Abstract
Tourism on small tropical islands in the Global South is a balancing act between development to improve local livelihoods and the conservation of fragile coastal and coral ecosystems. The objective of our study is to develop a series of new spatial metrics to support sustainable development through assessing the direction and magnitude of tourism development support and conflict between groups. We surveyed 317 individuals out of an estimated total population of 3300 using public participation GIS (PPGIS) on Tioman Island, Malaysia. Here we present a first example of how nuances in conflict can be articulated spatially across different levels of attitude toward tourism development within and between different segments of the population. Our results suggest that treating a population as homogeneous risks missing place specific development conflicts between segments of the population and locations of agreement where development can be managed sustainably with the support of the community.
Highlights
Global tourism is a trillion-dollar industry, contributing to 10.4% of global GDP and 319 million jobs, or 10% of total global employment in 2018 (World Travel & Tourism Council, 2019)
The aim of this study is to present a method for surfacing the nuances in potential tourism development conflict by understanding the interrelationships between broad attitudes toward tourism development and place-specific attitudes within and between groups
Tioman Island has often been a focus for government tourism investment; though sometimes inappropriate and without consideration for potential environmental impacts
Summary
Global tourism is a trillion-dollar industry, contributing to 10.4% of global GDP and 319 million jobs, or 10% of total global employment in 2018 (World Travel & Tourism Council, 2019). Developing tourism in a way that does not harm natural ecosystems is possible given appropriate strategies (Chung, Dietz, & Liu, 2018), development often comes at a cost to the natural environment (Andereck, Valentine, Knopf, & Vogt, 2005; Azam, Mahmudul Alam, & Haroon Hafeez, 2018; Craig-Smith, Tapper, & Font, 2006; Hall, 2010). Previous work has documented the importance of integrating economic and environmental targets, using tourism to support alternative livelihood projects that reduce impacts on coral reefs and other marine resources (Darling et al, 2019; Kurniawan, Adrianto, Geo, & Budi, 2019; Lowe, Tejada, & Meekan, 2019; Runting et al, 2015). Sustainable tourism development in these regions depends on the application of novel methods for assessing the potential for development conflicts, and developing novel strategies for
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