{"title":"THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF ECOTOURISM IN TAMAN NEGARA PAHANG ON THE LOCAL COMMUNITY GROUPS WITH DIFFERENT ECONOMIC STATUSES","authors":"Sze-Siong Chew, Hong Ching Goh, Rosilawati Zainol","doi":"10.35631/jthem.833002","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Ecotourism conserves the natural environment and raises the community’s living standards. The socio-economic impacts, however, may vary due to different economic statuses among the local community groups. Hence this study examines the socio-economic impacts of ecotourism in Taman Negara Pahang on the locals and indigenous people with different incomes, education, and occupations. This qualitative research employed semi-structured interviews to understand better the socioeconomic benefits and challenges of tourism development in the national park. It was found that the locals were highly dependent on tourism economic activities, and their living standards improved. Nevertheless, most indigenous people still lived in poverty because they were incompetent with limited communication skills and hospitality knowledge. Besides, tourism seasonality has caused irregular business revenue, low return on investment, and underutilisation of facilities in the off-peak season. Conversely, the tourism operators and locals may gain maximum business revenue and additional income in the peak season. This paper draws the attention of government agencies and local community groups to the importance of educational attainment and appropriate capacity-building programs based on different needs to ensure an equitable distribution of ecotourism socio-economic benefits. Their involvement in such events may also help to overcome the challenges of tourism seasonality through proper planning and implementation in the national park.","PeriodicalId":235421,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Tourism, Hospitality and Environment Management","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2023-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Tourism, Hospitality and Environment Management","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.35631/jthem.833002","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"","JCRName":"","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Ecotourism conserves the natural environment and raises the community’s living standards. The socio-economic impacts, however, may vary due to different economic statuses among the local community groups. Hence this study examines the socio-economic impacts of ecotourism in Taman Negara Pahang on the locals and indigenous people with different incomes, education, and occupations. This qualitative research employed semi-structured interviews to understand better the socioeconomic benefits and challenges of tourism development in the national park. It was found that the locals were highly dependent on tourism economic activities, and their living standards improved. Nevertheless, most indigenous people still lived in poverty because they were incompetent with limited communication skills and hospitality knowledge. Besides, tourism seasonality has caused irregular business revenue, low return on investment, and underutilisation of facilities in the off-peak season. Conversely, the tourism operators and locals may gain maximum business revenue and additional income in the peak season. This paper draws the attention of government agencies and local community groups to the importance of educational attainment and appropriate capacity-building programs based on different needs to ensure an equitable distribution of ecotourism socio-economic benefits. Their involvement in such events may also help to overcome the challenges of tourism seasonality through proper planning and implementation in the national park.
生态旅游保护了自然环境,提高了社区的生活水平。然而,社会经济影响可能因当地社区群体的经济地位不同而有所不同。因此,本研究探讨了Taman Negara Pahang生态旅游对不同收入、教育和职业的当地人和土著居民的社会经济影响。本定性研究采用半结构化访谈,以更好地了解国家公园旅游发展的社会经济效益和挑战。研究发现,当地居民对旅游经济活动的依存度较高,生活水平有所提高。然而,大多数土著人民仍然生活在贫困之中,因为他们没有能力,沟通技巧和好客知识有限。此外,旅游的季节性也造成了淡季营业收入不规律、投资回报率低、设施利用率低等问题。相反,旅游经营者和当地人可能在旅游旺季获得最大的营业收入和额外收入。本文提请政府机构和当地社区团体注意教育程度和基于不同需求的适当能力建设计划的重要性,以确保生态旅游社会经济效益的公平分配。通过国家公园的适当规划和实施,他们参与这些活动也可能有助于克服旅游季节性的挑战。