IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i23p13302-d692708.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Local Community Participation and Responsible Tourism Practices in Ecotourism Destination: A Case of Lower Kinabatangan, Sabah

Author

Listed:
  • Jennifer Kim Lian Chan

    (Borneo Tourism Research Centre, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu 88400, Malaysia)

  • Kamarul Mizal Marzuki

    (Faculty of Business, Economics and Accountancy, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu 88400, Malaysia)

  • Tini Maizura Mohtar

    (Faculty of Business, Economics and Accountancy, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu 88400, Malaysia)

Abstract

Recognizing the importance of local community participation in responsible tourism and its benefits, this case study explores and analyses the local community participation and responsible tourism practices at Lower Kinabatangan, Sabah, a premier ecotourism destination from the stakeholders’ perspectives. It also describes the perception and attitudes towards tourism development including the key issues and challenges faced by the local communities. The case study adopted multiple methods involving focus-group interviews and survey questionnaires with the respective local communities residing in Lower Kinabatangan. Findings reveal that local communities recognized that Lower Kinabatangan has great potential to be developed as a sustainable ecotourism destination and to generate economic benefit. Despite this, there is limited participation of local communities in ecotourism development and responsible tourism practices among the local communities. The socio-economic demographic of the local community shows that only 42.4% of respondents have work related to tourism activities. Lack of capital and knowledge in tourism activities are the key barriers for local participation in ecotourism development. For Lower Kinabatangan to be a sustainable ecotourism destination, the participation and engagement of the local community and the practices of responsible tourism can no longer be ignored.

