Mondes du Tourisme 

8 | 2013
Varia

Sustainable Tourism in Malaysia

Policies and Practices

Pradeep Kumar Nair and Toney K. Thomas

Electronic version
URL: [Link]
DOI: 10.4000/tourisme.88
ISSN: 2492-7503

Publisher
Éditions touristiques européennes

Printed version
Date of publication: 1 December 2013
Number of pages: 60-69
ISSN: 2109-5671
 

Electronic reference
Pradeep Kumar Nair and Toney K. Thomas, « Sustainable Tourism in Malaysia », Mondes du Tourisme
[Online], 8 | 2013, Online since 01 June 2015, connection on 21 December 2020. URL : http://
[Link]/tourisme/88  ; DOI : [Link]

Mondes du tourisme est mis à disposition selon les termes de la licence Creative Commons Attribution
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PRADEEP KUMAR NAIR & TONEY K. THOMAS

Sustainable Tourism in Malaysia

Policies and Practices

PRADEEP KUMAR NAIR [pradeep.n@[Link]]

TONEY K. THOMAS [tonythomas@[Link]]
Taylor’s University, Malaisie

Abstract. The success of tourism has been conventionally measured by tourist arrivals and revenues, but today this is not
enough to maintain competitiveness. The current challenges of tourism development in developing countries are the tug-of-war
between tourism development plans for economic purposes and sustainable tourism plans. In most of the cases there are
reciprocal relationships between “tourism development” and “sustainability”. The context is significantly different from country
to country when the analysis is focused on economic development goals of tourism. The economic goal of the country, private
partnership, and local community involvement together with customer’s expectations make tourism a complicated area for
sustainable practices. This paper elucidates the performance of “doing tourism” in a sustainable manner complying with the
National Sustainable Tourism Policy of Malaysia. It is found Malaysia has a competitive sustainable tourism plan, which has a
strong linkage with the goals of public, private and NGOs’ goal on socio-economic development. However there is a significant
gap in incorporating policies on the macro level of the tourism system.

Résumé. On mesure généralement le succès du tourisme au flux des touristes et aux revenus qui en sont tirés, mais
ces critères ne suffisent plus aujourd’hui à garantir sa compétitivité. Dans les pays émergents, les enjeux actuels en
matière de développement touristique font l’objet d’une lutte acharnée entre plans de développement du tourisme
à des fins économiques et plans pour un tourisme durable. Dans la plupart des cas, il y a réciprocité entre
“développement du tourisme” et “durabilité”. Le contexte est tout à fait différent d’un pays à l’autre lorsque l’accent
est mis sur les objectifs de développement économique du tourisme. L’objectif du pays au plan économique,
l’engagement des partenaires privés et des communautés locales, ainsi que les attentes des consommateurs, tout
cela peut faire du tourisme un domaine peu propice à la mise en œuvre de pratiques durables. Cet article explicite
comment “faire du tourisme” d’une manière durable grâce à la politique nationale pour un tourisme durable en
Malaisie. À l’évidence, la Malaisie dispose dans ce domaine d’un plan de développement compétitif, alliant de façon
étroite les objectifs publics, privés et ceux des ONG en matière de développement socio-économique. Il reste
cependant une lacune importante à combler en ce qui concerne l’intégration des politiques dans les éléments
externes du système touristique, au niveau macro.

