IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/igg/jsesd0/v7y2016i4p47-58.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A Community-based Geotourism Entrepreneurship: A Case of Kilim Geopark, Malaysia

Author

Listed:
  • Mana Khoshkam

    (Management Department, Faculty of Tourism & Hospitality, West Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Iran)

  • Mastura Jaafar

    (School of Housing, Building and Planning, University of Science Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia)

Abstract

Geotourism is a growing industry in Malaysia. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation's (UNESCO) has included Langkawi's 99 islands in its global geopark network. One of the most popular geopark sites in Langkawi is Kilim Karst, originally developed as a fishing community under the management of the Kilim Community Cooperative Society (KCCS). Following Kilim's recognition as a geopark, the role of the KCCS has evolved to encompass the management of local geotourism activities, ensuring that the community's involvement is consistent with UNESCO's sustainable development benchmarks. This study discusses the role played by geoparks and geotourism in the cooperative community entrepreneurship of local populations. Using the interview method, the authors consider the role of community-based entrepreneurships in developing geotourism in Kilim. With the full cooperation of the local government, the KCCS helps to develop local entrepreneurs who lack fundamental business knowledge. The authors review the performance of the KCCS based on their 2011–2014 annual general meeting report. The results of this review, coupled with the growing number of tourists, reveal the success of the KCCS' commitment to supporting local entrepreneurship. The proceeds of these activities have subsequently been redirected to the diversification of the KCCS' business portfolio for the sustainability of the community.

Suggested Citation

  • Mana Khoshkam & Mastura Jaafar, 2016. "A Community-based Geotourism Entrepreneurship: A Case of Kilim Geopark, Malaysia," International Journal of Social Ecology and Sustainable Development (IJSESD), IGI Global, vol. 7(4), pages 47-58, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:igg:jsesd0:v:7:y:2016:i:4:p:47-58
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://services.igi-global.com/resolvedoi/resolve.aspx?doi=10.4018/IJSESD.2016100104
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:igg:jsesd0:v:7:y:2016:i:4:p:47-58. 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.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using 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: Journal Editor (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.igi-global.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.