Suggested Citation

  • Jennifer Kim Lian Chan & Kamarul Mizal Marzuki & Tini Maizura Mohtar, 2021. "Local Community Participation and Responsible Tourism Practices in Ecotourism Destination: A Case of Lower Kinabatangan, Sabah," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-18, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:23:p:13302-:d:692708
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/23/13302/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/23/13302/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Frey, Nicole & George, Richard, 2010. "Responsible tourism management: The missing link between business owners' attitudes and behaviour in the Cape Town tourism industry," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 31(5), pages 621-628.
    2. Chiu, Yen-Ting Helena & Lee, Wan-I. & Chen, Tsung-Hsiung, 2014. "Environmentally responsible behavior in ecotourism: Antecedents and implications," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 321-329.
    3. Lee, Tsung Hung, 2013. "Influence analysis of community resident support for sustainable tourism development," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 37-46.
    4. Sanjana Mondal & Kaushik Samaddar, 2021. "Responsible tourism towards sustainable development: literature review and research agenda," Asia Pacific Business Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(2), pages 229-266, March.
    5. Xue, Lan & Kerstetter, Deborah & Buzinde, Christine N., 2015. "Residents' experiences with tourism development and resettlement in Luoyang, China," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 444-453.
    6. Deery, Margaret & Jago, Leo & Fredline, Liz, 2012. "Rethinking social impacts of tourism research: A new research agenda," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 64-73.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ronnie Donaldson & Tina Odinakachi Iirmdu & Musfiqah Majiet & Pauline Van der Spuy, 2023. "Residents and Stakeholder Opinions on Township Tourism in Langa, Cape Town, South Africa," Geographies, MDPI, vol. 3(4), pages 1-15, November.
    2. Merith Ifeoma Anaba & Muhammad Mehedi Masud & Goh Hong Ching, 2024. "The role of social identity between community motivation and intention to participate in tourism development in Malaysia," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(9), pages 22929-22952, September.
    3. Mihai F. Băcilă & Raluca Ciornea & Luiza M. Souca & Alexandra M. Drule, 2022. "Content Analysis on Sustainability Dimensions in DMOs’ Social Media Videos Advertising the World’s Most Visited Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-25, September.
    4. Igor Trišić & Donatella Privitera & Snežana Štetić & Marko D. Petrović & Milan M. Radovanović & Marija Maksin & Dario Šimičević & Sara Stanić Jovanović & Dobrila Lukić, 2022. "Sustainable Tourism to the Part of Transboundary UNESCO Biosphere Reserve “Mura-Drava-Danube”. A Case of Serbia, Croatia and Hungary," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-13, May.
    5. Agus Purwoko & Dodik Ridho Nurrochmat & Meti Ekayani & Syamsu Rijal & Herlina Leontin Garura, 2022. "Examining the Economic Value of Tourism and Visitor Preferences: A Portrait of Sustainability Ecotourism in the Tangkahan Protection Area, Gunung Leuser National Park, North Sumatra, Indonesia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-14, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Suess, Courtney & Mody, Makarand, 2016. "Gaming can be sustainable too! Using Social Representation Theory to examine the moderating effects of tourism diversification on residents' tax paying behavior," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 20-39.
    2. Ana María Campón-Cerro & José Antonio Folgado-Fernández & José Manuel Hernández-Mogollón, 2017. "Rural Destination Development Based on Olive Oil Tourism: The Impact of Residents’ Community Attachment and Quality of Life on Their Support for Tourism Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-16, September.
    3. Bimonte, Salvatore & Faralla, Valeria, 2016. "Does residents' perceived life satisfaction vary with tourist season? A two-step survey in a Mediterranean destination," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 199-208.
    4. Carlos Sánchez‐Camacho & Rocío Carranza & David Martín‐Consuegra & Estrella Díaz, 2022. "Evolution, trends and future research lines in corporate social responsibility and tourism: A bibliometric analysis and science mapping," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(3), pages 462-476, June.
    5. Wells, Victoria K. & Manika, Danae & Gregory-Smith, Diana & Taheri, Babak & McCowlen, Clair, 2015. "Heritage tourism, CSR and the role of employee environmental behaviour," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 399-413.
    6. Eva María Sánchez-Teba & María Dolores Benítez-Márquez & Teresa Romero-Navas, 2019. "Residents’ Negative Perceptions towards Tourism, Loyalty and Happiness: The Case of Fuengirola, Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-19, December.
    7. Su, Lujun & Huang, Songshan (Sam) & Pearce, Joanna, 2018. "How does destination social responsibility contribute to environmentally responsible behaviour? A destination resident perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 179-189.
    8. María Ángeles Plaza-Mejía & Nuria Porras-Bueno & David Flores-Ruiz, 2020. "The Jungle of Support: What Do We Really Mean When We Say “Residents’ Support”?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-27, September.
    9. Irfan Ullah Munir & Shen Yue & Abdelmohsen A. Nassani & Muhammad Moinuddin Qazi Abro & Shabir Hyder & Khalid Zaman, 2021. "Structural changes, financial and business regulatory measures, energy and tourism demand: Evidence from group of seven countries," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(2), pages 2198-2218, April.
    10. Yuting An & Jang-Won Moon & William C. Norman, 2021. "Investigating Residents’ Attitudes towards Tourism Growth in Downtown Greenville, SC: The Effect of Demographic Variables," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-18, July.
    11. José María Martín Martín & Jose Manuel Guaita Martínez & José Antonio Salinas Fernández, 2018. "An Analysis of the Factors behind the Citizen’s Attitude of Rejection towards Tourism in a Context of Overtourism and Economic Dependence on This Activity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-18, August.
    12. Maria Francisca Blasco López & Nuria Recuero Virto & José Figueiredo, 2020. "Determinants of Residents’ Word-of-Mouth Behaviour and Support for Tourism," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-14, August.
    13. Samuel Bates, 2021. "A Glance at Tourism Economics over the last decade [Coup d'œil sur l'Économie du Tourisme de la dernière décennie]," Post-Print hal-03263048, HAL.
    14. Harshavardhan Reddy Kummitha & Naveen Kolloju & András Jancsik & Zsófia Csilla Szalók, 2021. "Can Tourism Social Entrepreneurship Organizations Contribute to the Development of Ecotourism and Local Communities: Understanding the Perception of Local Communities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-15, October.
    15. Yuling Zhang & Jie Zhang & Yuyao Ye & Qitao Wu & Lixia Jin & Hongou Zhang, 2016. "Residents’ Environmental Conservation Behaviors at Tourist Sites: Broadening the Norm Activation Framework by Adopting Environment Attachment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(6), pages 1-16, June.
    16. Chen, Fangying & Tian, Lichao, 2015. "Comparative study on residents' perceptions of follow-up impacts of the 2008 Olympics," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 263-281.
    17. Min-Seong Kim & Brijesh Thapa & Hany Kim, 2017. "International Tourists’ Perceived Sustainability of Jeju Island, South Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-13, December.
    18. Sajad Ebrahimi Meimand & Zainab Khalifah & Edmundas Kazimieras Zavadskas & Abbas Mardani & Amir Abbas Najafipour & Ungku Norulkamar Ungku Ahmad, 2017. "Residents’ Attitude toward Tourism Development: A Sociocultural Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(7), pages 1-29, July.
    19. Md. Sahabuddin & Qingmei Tan & Imran Hossain & Md. Shariful Alam & Md. Nekmahmud, 2021. "Tourist Environmentally Responsible Behavior and Satisfaction; Study on the World’s Longest Natural Sea Beach, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-19, August.
    20. Mastura JAAFAR & Safura ISMAIL & S. Mostafa RASOOLIMANESH, 2015. "pERCEIVED SOCIAL EFFECTS OF TOURISM DEVELOPMENT: A CASE STUDY OF KINABALU NATIONAL PARK," Theoretical and Empirical Researches in Urban Management, Research Centre in Public Administration and Public Services, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 10(2), pages 5-20, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:23:p:13302-:d:692708. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.