Week 2
HI. To connect and streamline my entire idea, I will be collecting and analyzing different research to build up my understanding towards my intentional direction.
The idea of "LOCAL NATURE" is too broad. I will first be identifying my project background to further proceed to the specific scope of my topic. This blog will be mainly focusing on my research findings and analysis.
I will first start by fleshing out my project details/intentions, then I will further discuss/analyze on my approach towards it
My project outline
*focusing on my main priorities towards this project
Project title
Embrace our ecosystem
Project background
Ecotourism is one of Malaysia’s profound tourism industry. The biodiversity in the ecosystem is one of the well-known essence of Malaysia, about 62% of our land are blessed with the abundance of greenery and species. Sadly, the local ecotourism spots are not getting the right amount of attention that they deserve from Malaysians.
This project is to gain appreciation from locals towards the local ecotourism spots in Malaysia. Thus, inspiring them to get closer to local nature through their own willingness to explore.
Problem
Many of the ecotourism spots in Malaysia are unknown to locals because of the minimal exposure of these places. According to research, Ecotourism in Malaysia is definitely more popular among foreign tourists. As Malaysians are still lacking environmental conscious.
Insight
Malaysians are unclear about the travel methods to these places because of the lack of exposure and promotion.
Idea
A platform for Malaysians to conveniently plan a trip to ecotourism spots in Malaysia. Through an inspiring, informative and adventurous experience, Malaysians will be one step closer to local nature.
Project goal and objectives
- To gain appreciation from locals toward Malaysia’s ecotourism spots
- Able to inspire and encourage more local tourists in exploring local nature
- Bring the community closer together towards local nature
Call-to-action
Explore Malaysia's ecotourism spots
My thoughts in structuring my project streamline:
Like I said, the topic "LOCAL NATURE" is too broad for me to settle on a clear direction. Instead of thinking about what "local nature" could represent, I started working out on my personal belief which is, Local nature are not getting enough appreciation from Malaysians. From here, I started asking myself, "What are the specific areas that I feel like is being underappreciated?". The first thing that came into my mind were the lush environments in Malaysia such as the national parks or nature reserves. Continuing from here, I started searching up national parks and nature reserves in Malaysia, while reading up some articles, I stumbled upon the term "ECOTOURISM".
The term "ECOTOURISM" immediately got imprinted in my mind. I went and did more research on ecotourism in general and the current situation of ecotourism in Malaysia. Interestingly, there were abundance of findings that caught my attention and made me want to explore more in this area. Without doubt, gaining appreciation from locals towards local nature has always been the main goal, however, after being introduce to the term "ECOTOURISM", my vision started expanding to not just appreciation of local nature but also to encourage locals to support and explore local nature.
Ecotourism
Definition
Ecotourism is catering for tourists wishing to experience the natural environment without damaging it or disturbing its habitats. It is a form of tourism involving responsible travel to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people - Wikipedia
Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of the local people, and involves interpretation and education - (TIES, 2015)
There are 2 definitions of ecotourism here from two different sources. Both of them conveys the same meaning which is a sustainable industry that invites tourists to experience natural environments/areas without affecting its natural habitats. It also allows tourists to contribute in maintaining the well-being of the local people through learning and understanding.
My thoughts:
I feel like ecotourism will be able to sustain my project direction as it represents what I have been trying to convey through the topic, "Local Nature". My initial idea is to gain appreciation towards local nature and bring locals closer to nature. Through ECOTOURISM, I would be able to bring out the essence of Malaysia's local nature and introduce people to a different Malaysia.
Importance of Ecotourism
I did some further research specifically on the ecotourism industry for me to have a clearer idea towards this industry. According to Brooking (2021), Ecotourism is not just about travelling to nature environments but also focuses on protecting the existing environment. Ecotourism could be a way to educate people on the natural environments, it could raise awareness and promote conservation efforts. It also helps Earth protects and preserves the fragile ecosystems living among us. Through ecotourism, tourist are also contributing to the local communities financially. Last but not least, ecotourism improves the quality of travelling by providing us an opportunity to enrich the experiences and understanding towards local culture. An opportunity for us to connect with nature in a respectful way.