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Mowforth and Munt, 2003; Van Egmond,

T
he policy question often to protect that natural, built and
raised is: can tourism be 2007). But the practice of tourism cultural environment while being
economically viable for pri- as an extradisciplinary (Tribe, 1997) compatible with economic growth
vate companies and local commu- is less discussed in the successful (Edgell, Allen, Smith and Swanson, 2008).
nities, while also being sensitive to tourism management. The United Practicing sustainable tourism in
environmental, cultural and social Nations World Tourism Organi- developing countries is even more
needs? The short answer is “yes” zation (UNWTO) strongly advocates crucial, as shows Malaysia as an
(Edgell, Allen, Smith and Swanson, 2008). tourism as tool for alleviation of example of South East Asia countries
Mowforth and Munt (2003), Van poverty in poor countries. All over now opened to the Asian market.
Egmond (2007) refer to a highly Latin America, Africa and parts of Tourist flows to the regional coun-
polarized and simplified debate, Asia numerous tourism projects are tries are widely heterogeneous. Thus,
equating to “tourists = mass tourism initiated by local authorities, com- the potential tourism markets of the
= bad” and “travelers = appropriate munities or non-governmental orga- South East Asian countries are hete-
travelling = good”. Misconceptions nizations (NGOs) to contribute to rogeneous in nature. Managing tou-
are misleading the world’s largest local and regional economic deve- rism to the heterogeneous tourists
industry in terms of sustainable deve- lopment. Many projects, however, is extremely complex and practicing
lopment and management of tourist fail to reach economic goals. They sustainable tourism is further a com-
destinations. The power of tourism either have problems in attracting plex process. The problem here is
is a very large research area and the the required volume of visitors, so that the sustainable tourism products
legitimate utilization of “doing tou- as to pass the break-even point, or can be successfully sold to tourists
rism” has a power to change, reju- host the “wrong” (i.e. non lucrative who are not specifically seeking it.
venate or literally to define the and/or harmful) visitors. Most pro- Thus, sustainable development is
world’s sociocultural and economic jects are inward-oriented rather than not to be used in the tourist desti-
system. Sustainable tourism is an market-oriented. Here the issues nation but it is a process that should
interesting topic of discussion and associated with tourism development be used on the “tourism system” as
it is crucial to assess where the dis- are that sustainable development is a whole.
cussion of sustainable tourism has a global holistic approach for any
arrived at. tourist destination in the world. OBJECTIVES
Most of the studies illustrate the Many destinations lack knowledge AND METHODOLOGY
host-guest encounters or an index of potential markets. Understanding
model, simplifying the sustainable the “tourist” phenomena as well as The objectives of this study are :
development practices, limiting them- the ability to employ specific mar- – to analyze the tourism policy in
selves to give non-practicing mea- keting tools, are crucial success fac- terms of the existing need to imple-
sures a wide publicity with existing tors for tourism development and ment the development sectors of
scenario of environmental issues. for defining a more sustainable tou- tourism;
But relating tourism to holistic sus- rism. – to benchmark the major sustai-
tainable practices is rarely seen and Managing sustainable tourism nable tourism practicing plans with
there is an extreme research gap in depends on forward-looking policies major international sustainable tou-
the practice of sustainability in tou- and sound management philosophies rism policy guidelines;
rism and its allied sectors. Many that include a harmonious relation- – to identify the gaps of the existing
authors argue that tourism should ship among local communities, the sustainable tourism policy initiatives
be the subject of interdisciplinary, private sector and governments with the current scenario of tourism
multidisciplinary (Wang, 2000; regarding developmental practices development in Malaysia.

