LOCAL PERCEPTION AND INVOLVEMENT IN TOURISM - KEYS TO SUSTAINABLE TOURISM BADARUDDIN MOHAMED rbm f' G155 M2B132 1996 RIKKYO UNIVERSITY LOCAL PERCEPTION AND INVOLVEMENT IN TOURISM -KEYS TO SUSTAINABLE TOURISM A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL RELATIONS IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR' THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY BY BADARUDDIN MOHAMED TOKYO, JAPAN NOVEMBER 1996 To Julie, Hasif and Haziq CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES iv LIST OFTABLES v APPENDIX vii ABSTRACT viii Chapter 1 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Sustainable tourism scenario in Asia 2 1.3 The importance of local involvement 4 1.4 Tourism development -- public support and resentment 5 1.5 Local involvement in rural tourism 9 1.6 Public involvement -- why ignored? 10 1.7 Discussion 11 2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 2.1 Researching sustainable tourism 15 2.2 Research methodology and sampling method 16 2.3 Survey methodology 17 2.4 Survey limitation 19 2.5 Analylical procedures 20 3 TOURISM DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNITY --A CASE STUDY OF ECOTOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN MALAYSIA NATIONAL PARK 3.1 Introduction 2.1 3.2 Taman Negara 23 3.3 Visitors to the Taman Negara 26 3.4 Symbiotic relationship and local involvement 29 3.5 Social and. environmental challenges 31 3.6 Discussion 33 4 ATTITUDES TOWARDS TOURISM DEVELOPMENT-A CASE STUDY OF MALAY COMMUNITY 4.1 Introduction 37 4.2 Factors influencing attitudes and perceptions 38 4.3 Area study 41 4.4 Malays and tourism 43 4.5 Sample 46 4.6 Results 46 4.7 Discussion 54 5 RELIGIOSITY AND ITS INFLUENCE ON PERCEPTION OF IMPACTS 5.1 Perceptions of tourism 55 5.2 Perceived impacts of tourism 57 5.3 Methodological analysis 59 5.3. i Factor analysis 59 5.3.2 Analysis of variance 61 5.3.3 Duncan test 62 5.4 Discussion 66 11 6 TOURISM PLANNING IN RURAL MALAYSIA: AN APPLICATION OF AHP METHOD FOR EVALUATING TOURISM IMPACTS 6.1 Introduction 69 6.2 The Analytic hierarchy process 70 6.3 Judgement: Impact ranking (level 3) 73 6.4 The judgement: Perceptions of tourism impacts (Level 2) 74 6.5 Deriving of importance ranking 75 6.6 Discussion 76 7 CONCLUSION 78 WORK CITED 84 APPENDIX 89 III LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Malaysia National Park (raman Negara) 23' 2 Doxey's Index of Irritation 40 3 Study Area (Kuantan, Malaysia) 42 4 Ahp Decision Hierarchy of the Study 71 5 Accumulated Weight of Tourism Impacts 75 6 Higashi Izumo 90 IV LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Village Population and Survey Return Rates 18 2 Attitude of Rural Malaysia Residents towards Tourism 47 3 Benefits from Tourism Development (Chi-Square Analysis) 50 4 Supports for Further Tourism Development (Chi-Square Analysis) 51 5 Social, Economic and Environmental Impacts of Tourism (Chi-Square Analysis) 52 6 Development Control and The Roles of Government (Chi-Square Analysis) 53 7 Perceived Tourism Impacts by Kuantan Rural Residents 58 8 Factor Analysis: Perceived Impacts of Tourism (Kuantan) 60 9 Perceived Tourism Impact Variation by Selected Variables (Anova) 61 10 Duncan Test Result for Levels of Religiosity 63 11 Duncan Test Result for Age Levels 63 12 Duncan Test Result for Places of Residence (Village) 64 13 Duncan Test Result for Types of Occupation 64 14 The Adjusted AHP Scale 72 15 Pairwise Comparisons of Social Impacts 73 16 Pairwise Comparison Economic Impacts 74 17 Pairwise Comparison Environment 74 18 Impact Matrix 75 19 Key Demographic Characteristics of the Sample 94 20 Attitude of Higashi Izumo Residents towards Tourism Statements 95 21 Factor Loadings (Varimax Rotated Solution) 96 22 Cluster Analysis: Attitudes on Tourism Statements 98 23 Factor Loadings (Varimax Rotated Solution) of Impacts 104 v 24 Correlation Matrix: Support for Future Tourism Development vs Impacts 106 25 Summary of Stepwise Regression 107 26 Discriminant Analysis Summary after Step 7 112 27 Discriminant Function Loadings (Factor Structure Matrix) 112 28 Impact Means for Three Predictor Groups 113 29 Multivariate Results for the Three Group Discriminant Analysis 115 VI APPENDIX I Segmenting Local Attitude towards Tourism Development 89 II Factors Influencing the Support for Future Tourism Development 102, III Tourism Impacts - Determinant Attributes in Predicting Local Attitude towards Tourists 110 IV Preliminary questionnaire in Kuantan 118 V Survey Questionnaire in Kuantan 121 VI Survey Questionnaire in Higashi Izumo 126 .J Vll ABSTRACT One of the important pillars of sustainable tourism is a balance of relationships among its related parties -- tourists, government, tourist entrepreneurs, and local communities. Harmonic relationships can only be achieved if each of these components receives equal benefits and economic advantages from