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Local Community Participation Towards Malaysian Homestay Sustainability

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Asian Tourism Sustainability

Part of the book series: Perspectives on Asian Tourism ((PAT))

Abstract

Sustainable tourism has been part of the Malaysian tourism agenda for more than a decade and is evident in several of its tourism product since the first National Ecotourism Plan 1996. Sustainable tourism efforts are evident through green hotels, marine protected areas, forest reserves, homestays, and heritage preservation efforts. The purpose of this chapter is to provide evidence that sustainable tourism has been successfully implemented into the Malaysian tourism industry through Malaysian homestays. The underpinning theory is the concept of community-based tourism and sustainable tourism. The article will describe the success of The Miso Walai Homestay that has adopted the principles of community-based tourism. To justify Malaysian homestay sustainability, a homestay sustainability conceptual framework was tested using quantitative research methods. Surveys were collected from four main stakeholders directly involved namely, the homestay owner, government officials, tourists, and local residents. These stakeholders agree that the four dimensions of sustainable tourism have significant relationship with Malaysian homestay sustainability. Thus, Malaysian homestays are a successful community-based sustainable tourism product based on the successful adoption of the key features of community-based tourism and sustainable tourism.

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Selvaranee Balasingam, A. (2022). Local Community Participation Towards Malaysian Homestay Sustainability. In: Selvaranee Balasingam, A., Ma, Y. (eds) Asian Tourism Sustainability. Perspectives on Asian Tourism. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-5264-6_3

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