TOURISM DEVELOPMENT Ilt' MALAYSIA The Role of Domestic Tourism in National Integration FOONG-PENG LEONG, B.Sc. (Hons.) Hawaii Pacific University A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfilrnent of the requirements for the degee of Master of Arts Department of Geography Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario May, 1997 8 1997, Foong-Peng Leong National Library Bibliothèque nationale l*U of,,, du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographic Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395, nie Wellington OüawaON K1AON4 ûttavmON K1AON4 Canada Canada Yarr He votre dferened Our Nove fdfdrente The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé me licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant à la National Librq of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, disûîiute or sell reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or elecbonic foxmais. la fome de microfiche/film, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts fkorn it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. National integration has been the main focus of development in Malaysia Typical of a young and developing country, this political aspiration has long been pwued from an economic standpoint. This study demonstrates that economic development, by itself, is inadequate in fostering integration Social harmony is especidly important in a rnuiti- cdhiral countty. Malaysia has utilized domestic tourkm as a mechanisrn to promote interculturai understanding. This study fin& that thete is a lack of documentation on the success or failure of such a mechanisrn, partly due to the difficdty of quantifying its effects and interpreting them objectively. Another reason is the general lack of research on domestic tourism. Although tourkm has the potential to bridge differences within the Malaysian society, it canot work alone. Other important elements such as the affjrmative action program affects inter-ethnic relations and has to be dealt with in the interest of national integmtion Many individuals played a role in making the wmpletion of this thesis a reality. First and foretnost, my gratitude to my supervisor, Iain Wallace, for his patience and encouragement in seeing me through the M. A. program. His guidance, accessi bili ty, and quick nim-around time in reading my cirafts when tirne was lirnited is deeply appreciated. In addition, thanks should also go to my thesis cornmittee for their advice and general support. Special thanks also to Fons, Yam Hem, and Stephen for being there for emotional support and encouragement when they are most needed. I am also grateful to Kadir Din, Belvinder Kaur, Ooi Lee Ping, and Yunus Maarof in Malaysia for their time and information. Last but not least, thanks to rny family - my parents and siblings, Foong Lin and Sheldon - for their support a11 these while. TABLE OF CONTENTS .-. ABSTRACT III ACKNO WLEDGMENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES LIST OF FIGURES CHAPTER ONE mODUCTION 1.1 Tourism Research in Southeast Asia 1.2 Tourkm Development in Southeast Asia 1.3 Tourism and National [ntegration 1.4 Research Context 1 -5 Purpose of This Study 1.6 Objectives 1 -7Methodology 1-8 Researcher's Bac kground 1.9 Organization CHAPTER TWO TOURISM DEVELOPMENT AND NATIONAL INTEGRATION 2. I Introduction 2.2 Tourism as a Development Tool 27 2.3 Tourkm Developrnent Theories 2.3.1 Diffusionkt Paradigrn 2.3 -2 Dependency Paradigrn 2.4 Domestic Tourism 35 2.5 National Integration 4 1 2.6 Domestic Tomkm as a Social Integration Factor 2.6.1 Track Two Diplomacy 2.6.2 Socio-CulturaI Conmbutions 2.6.3 Economic Contributions CWTER THREE 56 TOURISM DEVELOPMENT AND NATIONAL INTEGRATION IN MALAYSIA 56 3.1 Tourism and the Malaysian Economy 56 3.2 Geographical Factors Infl uencing Development 58 3.3 National Unity and Socio-Economic Development 6 1 3.4 Tounsm Development in Malaysia 67 CHAPTER FOUR 77 DOMESTIC TOURiSM IN MALAYSIA 77 4.1 Introduction 77 4.2 Domestic Tourism Swey 1988 4.2.1 Summary of Findings 4.3 Shortcomings of Domestic Tourism 4-3-2ûther Difficulties with Domestic Tourisrn 4.4 New Programs Undertaken by Tourism Malaysia 92 4.5 Other Concerns 96 CHAPTER FIVE CONCLUSIONS 5.1 Synthesis 5.2 Assumptions 5.3 Implications and Recommendations 5.4 Concluding Remarks APPENDICES Appendix 1 Appendix 2 vii LIST OF TABLES Table 2-1 Tourisrn Policy Priorities: The Market - Domestic or International 39 Table 2- 1 Continued 40 Table 4-3 Problems with Domestic Marketing Mix 83 LIST OF FIGURES Figure I - I Southeast Asia Figure 2- 1 Ethnic Chinese: Asia's Economic RuIing