Tourism Development from the Perspectives of Sustainability in Melaka State

¹ Institute for Environment and Development (LESTARI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
² Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities (FSSK), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

Abstract

Tourism is an important development tool and it is considered the second largest contributor to the Malaysian economy. Even though the visitors are satisfied by the prevailing facilities, a few shortcomings need to be addressed on sustainable tourism such as the lack of knowledge on sustainable tourism in different sectors, and the neglected local communities in making decisions on sustainability. The aim of this study is to realize the relationship between three factors namely economy, environmental impacts of tourism, and community satisfaction and perceptions on tourism development in Melaka, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Malaysia. In order to observe this relationship, 735 tourists were interviewed to get the tourists’ responses. Here, the concepts on sustainable tourism development include the conservation of the environment, mitigation of pollution from tourism development, and support of local economies. Additionally, sustainable tourism is aimed at generating local employment for the community. Data from the interviews have been analysed using descriptive and simple statistical tools. It is found that the variables are suitable in this study due to the high Cronbach’s Alpha values. The study found that there are positive significant influences between the three dimensions and their perceptions on sustainability and tourism development.