DÉCEMBRE 2013 • MONDES DU TOURISME N°8 61

PRADEEP KUMAR NAIR & TONEY K. THOMAS

The qualitative approach of this are unique in characteristics, and this characteristic itself is a major
study mainly deals with analysis of historical development of tourism threat for the sustainable develop-
the National Tourism Policy in in the country indicates it has attrac- ment and management of tourist
Malaysia, includes also the evalua- ted by wildlife, scenery, forests and destination in Malaysia. Sustainable
tion of the Ninth Ecotourism Plan beaches. The well-known sites are development has always been mea-
of Malaysia. Generic benchmarking mainly full of multiple attractions. sured in terms of the three indicators
of the strength and weakness of this Malaysia has diversified tourism of sustainable tourism, social, eco-
plan has also been discussed in com- resources, ranging from beaches, nomic and environmental dimen-
parison with local Agenda 21 gui- cities, culture, heritage, jungles, food, sions. Narrowing down these dimen-
delines of sustainable tourism deve- resorts, health, business and shop- sions we will see that many other
lopment in Malaysia, and with inter- ping. The location of Malaysia is factors are influencing the sustai-
national sustainable tourism plans another strategic advantage of the nable development of tourist desti-
and policies, such as UNWTO, future development of tourism. nations.
Global Observatory on Sustainable Located at the centre part of South The “12 sustainability aims” and
Tourism (GOST), United Nations East Asia, Malaysia has the follo- the policy instruments described in
Environnement Progamme (UNEP), wing strategic advantages: the UNWTO/UNEP guide: Making
and Pacific Asia Travel Association – Malaysia is price effective. In deve- Tourism More Sustainable. A Guide
(PATA). A comparative analysis of loping countries the middle class for Policy Makers have become
other national, local and NGOs people’s ambition is to have a foreign international references for initiatives
plans for sustainable development trip as tourists, and Malaysia offers at different levels. These aims are:
has also been done to arrive at a the best value of money for the 1. Economic visibility
specific conclusion on the effective- middle class tourists. 2. Local prosperity
ness of the Malaysian Sustainable – As a multicultural country, 3. Employment quality
Tourism Policy. Malaysia has sentimental visits: VFR 4. Social equity
(Visiting Friends and Relatives) from 5. Visitor fulfillment
TOURISM IN MALAYSIA the countries such as China and 6. Local control
India. 7. Community well-being
Tourism in Malaysia is compa- – Malaysia climate is de facto equa- 8. Cultural richness
ratively young. As a result, Malaysia torial, which allows for traveling 9. Physical integrity
remains a relatively unknown des- throughout the year. 10. Biological diversity
tination, and after 1980’s tourism – Malaysia’s variety of attractions 11. Resource efficiency
development, Malaysia recognizes and tourism resources can cater all 12. Environmental purity
that tourism can play a vital role in categories of tourists. As a comparison, Global
social and economic development, – Geographical proximity to the Sustainable Tourism Criteria (GSTC)
as well as in fostering national inte- new coming budget markets paves focus mainly on demonstrating that
gration and unity. Prior to the cam- the way for tourism boom in effective sustainable management
paign “Visit Malaysia Year 1990”,’ Malaysia. The role of budget carriers maximize social and economic bene-
Malaysia was frequently marketed to the exploring of markets boosts fits to the local community and mini-
as only an element of a wider “tou- the tourists’ arrivals from countries mize negative impacts, maximize
rist circuit”, including the neighbo- in Asian continent. benefits to cultural heritage and
ring countries of Thailand, Singapore Analyzing the above facts, minimize negative impacts as well
and Indonesia (King, 1993; Hamzah, Malaysia’s tourism market is very as maximize benefits to the envi-
2004). Malaysia’s tourism resources much diverse and heterogeneous; ronment and minimize negative

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impacts. The practicing areas of sus- Figure 1 • Structuring sustainable tourism policy
tainable tourism are more or less in the tourism system
similar from the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP)
or UNEP criteria. As regards the
environmental protection and tou- Micro Sustainable Tourism Macro