Class Figure 3-1 Malaysia Figure 3-2 Distibution of Tourîst Amvals by Region 1992 Figure 3-3 Tourist Regions of Peninsular Malaysia CFiAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1. I Tourism Research in Southeast Asia The growth of the tourism industry in developing countries such as Malaysia has generated a need to understand its dynarnics, the development processes it brings about and the consequences for the peoples. Studies of tourkm to &te in the Southeast Asia region fail to provide us with a comprehensive view of the social, economic; cultural, political and environmental issues, and the processes and problems involveci in the nifi expansion of international1, and to a certain extent, domestic', tourism (Hitchcock, et al., 1993). On a larger geographical de,there is a deaah of comprehensive tourkm research in the Asia Pacific region, particuIarly that on domestic tomkm (Crampton, 1996; Long 1995; Weilstead, 1996). The World To<nism Oqphtion (WTO) dhes intemational touNm as oonsisting of inbowid and outbwnd torrrism uibauid torrrism invoives non-residerrts trading in a given cauitry, whi[e outbd tourisxn invofves residerrts traveling in another cowrtry (Wied Naiions, 1994). Domestic tourism is de6ned by the WTO as &dents of a gïven CO* traveling ody within the country (United Nabons, 1994). -7 One initiative to counter this Iack of research Meswas the launching of the Asia Pacific Tourisrn Associafion (APTA) in September 1995. APTA's objective is to enhance the standards of educaîion and research in the field of tourkm management in Asia Pacific ( Crompton, 1996). This initiative for the establishment of an Asian-based association of tohresearchers and academics emerged fiom the outlook that untiI then, organhtions and publications in the field have focused aimost excIusively on North Amenca or Europe (Crompton, 1996). The main debate on tourism in Southeast Asia, as in many developing countries, has focused mostly on its effectç - whether they are beneficial or negative, and whether they are developmental or antidevelopmental. These debates have ken, and continue to be, particularly significant wiîhin the geography and economic disciplines, where a primary concem is the contribution of tourism to development The effects of tourism also raise prominent questions in anthropology and sociology, which involve discussions on the various means of concephaking culture and society. Many of these debates have centered around international tourisrn, as most surveys and studies have focused on this segment This situation is probably due to the prominence of the segment, which genemtes more interest in the collection of various types of data, as will be Mer explained in Chapter Two. Not enough research has been done on domestic tolin'sm, which is a growing force in Southeast Asia (Hitchcock, et al., 1993). 1.2 Tourism Development in Soutbeast Asia The &rowth of the tourkm industry has been most timely for several Southeast Asia countries in view of several more general economic and political changes which have taken place in the region over the fast two decades. Thailand's early development as an international tourism destination cuincided with the declinuig Arnerican militaxy presence after the Vietnam War, and helped to fil1 a considerable vacuum in ternis of foreign exchange earnings and employrnent ( Walton, 1993). Tomkm dso expandeci at a time when Malaysia's traditional primaiy industries, particdarly tin and nibber, have ken in decline, and as international earnings from trade in these commodities have been depressed Similady in Indonesia, toun'sm has helped to bma foreign exchange -ngs at a time, during the 1980s, when revenues from the comtq's main expon cornmodity, petroleurn, have fallen. For many countries in the region, tourism represents an attractive and relatively "soW means of promoting development It requires Iittle heavy capital investments (other than infrastnid investment for Iuxury accommodation, if a country so chooses), as what is "differentt'akeady already totounsîs. Ahhough cornpetition among cohescan be expected to increase over the next decade, as more corntries attempt to jump on the international tourism bandwagon, and as more new destinations and activities are promoted, tourkm in generd faces fewer constraints in the fom of market protectionism than is the case with rnanufactirruig, for example. Tolirists are usually wefcumed with open arms by most 4 countries. Funhemore, the human resource requirernents of tourisrn are, in general, iower and more accessible than of some other industries. Tourism utilizes