ISLAND TOURISM IN MALAYSIA: THE NOT SO GOOD NEWS

Tourism is regarded as an important sector to the Malaysian economy. Thanks to intense worldwide promotion by Tourism Malaysia, tourism is reported to bring in almost RM30 Billion of income to the national coffer. The first height of tourism was reached in the first visit Malaysia year of 1990. The tourism rush of the nineties saw many tourism projects being developed through out Malaysia; many of these projects were approved in hasty manners, without proper study and data and without proper approval. However, after a decade of steady growth in both numbers of tourist arrivals as well as the number of new tourism development, many quarters now start to ask whether does tourism really pays off? Today, the impacts of the yesteryears ' boom have taken its toll on the physical, economic and social environments of destinations. More and more impacts of the tourism boom years appear in failed projects and abandoned destinations. Visits to major destinations in Malaysia can present us many unfinished businesses and badly maintained infrastructure. This paper reviews tourism development in major islands in Malaysia, namely Langkawi, Pangkor, Tioman and Redang and evaluates real and perceived physical impacts of tourism development. It is based on a perception survey of the people living and working on the four islands. The result shows that while welcoming more tourists and more tourism development, the islanders complain of higher general prices, the depletion of greenery, increased urbanization and many more. Many of these impacts are irreversible. The islanders, however, do not have other option but to carry on with their lives. This paper suggests that in order to sustain the island environment, the carrying capacity of the island must be set and respected