ijcrb.webs.com MAY 2012 INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS VOL 4, NO 1 PROMOTING AGRO-TOURISM IN KAMPUNG SEMARANG, MUKIM DENGKIL, SELANGOR : ISSUES AND CHALLENGES FOR RURAL TOURISM DEVELOPMENT *Haliza Mohd Said University of Management and Technology Block C, Leisure Commerce Square No.9, Jalan PJS 8/9 46150 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia Dahlia Abdul Aziz University of Management and Technology Block C, Leisure Commerce Square No.9, Jalan PJS 8/9 46150 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia Mohd Faris-Aslan Shamsir Adlan Universiti Tun Abdul Razak Block C, Leisure Commerce Square No.9, Jalan PJS 8/9 46150 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia ABSTRACT Dengkil is a small yet well developed Malaysian small town in the Sepang district of Selangor that lies between Cyberjaya to the north and Salak Tinggi to the south. Dengkil is a rural area where it is located in one of Kuala Langat seven sub-districts. In recent years, Dengkil has benefited from the growth of Putrajaya which is located nearby. Putrajaya is a federal administrative centre of Malaysia located 25 kilometres southern of Kuala Lumpur. This paper examines the potential growth and issues faced by Kampung Semarang in promoting itself as an Agro-tourism destination. Kampung Semarang is one of the traditional villages located in Dengkil, Selangor. Kampung Semarang has a farming characteristic that can be promoted further to enhance the economic independence of the village community. This paper aims to look into the concept of Agro-tourism and relate it with the adapted framework of the available natural resources. The objective of the study is to assess the available resources that can be developed into an agro-based tourism attraction in Kampung Semarang. This paper also serves to identify the challenges and issues faced in developing Kampung Semarang as an Agro- tourism destination. The data for this research was collected via observations and unstructured interviews that were conducted over a period of seven days in Kampung Semarang. The findings of this research were based on an analysis checklist on Natural Resources and Community Analysis. The findings established that Kampung Semarang indeed possesses the resources required to convert into a viable tourism destination. However, the place needs an infrastructural facelift and also the assistance of the government and other stakeholders in utilizing the resources available in transforming the village into a tourism product of which will be beneficial for all in terms of economic opportunities and development of tourism product. Keywords: Agriculture, Agro-tourism, New tourism destination, Rural Tourism, Farms, Kampung Semarang, Dengkil, Selangor 1. INTRODUCTION Malaysia is no stranger to agricultural industries since its independence in 1956; Malaysia has been dependent on agriculture and mining as its primary source of income. This can be seen from the contribution of agriculture to the GDP, which was 46% in 1957 and the proportion of the agricultural industry working force as compared to in the total working force, which was 80.3% in 1966 (Ministry of Agriculture, 2004). Although the proportion of agricultural income contribution to the nation’s economy or GDP has rapidly declined, it can be emphasized that agriculture has been the core of the development of Malaysia. Agriculture has always been an COPY RIGHT © 2012 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 187 ijcrb.webs.com MAY 2012 INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS VOL 4, NO 1 essential part of the economy, and the country has prepared well to develop agricultural and commodities based tourism which is a big niche of the eco-tourism in Malaysia (About Malaysia, 2011). Agri-tourism or Agro-tourism is the act of visiting a working farm or any agricultural, horticultural or agri-business based operation for the purpose of enjoyment, education or active involvement in the activities of the farm or operation (WMTH Corporation, 2008). Agro-tourism is a form of tourism which emphasizes nature and capitalizes on rural culture as a tourism attraction. It is similar to ecotourism except that its primary appeal is not the natural landscape but a cultural landscape (A.V.Lossau, 2008). Cultural landscape can contribute to improving the income of the local community. To ensure that, it also helps to conserve diversity, the rural population itself must have recognized agro biodiversity as valuable and worthy of protection (A.V.Lossau, 2008). Agricultural tourism, as it is formally known, helps by improving income and economic potentials of small farms, rural communities and agro-based ventures throughout the country (http://www.tourism.gov.my/activities). According to (Kizos