Rural Tourism in Malaysia: A Homestay Program
Rural tourism has been recognized as an effective catalyst of rural socio-economic redevelopment in many countries. The rise of the rural tourism development was partly due to the increase demand from tourists who want to enjoy natural environment which available in rural setting and cultural heri...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2013
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://eprints.unisza.edu.my/2812/1/FH02-FSSG-16-06638.pdf http://eprints.unisza.edu.my/2812/ |
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| Summary: | Rural tourism has been recognized as an effective catalyst of rural socio-economic redevelopment in many
countries. The rise of the rural tourism development was partly due to the increase demand from tourists who want
to enjoy natural environment which available in rural setting and cultural heritage which still preserved by local
folks. This paper is intended to explore the concept of rural tourism and homestay program establishment in
Malaysia in terms of its development, planning, and promotional efforts. Malaysia has embraced rural tourism in an
effort to upgrade the economic regeneration in rural areas through tourism activities and products offering.
Priorities for the economic upgrading of rural tourism has been given attention in the Ninth Malaysia Plan
(2006-2010) and Tenth Malaysia Plan (2011-2015) to reduce poverty among rural communities. One of the rural
cultural tourism products is homestay establishment managed by rural local community. This conceptual paper will
provide a review of literature consisting of the background, planning, development, and current situation of
homestay program as rural tourism product. The homestay program is said to have increase additional household
income and promote better awareness for the continued conservation of cultural heritage. Majority of the rural
communities involved in tourism to gain its economic benefits since theoretically an increase in income gained
from tourism activities will improve their quality of life. The objectives of the paper are to understand the current
scenario of rural tourism development in Malaysia particularly homestay program, and to analyse its challenges and
issues pertaining to homestay management. The future implications of the research could be the re-assessment of
rural tourism policy towards local community, and marketing efforts by tourism key players and related
government agencies to upgrade this rural tourism product |
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