rism development, Malaysia has

adopted the PATA code for envi-
ronmentally responsible tourism
Policy Initiatives
within a legal and institutional fra-
mework.
Above indicators are not only
managed in the tourist destination
only, their performance is further Figure 2 • Tourism, a shared service industry
influenced by the nature of visit and
the type of tourists. Therefore, the
effectiveness of sustainability must Tourism Tourism
Tourism
be operated in micro and macro
levels. As shown in the representa- Forestry Hospitality Hospitality
tion of the tourism system (cf. figure
1), traveler-generating regions play Sustainable Tourism
an important role in defining the
best practice. Most of the sustainable
Tourism Tourism
destination management policies
limit the policy in the destination Transport
Support services
level. This can be one of the major
reasons for dropping the expected
level of benefits on practicing sus-
tainable tourism in many tourist tem, which is further affecting effec- in many countries national parks
destinations. tive implementation. A policy fra- and biosphere reserves are directly
Figure 1 shows the macro and mework only within the micro level under the control of wildlife autho-
micro level approach of sustainable at the tourist destination is half- rities or forest department. Their
development of tourist destinations. hearted and isolated. It offers less ultimate aim is not a monetary
Destinations micro level planning effectiveness in the overall practice benefit, but the conservation and
will internally strengthen the sta- of sustainability in the entire tou- preservation effort. The ownership
bility of destination development rism system. of resources is therefore a potential
and management. Most of the des- The ownership within tourism source of conflict within the total
tinations have an internal policy many times falls under different sustainable management of the tou-
and planning on sustainable tourism competences. For example a natio- rist destination. Many times there
development. Many times the effi- nal park has high value in the will be conflicts of interest in policy
ciency drops due to the lack of potential tourism market and the implementation or one policy does
control of the development autho- utilizing of the park’s resource could not comply with the policy of the
rity to the macro level tourism sys- trigger economic development. But other.

DÉCEMBRE 2013 • MONDES DU TOURISME N°8 63

PRADEEP KUMAR NAIR & TONEY K. THOMAS

On the macro level of the tourists, policy and legislation is in line with ronmental benefits it has to bring.
it is a different problem. The visitor’s the Agenda 21. There is evidence Although the Ministry of Culture,
attitude and perception varies highly that indicate that Agenda 21 have Arts and Tourism (MOCAT) acts
from one market to another. Like been adopted in the national master as a single coordinating body to
other products, tourism also becomes plan. To speed up the development spearhead the overall implementa-
more consumer centered, consumers of tourism industry, the Malaysian tion of the National Ecotourism
focus less on the sustainability aspects Tourism Policy was formulated in Plan, the Ministry recognizes the
because their visit is temporary and 1992. The policy had identified eco- imperative role of the private sector
highly influenced by the factors such tourism as one form of tourism to and specifies roles for all sectors of
as modernity, rationalization, alie- be expanded and sustained. It was federal, state and local authority,
nation, romanticism, etc. Destination followed by a more specific national private business, NGOs and other
policy and planning may not be the ecotourism plan three years later. players. Under the Ninth Malaysia
only solution for destinations sus- The National Ecotourism Master Plan a more integrated approach
tainability. This issue is illustrated Plan was drafted in 1995 and was to tourism planning and manage-
in figure 2. accepted by the government in ment is to be undertaken (Economic
The foremost issue in implemen- 1996. This plan was intended to Planning Unit, 2006) through preser-
ting the sustainable practices in tou- provide a general framework to ving as well as enhancing the exis-
rist destination/attraction is the assist the government in developing ting and natural and cultural assets.
ownership and power. Tourist the country’s ecotourism potential. In addition, the role of the State
attractions imply governance pro- Under the plan, the definition of Tourism Action Councils (STAC)
blems, and in several areas, tourism “ecotourism” follows that of the will be further expanded to include
authority has less control. Most of International Union for the regular monitoring and evaluating
the time the destination planning Conservation of Nature (IUCN). of project outcomes. At the local
and development is overshadowed Ecotourism is defined as “respon- level, local authorities and commu-
by objectives of the actual controlling sible travel and visitation to relati- nities are encouraged to have a more
authorities. From the figure 2 it is vely undisturbed natural areas in active role from the beginning of
clearly understandable that tourism order to enjoy and appreciate nature the projects so as to minimize envi-
itself is a shared service with other that conserves the environment and ronmental destruction. For busi-
resources and infrastructure for sustains the well-being of local nesses, such as hotels and resorts,
countries general development. people”. As a result, quite a number they “will need to incorporate,
of the tourism destinations in among others, water and energy
MALAYSIAN TOURISM POLICY Malaysia have been gazetted as ter- conservation as well as waste dis-
INITIATIVE AND SUSTAINABLE restrial or marine protected areas posal aspects in the implementation,
TOURISM DEVELOPMENT in various categories such as forest management and maintenance
reserves, wildlife reserves, sanctua- plans” (EPU, 2006). More emphasis
Malaysia is one of the twelve ries, wetlands and marine parks. In will be put on the preservation of
mega-diverse countries in the world order to ensure the success of the the natural attractions to enhance
that accepts the importance of ecotourism plans, joint efforts bet- ecotourism as well as preservation
preserving its social, environmental ween the various levels of govern- of the heritage tourism such as his-
and cultural wealth heritage ment, the private sector and the torical sites, buildings and artifacts
(Organization for Economic Coope- local communities were planned that are categorized under preser-
ration and Development, 2003). and carried out to maximize the vation of the natural attractions.
Malaysia’s sustainable tourism economic, sociocultural and envi- For instance, Taiping is promoted

