Tourists and Waste Management: Attitude, Motivation and Volunteerism

Abstract

The Movement Control Order (MCO) is a security measure implemented globally to reduce the spread of Covid19. The implementation of MCO has been beneficial to the environment, particularly at various tourism destinations. However, since the lifting of MCO's, there have been numerous reports of littering by tourists. Therefore, the present study's main objective is to investigate tourists' attitudes towards proper solid waste management during visits to outdoor recreational areas in Malaysia. Furthermore, this study also investigates the motivation and volunteerism value amongst tourists. This study utilized an online questionnaire to gather the data from the 415 respondents participating in this study. Our study discovered that most local tourists were shown to have a positive attitude and motivation towards proper solid waste management. However, voluntary participation in proper solid waste management is still below the desirable level. The study revealed the current tourist attitude, motivation and volunteerism with regards to solid waste management in Malaysia. From the findings, the importance of the continuous public, government, and stakeholders efforts to raise awareness while maintaining a positive attitude and motivation is essential to boost volunteerism amongst tourists regarding waste management in Malaysia.