tourism. However, it is common to see that only certain segments, especially tourist entrepreneurs, receive tourism's economic benefits. To promote and to ensure sustainable tourism, local residents should be encouraged and allowed to be involved, not only in the business of tourism, but also in the planning and development stages of tourism in their areas .. The sustainability of tourism in a location depends a lot on the hospilitality of its residents and their attitudes toward tourism. This, on the other hand, depends on the residents' clear understanding and perceptions of the industry. These topics have been the mam focus of this dissertation. It especially concentrates on the social and cultural sustainability which means that the development should be compatible with the culture and values of people affected by it. This dissertation investigates the relationship between resident perceptions and their involvement in the tourism development. Chapter 1 discusses the background of sustainable tourism and explains the importance of public support and involvement in tourism and how the public can contribute to the sustainability of tourism. Many statistical tools were used in analyzing the data collected In two main surveys, which were the backbone of this dissertat~on. The survey methodology and the related statistical analyses are explained briefly in Chapter 2 while the details can be found in the following chapters. Chapter 3 focuses on the relationship between an ecotourist location and its surrounding community based on a site observation and interviews with staff in Malaysia National Park. The ways that residents' attitudes and perceptions influence tourism development is the main focus of Chapter 4 and Chapter 5, based on a survey of residents in five fishing communities on the east coast of the Malaysia V III Peninsula. Although the survey did not confirm that socioeconomic background exerted any influence on the local attitudes and perceptions, it did find out that the levels of education can influence the way locals perceived tourism. The surve~ also showed interactions between local residents and tourists did not necessarily exert any influence on the res·idents' attitudes. Furthermore, it was discovered that the level of religiosity can significantly affect perceptions. Even though the success of tourism depends on certain local issues, in general, the economic factor is the main determining factor. This was uncovered in two studies - the Kuantan study discussed in Chapters 4-6, and the study in Higashi Izumo of Shimane prefecture. In the latter, it was discovered that economic impacts brought supportive behaviors toward additional tourism development (see Appendix I). In Chapter 6, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), a method that can help assess the priorities of attributes, is examined. Despite the fact that the result from AHP analysis was not conclusive, it helped suggest the relative importance of impacts perceived by a community. As discussed In Appendix I, the Higashi Izumo sample is divided into pro­ development and conservative groups. Next, the focus of Appendix II was on the impacts that influenced the support for future tourism the most. This was accomplished using the multiple regression analysis. In Appendix III, the lzumo population was segmented into three clusters (welcomers, neutrals, and resenters) based on their responses in the survey. The main purpose of the analysis was to find the most discriminating attributes or impacts using the multiple discriminant analysis. Negative perceptions of tourism impacts can result in negative behavior towards tourism development. It is, therefore, important that we first identify impacts or factors associated with positive or negative behaviors. Even though adverse environmental and economic impacts can be equally disastrous to the local residents, many communities see social problems to be the most troublesome. This may be due to the fact that problems such as the spread of infectious diseases and the degradation of morality will affect the IX residents' lives directly. Other problems, such as environmental degradation, will take longer time to occur, and will affect a certain segment of the community or certain sections of the area. Sensitive issues, such as cultural matters, are also yiewed with importance. Analysis of the Higashi Izumo sample showed that potent1al social problems associated with tourism development were the main attributes that influenced a conservative stand towards tourism. As further described in Appendix III, those who did not welcome tourists feared that holidaymakers would affect local culture and traditions. Thus, identifying sensitive issues can be helpful in the planning of tourism, especially in sensitive areas (both environmentally and culturally). Recognizing certain groups with identical characteristics