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.
Highlights
The respondents and participants are purposely selected among the local communities who reside along Lower Kinabatangan and participating in tourism activity at the study area
The majority of respondents came from the Sungai people at 58 (58.6%), which reflect the overall composition of ethnicity in Lower Kinabatangan, followed by other ethnics
The findings revealed seven (7) key issues faced by the respondents in developing and implementing the responsible tourism (RT) or sustainable tourism development in Lower Kinabatangan
Summary
Ecotourism and its practices encourage and promote the conservation of natural and cultural heritage with ecological integrity through low-impact activities and consumption of local resources [1]. Like any other ecotourism destination, Lower Kinabatangan is confronted with a wide range of issues that affect the sustainability of the destination. The negative impacts of tourism on environment, social and economy factors as well as climate change are the universal issues affect the destination sustainability. The involvement of local communities at ecotourism development and activities and responsible tourism practices are seen as critical to mitigating these negative impacts. Tourism stakeholders are paying their attention to enhance destination sustainability through the concept of responsible tourism (RT).
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