Assesing sustainability of tourism development on Tioman Island, Malaysia

Coral reefs are highly diverse and productive ecosystems found in tropical oceans. Tioman Island on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia is blessed with beautiful and diverse coral reef. In 1994, Tioman was announced as Marine Park to conserve its marine life from impacts of commercial fishing and other anthropogenic activities. Emergence of tourism brought new opportunities to local community for generating income and development of the island. However tourism has not been without its consequences. The main aim of this thesis is to assess tourism sustainability performance on Tioman Island. The conceptual framework guided the assessment was based on DPSIR (Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response) model. Data collection included both qualitative interviews as well as quantitative questionnaire to identify different stakeholders’ perception on progress towards sustainable tourism development. This study found that tourism development as a driving force exerts pressures on the coral reef ecosystem. Pollution is identified as one of the main environmental problems in the island. Corals are also subject to damage by inexperienced snorkelers and divers. Trampling activities and direct contact makes physical damage to coral reef ecosystem. Pressures change the state of the marine ecosystem which result in environmental impacts such as coral degradation. In Tioman, different stakeholders offer response mechanisms to address the impact. Recycling and waste management, coral propagation, awareness raising projects, and tourist practices with lower impact are provided. The conservation efforts are still in early stages and require participation of the key stakeholders and more support from the local government