Determinants of local community’s participation in ecotourism development at Tasik Kenyir, Malaysia

This study is aimed to determine the factors that influence the level of participation in ecotourism development among local communities. The study area selected which is Tasik Kenyir, Terengganu includes the local communities from Kampung Basong, Kampung Pasir Dula and Kampung Padang Setebu. Tasik Kenyir of Terengganu has been identified as a prospective ecotourism site for its natural beauties, recreational facilities and tourism activities. The problem statement highlighted is based on the personal communication with the leaders of the community and the theoretical gap in the past studies. Lack of understanding on the issues of participation and sustainability faced by the local community are clear gaps of the study. Thus the general objective of the study is to analyze the participation of local community in ecotourism development in Tasik Kenyir. A quantitative method was used in this study. Questionnaire survey by face to face interview was used to determine the level of participation and to identify the perceptions of local community towards ecotourism impacts. Descriptive Statistics, Exploratory Factor Analysis and Multiple Regression Analysis were also performed to complete the data set. The findings showed that the level of participation in ecotourism development among local community in Tasik Kenyir is at non-participation level. This indicates the minimal level of involvement of the local community in the decision making process. This is expected in a top down decision making procedure where the authority holds the real power. This study also investigated the local community perception towards ecotourism impacts in ecotourism development. The descriptive findings showed positive perception of respondents towards ecotourism impacts in ecotourism development but they also have negative perception towards several ecotourism impacts. The findings of the multiple regressions analysis showed that four variables were significant in predicting the level of participation in ecotourism development among the local community; family members’ involvement in ecotourism, perception on environmental impact, marital status and residential distance to ecotourism area. The results of the study also do not contradict the social exchange theory. Social exchange theory emphasizes that the local community who get benefits from the development will support the ecotourism. While, the other local communities who are not directly involved in ecotourism are still receiving the benefits such as from the environmental and sociocultural impact of ecotourism. The findings of this study also provided some recommendations and suggestions can be proposed to the local government especially KETENGAH and Tourism of Terengganu in enhancing the local community participation in ecotourism; these include increasing the development of various ecotourism activities and facilities to attract the local residents to be involved in ecotourism operations