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as the heritage city of Perak and is In view of the grave danger and pre- vel and tourism in the consecutive
listed as one of the ten tourism vious tragedies in highland areas, it years from 2004 onwards. Valuing
attractions. As argued by Siti- was vital the proposed development the importance of protecting and
Nabiha, Abdul Wahid, Amran, Che be relocated to a safer location” preserving the environment surroun-
Haat & Abustan (2008), the decla- (The Star, 2010). The issues of defo- ding KLIA, Malaysia Airports is
ration of Taiping as a heritage town restation and erosion or landslide committed to operate KLIA within
by the STAC is “insignificant unless were considered serious. These pro- and above the confines of the envi-
the state or municipal is serious at blems not only bring negative effects ronmental social sustainability policy
promoting it as such. The status but also threaten the tourism sector that conforms to the final and
given via ‘heritage’ should be res- in Cameron Highlands. In tourist highest level of the Green Globe cer-
pected and acted upon fittingly.” perception, conservation measures tification program. This policy was
In addition, more value added acti- are needed to protect the environ- designed by Malaysia Airports to
vities are incorporated in the agro- ment in Cameron Highlands (Boon, achieve compatibility between the
tourism and homestay programs 2007). economic considerations, the conser-
(EPU, 2006). Looking on the above case, the vation of the environment and the
development of tourism in Cameron protection of the social and cultural
MINI CASE 1: Highlands is a threat to the ecosys- heritage of Malaysia that can be
SUSTAINABLE CAMERON HIGHLANDS tem. The development is either not influenced by current and future
The Cameron Highlands will ideally planned or unable to practice activities of KLIA. As such the air-
always have environmental issues the sustainable development along port is attuned to: (i) an architectural
as long as there are “tidak apa” with tourism. The consequence is concept of a symbiosis of building
people in the government approving the gradual setback of tourism. and nature; (ii) eco-airport features
projects without a care, perhaps due Practice of sustainable tourism that seek to preserve and foster the
to the lack of transparency in the should not be after an issue, it must local ecosystem; and (iii) the com-
process of approving projects. The be an upbeat initiation before an mitment to co-exist harmoniously
Cameron Highlands is not be the issue. Most of the tourist destinations with the surrounding community.
only affected place, there are many activate sustainable tourism initia- Apart from the travel sectors there
examples of gross neglect in preser- tives “after” an issue. are nine hotel and resorts that suc-
ving the environment in every part cessfully achieved the Green Globe
of Malaysia. “The Kampung An analysis of local Agenda 21 certification upon their successful
Tersusun (Melayu) Anggerik project implications in Malaysia practice of sustainable management
in Cameron Highlands should be Air transport and hotels sectors of properties in Malaysia. They are:
cancelled to prevent tragedies related have control over the major initia- Crowne Plaza Mutiara, Kuala
to hill development. There should tives like environmental purity, Lumpur; Holiday Inn Glenmarie,
not be any form of physical deve- resource efficiency, cultural richness Kuala Lumpur; Holiday Inn Melaka;
lopment in this environmentally sen- and social equity. As part of the Holiday Inn Resort, Penang; Kuala
sitive area. “Hillside hazard” which humble initiative of Green Globe Lumpur Convention Centre; Kuala
said phase one of Kampung Benchmarking, Kuala Lumpur Lumpur International Airport
Tersusun (Melayu) project had International Airport (KLIA) has Hotels; Melia Kuala Lumpur; Club
encroached into “forbidden” zones. awarded the Green Globe certified Med Malaysia; eastern shore of
The proposed settlement scheme fell status a prestigious accolade that Malaysia. These service providers
on a hilly terrain within Mentigi recognizes KLIA’s operation policy in tourism have shown excellent
Forest Reserve and Gunung Jasar. and best practices in sustainable tra- operations in line with the