The environment is where we all meet; where all have a mutual interest; it is the one thing all of us share. - Lady Bird Johnson
Aside from the benefits before, according to another article, Ecotourism in some way promotes economic stability for a country. Through ecotourism, we may have a chance to decrease our carbon footprints as most of the activities do not require heavy transportations. Species suffer less when ecotourism is highly promotes, as the species are able to live in their habitat naturally instead of being locked up in a cage.
Ecotourism revolves around a few important principles that increases sustainability.
- Minimize physical, social, behavioral, and psychological impacts.
- Build environmental and cultural awareness and respect.
- Provide positive experiences for both visitors and hosts.
- Provide direct financial benefits for conservation.
- Generate financial benefits for both local people and private industry.
- Deliver memorable interpretative experiences to visitors that help raise sensitivity to host countries’ political, environmental, and social climates.
- Design, construct and operate low-impact facilities.
- Recognize the rights and spiritual beliefs of the Indigenous People in your community and work in partnership with them to create empowerment.
*information provided by The International Ecotourism Society (TIES)
There are also different types of ecotourism, this industry is being branched out into specific sectors of their own. Types of Ecotourism are:-
- Eco-lodging
Choosing accommodations that are built with environmental awareness in mind. These can be anything from hostels and hotels built with sustainable materials or in natural settings, to “Eco-resorts,” which are built in remote places and offer ecotourism activities like bird watching, hiking, or kayaking.
- Agro-tourism
Visiting or volunteering on rural farm communities. Ecotourists can work with the communities to provide sustainable help or to learn about the sustainable farming methods of that specific region.
- Community Development
Volunteering opportunities that focus on off-setting the negative impacts of mass tourism and modernization. Ecotourists can plant trees, build houses, or learn local trades. They can volunteer in schools, museums, or research centers to further cultural awareness.
- Eco Tours
Taking part in excursions to exotic or endangered areas in order to increase awareness of the region and support conservation. Treks can include hiking, rafting, rock climbing, caving, swimming, sailing or bird watching.
*information provided by Wakeful Travel
Ecotourism in Malaysia
After having a general overview on the meaning of Ecotourism, I dug deeper into understanding the ecotourism industry in Malaysia. There were a few reports that I feel like it would really help me gain some insights towards Ecotourism in Malaysia.
WWF Malaysia estimates that Malaysia gains RM655 million per year from ecotourism. This figure is rather small compared to the estimated RM24 Billion tourism brings into the economy.
According to a report by Dr. Badaruddin Mohamed (2008), Malaysia consists of 54 protected areas with a total of 1,483 million hectares or 4.5% of the land in the country. This includes 28 district nature reserve, where 90,070 hectares are not opened to tourism activity. Because these statistics are from the year 2000, I am just roughly going through the figures for better understanding towards our country's condition in this industry. (Norizan, 2000)
According to studies, in year 1997, the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Tourism came up with The National Ecotourism Plan which consists of 25 guidelines that cover the aspects of:-
- Categorizing sites and activities
- Carrying capacity and limits of acceptable change
- Marine parks and island
- National parks and reserves
- Mangroves
- Use of local accommodation
- Accreditation of ecotourism products
- Visitors’ roles and responsibilities, etc.
And for the Ecotourism industry to succeed, there were few more ministries/departments involved. Departments such as, Wildlife and National Park Department, Forestry Department, Marine Department, Ministry of Agriculture.
In this report, it also mentions that Ecotourism in Malaysia is definitely more popular among foreign tourists. "Malaysians are more interested in the location, (scenic) views it offers, landscapes, closeness to water rather than on what the resort is doing to promote sustainability." Environment conscious is still lacking among Malaysians.