and Iosifides,2007 ; S. Phillip et al, 2009) Agro- tourism is defined as tourist activities of small-scale, family or co-operative in origin, being developed in rural areas by people employed in agriculture. Virginia law defines agritourism as “any activity carried out on a farm or ranch that allows members of the general public, for recreational, entertainment, or educational purposes, to view or enjoy rural activities, including farming, wineries, ranching, historical, cultural, harvest-your-own activities, or natural activities and attractions. An activity is an agritourism activity whether or not the participant paid to participate in the activity.” (M.A Walker, 2009). ECOTOUR defines Agro-tourism as a direct expansion of ecotourism, which encourages visitors to experience agricultural life at first hand (IICA, 2009). In 1991, the Malaysian Minister of Agriculture, who is known for his many innovative and strange ideas, announced the notion of Agro-tourism, a term which has never been coined and used before (S. Mohamad, 1994). The concept of Agro-tourism was conceived to develop rural areas and its community. Following the pronouncement, an international Conference from Germany, Great Britain, Australia and Malaysia was held in Kuala Lumpur from 28-30 July 1992 (Ailin Ton et al. 1993; S. Mohamad, 1994). The objective of the conference was to seek the clarification of the concept of Agro-tourism, to learn the experiences of other countries and to chart the development strategy of Agro-tourism in Malaysia (S. Mohamad, 1994). All around Malaysia, farmers have developed a range of crops that can generate income, sustain livestock and maintain their day-to-day lives. These can then be developed into a tourism attraction if it is found to be viable. A number of conditions must be met in order to allow the development of Agro-tourism. Firstly, a largely authentic natural or small scale and richly structured cultural landscape is desirable. Secondly, a landscape which offers beauty as well as other cultural, historical or natural attractions would add value to the product. Next, good transportation links are required, as even attractive regions would be almost difficult to market as tourism destinations if they are not easily accessible by the public. Basic tourism amenities too should be available, such as local transportations, comfortable accommodations and catering facilities. Finally, there should be an acceptance among the population: the local people must be in favour of tourism. Mukim Dengkil is one of the three subdivisions of the Sepang district in Selangor. Located in the southern corridor of the state of Selangor, the mukim has been mostly affected by several recently completed mega projects. The constructions of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang, the development of Putrajaya as the new administrative centre of Malaysia, and the completion of Cyberjaya as a multimedia city, are all located in the mukim of Dengkil (Rostam, K. et al 2006). Under the constitution of Mukim Dengkil, there are 11 more villages under the subdivision. Kampung Semarang is one of the villages under the subdivision of Mukim Dengkil. It has a land area of 1,960 acres, and consisting of 10 sub-villages with rich diverse natural and cultural landscaped areas. It is a village that sits in the middle of Dengkil and surrounded by Putrajaya and Cyberjaya. The issue observed in this research is the lack of responsibilities from the stakeholders in sustaining the natural resources. The lack of enforcement by the state government, local council and community in not contributing enough effort to preserving the rich natural resources have been seen to reduce the value of the natural resources as products of agriculture based tourism. Issues such as lack of basic infrastructures, for COPY RIGHT © 2012 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 188 ijcrb.webs.com MAY 2012 INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS VOL 4, NO 1 instance, easy access to the farms and orchards will surely decrease the viability of promoting Agro-tourism in Kampung Semarang. The objective of this research is to assess the potentials of Agro-tourism in the village based on its rich natural and cultural resources. It is an objective to further propose a new Agro-tourism product in Kampung Semarang, not only as a destination, but also as a revenue generator for the local farmers as well as villagers. Thus this will enable them to alleviate their standards of living. The other objective of this research is to identify the challenges faced by the villagers in order to promote Agro-tourism in Kampung Semarang. The significance of this study is to ensure sustainability of the villagers’ livelihoods. Besides that, the use of land is maximized for common benefits