DÉCEMBRE 2013 • MONDES DU TOURISME N°8 65

PRADEEP KUMAR NAIR & TONEY K. THOMAS

Agenda 21 Green Globe practices. MINI CASE 3: generating opportunities, but which
Club Med’s efforts to preserve the PRACTICING COMMUNITY TOURISM also fosters a wider reinvigoration
environment extend to energy and INITIATIVES of the local economic and social life
water consumption. Energy is reco- Bario: Pro-poor community- of the community (Harris, 2009). This
vered to fuel boilers for hot water based approach. Practicing sustai- has a wider multiplier effect of sus-
channeled to guests’ rooms. nable tourism is now widely spread tainable practices and enrichment
to tourist attractions, especially the of sociocultural aspects together
MINI CASE 2: authentic nature and culture of com- with economic development.
PRACTICING SUSTAINABLE munities benefit from tourism deve- Homestay and community-based
TOURISM: CLUB MED THROUGH lopment. The study of community- tourism initiative of Sabah tourism:
GREEN SHADES based tourism concluded that few a success story. Homestay in Sabah
Club Med Cherating Beach has projects have generated sufficient is another valuable project with a
been committed to preserving the benefits either to provide incentives wider multiplier socio-economic
environmental, sociocultural well- for conservation –the objective of effect of tourism in eastern Malaysia.
being of its setting. The resort also ecotourism– or to contribute to local This initiative is a well-focused pro-
has an efficient watering system that poverty reduction (Goodwin, 2006; ject with a great symbiosis with tou-
uses water from a man-made lagoon Harris, 2009). Bario is an example of rism development and sustainability.
for watering plants. The lagoon is an isolated collection of settlements The strategically located homestays:
part of the resort’s natural waste- nestled in the Kelabit Highlands in Penangpang, Papar, Kota Belud,
water treatment system. The resort the north of Sarawak. Tourism in Kudat, Tambunan, Keningau,
has started nature conservation awa- Bario has grown from its accidental Kundasang, Tamparuli and
reness for young guests. This is a beginnings to being a mainstay of Sandakan, have developed with spe-
new nature-based concept, with a the local economy, embracing along cific tourism development objectives
focus on nature education and the the way many different forms, inclu- such as: (i) at tourist level, a unique
use of sustainable local materials for ding ecotourism, adventure tourism, opportunity to experience the
the refurbished clubhouse, use of cultural tourism, research tourism, authentic culture of Sabah, to expe-
passive solar design for natural light, and its latest manifestation, deve- rience astonishing things like ethnic
natural filtration fishponds and lopment conferencing. The growth food, real linkage of local people
energy-saving lighting. Club Med of tourism in Bario is closely inter- and their culture without a distance
also supports the Fisheries woven with other aspects of the (visitors are not guests but part of
Department, with part of the resort’s social and cultural development of home); and (ii) at community level,
proceeds going towards the depart- the community, which it has grown direct spending of money has higher
ment’s turtle sanctuary activities. alongside, and the story of the indus- level of direct, indirect and induced
Apart from committing to the Green try provides an insight into the pos- economic impact, opportunity for
Globe program, the resort also sup- sibilities for other communities community conservation initiatives,
ports the local community through wishing to take advantage of their and finally it is a responsible travel
its Corporate Social Responsibility natural assets towards locally driven initiative.
programs. The resort employs more development. Tourism in Bario The promotion of Malaysia with
than 100 locals in the area, and orga- depicts how a pro-poor community- the aspect of gastronomic tourism
nizes scheduled local cultural shows based approach to tourism can inte- by the Ministry of Tourism is ano-
at the resort as well as bringing guests grate with local development in a ther successful step towards the
to visit several places of interest mutually reinforcing process that social equity of tourism develop-
nearby. has delivered more than income- ment in Malaysia. In the context