According to an update on the information and data regarding forested areas in Malaysia in 2011, about 62.3% or about 20,456,000 hectares of Malaysia is forested. And of this 18.7% (3,820,000) is classified as primary forest; the most biodiverse and carbon-dense form of forest. Malaysia have around 1,807,000 hectares of planted forest. Malaysia has around 1671 known species of amphibians, birds, mammals and reptiles according to World Conservation Monitoring Centre. 13.9% are endemic; exists in no other country, 9.3% are threatened. There are at least 15500 species of vascular plants, 23.2% are endemic. 4.1% of Malaysia is protected by the International Union for Conversation of Nature (IUNC).
Lucky enough, I manage to find the National Ecotourism Plan by the Ministry of Arts, Culture and Tourism. In the report, the guidelines for different environment areas are being categorized out. The ecotourism areas in Malaysia consists of:-
- Marine parks and islands
- National Parks, reserves and other forests
- Mangrove sites
- Recreational forest reserves
- Limestone hills and caves
- Rivers, waterfalls and lakes
- Beach sites
- Montane areas
Each of these areas have their very own guidelines that developers/host/tourists must obey to maintain and preserve the environment.
For additional research purpose, I search up for articles that are more recent to discuss about Ecotourism in Malaysia.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there is a continuous closure of international borders. Malaysia need to re-strategize its marketing strategy towards Ecotourism development. As Malaysia has a vast biodiversity, it brings hope in guiding the tourism sector forward. Through ecotourism, it enables tourists to experience and understand the nature and rich biodiversity of the region, it also generates socio-economic benefits for the remote and rural communities who are living close to natural surroundings. Government will have to strengthen ecotourism sites promotion and management. This in a way would protect the economic livelihoods of the ecotourism operators. Government is committed in providing job opportunities for the local and Orang Asli communities to be tour guides at all national parks under the Budget 2021. This would be able to educate visitors on the importance of the conversation of biodiversity and culture.
The National Ecotourism Plan 2016-2025 have proposed a few suggestions to the (MOTAC) to put them into action:-
Attracting ecotourism investors by promoting and emphasising the uniqueness, strengths and development opportunities of Malaysia’s ecotourism sites;
Introducing a protocol for ecotourism concessions that enhances the quality of the tourist experience in national parks besides ensuring sustainable financing;
Consolidating research through the re-establishment of educational research centres in selected national parks and urban ecotourism sites through partnerships with local universities and NGOs;
Repositioning marine protected areas in Malaysia as ecotourism destinations that champion the conservation and management of marine and terrestrial resources for the enjoyment of tourists responsibly while enhancing the well-being of the local community;
Encouraging variants of the homestay concept by guiding providers to offer a mix of ‘live in’ homestays, annex type homestay, kampungstay, farmstay etc. according to the needs of specific market segments;
Marketing and promoting activity driven, eco-adventure activities to the gen Y, youth associations, school and university groups and urban families; and
Identifying measures of ecotourism activity including data on visitors and visitor management issues in protected areas.
Malaysia tourists statistics
I dug up statistics on the arrivals of tourists categorized by their region. There were no specific data about tourists on ecotourism, so I analyze tourism in general. The arrivals of tourists are categorized accordingly which is an opportunity for me to analyzed on the tourist background in Malaysia.
These statistics does not include domestic tourists, and the most region we got are from Asia followed by Europe, Pacific, Americas and Africa.
In-within Asia, there are also different regions that shows different data. Southeast Asia has the most tourist arrivals, followed by Singapore, Northeast Asia, South Asia, West Asia and Central Asia.
