a clear definition of ecotourism (b) adopt and promote a clear policy on developing ecotourism (c) strengthen the Ecoand Agro-Tourism Implementation Committee (d) implement legal changes to support implementation of the Plan and (e) establish a monitoring and evaluation programme. The National Ecotourism Plan will include site planning and management. This includes actions to (a) (b) (c) Establish Establish planning procedures application for ecotourism developments development system of ecotourism areas areas rocedures management for ecotourism thunder and improve Elaborate Implement Establish Establish Establish of a nationwide (d) (e) (f) (9) (h) (i) development guidelines and management for ecotourism plans for ecotourism a series of pilot ecotourism additional ecotourism projects products at Taman Negara and other sites and promote a consistent marketing strategy and ec otourism. Identify and promote fiscal measures to encourage Actions to strengthen institutions and build capacity under the National Ecotourism Plan include (a) (b) Establish a Human Resources Development Plan Ensure local community participation in ecotourism 6 3. (c) (d) (e) (f) Investigate Establish the feasibility of an accreditation scheme for ecotourism and promote ecotourism product development for ecotourism guides and Establish training and promote certification Upgrade standards of tourist literature. REFERENCES Economic Planning Unit for the choice Minister of Malaysia. Sustainable Development, 1993. Ministry of Culture, Arts and Tourism of Malaysia. Ministry of Culture, Arts and Tourism of Malaysia. Malaysian Malaysian National ConselVation dodging Towards Tourism Policy Study 1991. Plan, Malaysia, 1996. National Ecotourism 87