66 MONDES DU TOURISME N°8 • DÉCEMBRE 2013

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of resource efficiency and environ- Figure 3 • National sustainable tourism policy in a nutshell
mental purity, Taman Negara
National Park is a good example.
Taman Negara National Park Sustainable Tourism
covers more than 400,000 hectares
International
of tropical rain forest and about Policies/Guidelines
five times the size of the state of
Perlis; it was gazetted in 1939 for Ministry
the conservation of indigenous of Tourism Local specific
fauna and flora and as well as for Legislation
the promotion of sustainable tou-

Destination
rism. Conservation of the biodi- Government
versity resources within the park Agency Government
is given priority through a zoning Agency
system prescribed by the manage-
ment plan. Wilderness conservation Private
constitutes more than 90% of the NGOs
park area while the rest is zoned
for recreation, research, education
and high utilization. The high uti-
lization zone, which is only about
National Tourism National sustainable Tourism
0.2% of the park, is dedicated to
entry points of the park where the
development of tourism related
infrastructure is permitted (The Star,
Macro level
2010).
Planning

A CRITICAL REVIEW OF
Generating Region
THE NATIONAL ECOTOURISM
POLICY WITH A GENERIC
BENCHMARKING OF PRACTICES
all forms of tourism should aim to Fishery departments, with collabo-
Malaysia’s current concept and be sustainable. This concept is then ration of private sector developers
devised strategies are internationally related to responsible tourism so as and NGOs. The national sustainable
defined sustainable tourism mana- to provide a more holistic approach tourism framework is illustrated in
gement plan; it has a broader defi- to the development of ecotourism, figure 3.
nition on what is to be done for as well as instilling a sense of res- From figure 3 it is revealed that
achieving sustainable tourism. All ponsibility. In Malaysia the deve- the national sustainable tourism
forms of tourism recommended lopment of ecotourism is the function policy is framed with expert consul-
under the National Ecotourism Plan of many government agencies inclu- tation of international, national and
aim to be sustainable tourism, but ding Malaysia Tourism Centre local governing authorities and that
the concept of sustainable tourism (MaTIC), the Department of Wildlife there is a horizontal linkage plan
is much wider than just ecotourism; and National Parks, Forestry, and involved to protect the interest of