Countries in Southeast Asia include:-
Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Brunei and Timor-Leste
Countries in Northeast Asia include:-
Russia, Mongolia, China, Korea and Japan
Countries in South Asia include:-
Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Maldives
Through these statistics, it is obvious that Malaysia attracts many foreign tourists from different regions. Unfortunately, I am unable to identify the specific tourism areas that they visited. Without doubt, tourism spots in Malaysia are very popular to foreign tourists, but I cannot identify the specific status for ecotourism. These research are mainly pointing towards foreign tourists, I am very interested in knowing more about local/domestic tourists. Fortunately, I was able to get hold of 2 surveys findings from Tourism Malaysia about Domestic Travel in Malaysia after (MCO). The purpose of these surveys are to assess Domestic Travelers on the following aspects:-
- Their willingness to travel for leisure post MCO
- Their travel preferences post MCO
- Their perception on leisure travel post MCO
(1) Domestic Travel in Malaysia after (MCO) - 7th to13th April 2020
Total respondents: 13,797
Respondent details:-
Additional information:-
From the 88.4% of respondents that prefer independent arrangement, 98.8% of them opt to purchase their holiday via Online Booking Sites, 21.1% prefer offline/walk-in, 0.8% others
From the 11.6% of respondents that prefer tour packages, 54.1% of them opt to purchase tour packages from Tour Agency and 34.3% from Online Tour Agency (OTA)
32.1% of respondents intent to travel domestically within 1 month after MCO
Respondents' perceptions:-
Covid-19 has changed their attitude towards traveling
Prefer traveling domestically
Low confidence in using land public transportation, airlines, homestays and AirBnB
Confident in using own transportation and hotels/resorts
Opt hygiene and safety as main priority
Prioritize pricing and product attractiveness
Avoid traveling at crowded areas
Avoid traveling for shopping and theme park activities
Questions that were asked:-
Do you prefer tour guide service while traveling in Malaysia?
- 38.1% "It is not necessary to have a tour guide"
- 37.0% "Have enough information about the destination/product"
- 20.1% "It will be an additional cost"
- 1.6% "I do not know how to acquire tour guide services"
These are the areas that would attract Malaysians to visit after the MCO is lifted.
The top 3 are:-
Island and beaches
Food haven
Value for money
In terms of Ecotourism, Cultural/festival diversity and Greenery, it is at the 5th, 6th and 8th place respectively. However, the contradictory part is that Island and beaches are part of ecotourism too. My assumption is that Malaysians have a different POV towards island and beaches. They do not just focus on the environment on the islands and beaches but also the luxury resorts, water sports/activities, relaxation.
(2) Domestic Travel in Malaysia after (RMCO) - 25th September to19th October 2020
Total respondents: 12,281
Respondents statistics:-
Respondents that prefer Independent travel and Tour package respectively (above)
The data collected relating to Malaysian's preferred accommodation proves my previous assumption on their POV towards islands and beaches. According to the data, Malaysians very much enjoy staying in resorts and beach hotels. It motivates them to visit local islands and beaches.
According to the more recent data collected regarding Malaysians preferred activities while traveling, the top 3 are:-
Sightseeing
Islands and beaches
Recreational
Areas related to Ecotourism such as Parks and gardens, Snorkeling and Cultural Events are at the 6th, 8th and 9th place. This survey creates more contradiction compared to the first one. Sightseeing can be involving variety of areas (city, small towns, heritage sites, seascape, forestscape, etc.). As for recreational, it basically covers abundance of activities that Malaysian enjoy doing (camping, fishing, photography, picnic, etc.).
My thoughts
After going through the tourists statistics in Malaysia, I have a few assumptions in mind:-
Malaysians enjoy domestic travel especially since the pandemic started. However, their preferred activities are leaning towards places that are more urbanized.
Malaysians do not mind exploring ecotourism spots. However, these specific spots are not being promoted enough in terms of the environment, uniqueness, cleanliness, etc.
Malaysians do not mind spending on domestic travel as long as they see the value of what they are spending on and it is worth it.
According to majority of the respondents, many of them enjoy travelling with family. Ecotourism might not be their preferred choice as they have less knowledge on how a family could fit in.
To justify my assumptions, I will need to do a survey research/interviews of my own on people around me and really analyzed their attitude towards ecotourism in Malaysia.
To avoid having too much information cramp up in one blog, I will be continuing my research findings on the next blog. To progress further, I will be analyzing the results on my personal survey research. Hopefully, it will guide me to understanding more on Malaysian's POV towards ecotourism. After that I will further analyze/research on ways to deliver this topic effectively.
That's all for now, stay tuned for further research findings/analysis/thoughts and more in the next blog.
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