DÉCEMBRE 2013 • MONDES DU TOURISME N°8 67

PRADEEP KUMAR NAIR & TONEY K. THOMAS

other major departments/agencies 3,287 operators. The Indigenous tourist-generating region. The defi-
of Malaysia. Malaysia’s sustainable Community Tourism Packages were nition of the practices regulates the-
tourism policy has well incorporated formed based on the ecotourism refore the distribution channel. The
within the UNWTO/UNEP guide: concept. In the first six months of question is to raise the tourists’ awa-
Making Tourism More Sustainable. the year, 3,446 packages were sold, reness of sustainability. Tourism in
A Guide for Policy Makers and the generating revenue of RM165,000. a mega-diverse country can therefore
Agenda 21 local plan specifically This mainly benefited the orang asli create the brand image as a successful
considering Malaysia as one of the community (Hong Peng, 2009). Apart sustainable tourist destination, which
12 mega-diverse countries in the from the sociocultural benefits from can further strengthen the overall
world that accepts the importance tourism, Malaysia has approved destination image. Yet, since tourism
of preserving its social, environmen- budget of the Ninth Malaysia Plan in Malaysia is relatively new, tre-
tal and cultural wealth heritage. The (2006-2010) with an approved bud- mendous increase of tourist arrival
role of the Malaysian government get of RM260.6 million for 73 pro- may make it difficult to practice sus-
in promoting sustainable tourism is jects. tainable tourism.
evident in the existing legal and ins- Malaysia’s outlook is very good: Malaysia’s tourism resources are
titutional framework. Agenda 21 the country has vast potential as sensitive, the abundance of natural
clearly binds local authorities and regards the ecotourism industry in wealth can be utilized as a prime
communities to take lead in the the Asia Pacific region. To further tourism spot. However, managing
implementation of the sustainable enhance the growth of ecotourism natural sites is more complicated as
development at a local level. As a industry there should be further col- it has direct adverse impact to the
local initiative, Khoo (2001) noted laborations between the private sec- ecosystem and integrity of attrac-
that Sustainable Penang Initiative tors and the public sectors in the tions. Malaysia’s current tourism
(SPI) was launched with the purpose countries concerned (Abdullah, 2006). market is more diverse and hetero-
of ensuring a more balance and holis- Therefore, sustainable tourism policy geneous, stemming from the variety
tic development in Penang with in Malaysia can be weighed as one of tourists. Therefore, it is difficult
consultative partnership with the of the strong implementation plan to control and manage the visitor’s
government, the business community that meets the needs of national practices for supporting sustainable
and civil society (Siti-Nabiha et al., development plan of Malaysia. But tourism in Malaysia.
2008). the major constraint on the practice
Tourism in Malaysia also provides of sustainable tourism in Malaysia CONCLUSION
a platform for realizing socio-eco- is due to the macro level gap. Malaysia’s sustainable tourism
nomic and distributive benefit poli- The major share of successful sus- plan is to comply with many inter-
cies. This programme involves the tainable tourism practices lies in the national sustainable tourism policies;
participation of the rural community macro level, i.e. the input from tra- it has covered the major aspect of
in providing experiential learning velers in the tourism generating coun- practicing sustainable tourism. It
activities such as rubber tapping, try in the tourism system. The tourist, would be a better plan in reality, if
traditional songs, dance and crafts as central actor of the tourism sys- the sustainable tourism strategy
as well as serving local dishes. tem, has direct influence in “doing could be integrated with other
Community-based tourism principles sustainable tourism”. The majority management functions and actions
are applied in the implementation of the policies however target the whose strategy should be imple-
of homestay and ecotourism pro- tourist destination region (micro mented. Tourism has many other
grams. Currently, there are 140 level), where sustainability has to micro sectors, for examples local
homestay programs, participated by be practiced by the tourists from the transport and car rentals. In a survey

68 MONDES DU TOURISME N°8 • DÉCEMBRE 2013

 RECHERCHE • VARIA

by The Expat, a Kuala Lumpur- the country's tourism industry”, the as the major destinations sustaina-
based magazine, taxis are rated “the survey found. (Y. Sulaiman, 2008). bility practices. There are excellent
worst [for] quality, courtesy, avai- From the above survey it is clear opportunities in extending the maxi-
lability and ride experiences” in a that the implementation part of sus- mum benefits to the major areas of
sampling of 200 foreigners from 30 tainable tourism has still to be achie- sustainability in Malaysia. However
countries. “The drivers are road ved. There are gaps, and micro sec- the practices of these opportunities
bullies and extortionists, a national tors sustainable tourism planning must be unified to all sectors of tou-
shame and pose a serious threat to must be given as equal importance rism. n

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