From hunting to adventure with nature: analysing the representation of natural tourism attractions in Malaysia
List of Authors
  • Norhanim Abdul Razak

Keyword
  • Nature-based tourism, ecotourism, adventure tourism, tourism promotion

Abstract
  • Although nature-based tourism is frequently presented as a sustainable form of tourism, there are claims that many destination marketers have often exploited this type of tourism in order to attract tourists and make profits. Despite the fact that many past works have investigated aspects related to nature especially ecotourism, very few studies explored on how natural resources have been marketed by the tourism promotional organisations. Owing to this reason, this paper analyses how nature-based attractions have been incorporated and presented to visitors in the promotional brochures using content analysis method. The content analysis of the brochures published from 1962 to 2016 found that natural resources have been incorporated extensively. Three categories of nature-based attractions represented widely in tourism brochures are national parks, islands and beaches, and mountains and hills. On the other hand, big game hunting was only marketed to tourists in the brochures published in the 1960s and 1970s, while types of natural resources promoted to tourists have expanded considerably from 1990s to 2016. Overall, findings of this paper shed light into the understanding on how natural attractions have been represented to tourists for 54 years. It is revealed that with the rising environmental awareness, the Malaysian tourism authorities have modified the way they presented nature-based attractions to some extent, from the image of exploiting natural resources for tourism purposes to environmental care and ethical travel in relatively recent promotional brochures. Yet, a few aspects and activities which contradict to the tourism sustainable practices are still traceable. This paper concludes that natural resources are among the primary attractions for the country’s tourism until today and these attributes have been utilised significantly in tourism promotional materials to attract tourists.

Reference
  • 1. Balmford, A., Beresford, J., Green, J., Naidoo, R., Walpole, M., & Manica, A. (2009). A Global Perspective on Trends in Naturebased Tourism. PLoS Biol, 7(6): e1000144. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1000144.
    2. Beedie, P. (2003). Mountain Guiding and Adventure Tourism: Reflections on the Choreography of the Experience. Leisure Studies, 22(2): 147–167.
    3. Bengtsson, M. (2016). How to Plan and Perform a Qualitative Study using Content Analysis. NursingPlus Open, 2: 8-14. doi: org/10.1016/j.npls. 2016.01.001.
    4. Black, R., & Crabtree, A. (2007). Setting the Context: Quality in Ecotourism. In R. Black & A. Crabtree (Eds.), Quality assurance and certification in ecotourism (pp.1-16). Wallingford: CABI.
    5. Boettger, R. K., & Palmer, L. A. (2010). Quantitative Content Analysis: Its Use in Technical Communication. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 53(4): 346-357.
    6. Buckley, R. C. (2006). Adventure Tourism Research: A Guide to the Literature. Tourism Recreation Research, 31: 75-83.
    7. Buckley, R. C. (2009). Ecotourism: Principles and Practices. Wallingford. CAB International.
    8. Chen, J. S., Prebensen, N. K., Chen, Y. C., & Kim, H. (2013). Revelation of Natureminded Travellers: A Study of the Swedish. Tourism Analysis, 18, 651-661. doi.org/10. 3727/108354213X13824558188622.
    9. Chin, C. L. M., Moore, S. A., Wallington, T. J., & Dowling, R. K. (2000). Ecotourism in Bako National Park, Borneo: Visitors’ Perspectives on Environmental Impacts and their Management. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 8(1): 20–35.
    10. Chiranjeev, A. (2008). Ecotourism Planning and Development. New Delhi: Jnanada Prakashan.
    11. Dann, G. (1996). The People of Tourist Brochures. In T. Selwyn (Ed.), The Tourist Image: Myth and Myth Making in Tourism (pp.61–82). New York: John Wiley and Sons.
    12. Fennel, D. A. (2003). Ecotourism: An Introduction (2nd ed.). London: Routledge.
    13. Graneheim, U. H., & Lundman, B. (2004). Qualitative Content Analysis in Nursing Research: Concepts, Procedures and Measures to Achieve Trustworthiness. Nurse Education Today, 24: 105–112.
    14. Hall, C. M., & Boyd, S. (2005). Nature-based Tourism and Regional Development in Peripheral Areas: Introduction. In C. M. Hall & S. Boyd (Eds.), Tourism and Nature-based Tourism in Peripheral Areas: Development or Disaster (pp.3–19). Clevedon: Channelview Publications.
    15. Honey, M. (1999). Ecotourism and Sustainable Development: Who Owns Paradise? Washington D.C: Island Press.
    16. Isa, S. S., Hasbullah, R., & Mohd Nasir, M. N. (2015). Adventure and Ecotourism. In M. Mariapan, S. S. Isa, N. A. Abdul Aziz, E. A. Lin & K. R. Hakeem (Eds.). Adventure and Ecotourism in Malaysia (pp. 2-25). Serdang: Universiti Putra Malaysia. Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/ User/Downloads/Adventure%20and%20 Ecotourism%20in%20Malaysia%20(intro). Pdf.
    17. Jones, T., & Ohsawa, T. (2016). Monitoring Nature-based Tourism Trends in Japan’s National Parks: Mixed Messages from Domestic and Inbound Visitors. Parks, 22(1): 25–36.
    18. Kalfle, N. (2014). Nature-based Tourism and Visitor Experience in Chitwan National Park. (Unpublished Bachelor Degree’s Thesis). Lapland University of Applied Sciences: Retrieved from https://theseus. fi/bitstream/handle/10024/70910/THESIS_ Kafle_Nabin.pdf?sequence=1.
    19. Kiper, T. (2013). Role of Ecotourism in Sustainable Development. In M. Ozyavuz (Ed.), Advances in Landscape Architecture, InTech. doi: 10.5772/55749.
    20. Koeman, A. (1998, April). Sustainable Development-based Ecotourism. Paper Presented at Workshop on Ecotourism’s Role in Sustainable Tourism Development in Vietnam. Retrieved from http://www. mekonginfo.org/mrc_en/doclib.nsf/0/6960 47C635E5CBD4802566F0005245BC/$FI LE/Acticle2.htm.
    21. Kort-Butler, L. A. (2016). Content Analysis in the Study of Crime, Media and Popular Culture. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice: Crime, Media, and Popular Culture. New York: Oxford University Press. Retrieved from http://criminology.oxfordre.com/browse? t0=ORE_CRI:REFCRI003.
    22. Kuenzi, C., & McNeely, J. (2008). Naturebased Tourism. In O. Renn & K. D. Walker (Eds.). Global Risk Governance: Concept and Practice using the IRGC framework (pp.155-178). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer.
    23. Lee, T. H. (2013). Environmentally Responsible Behavior of Nature-based Tourists: Related Concepts, Measurement and Research. Journal Tourism Hospitality, 2:e126. doi: 10.4172/2167-0269.1000e126.
    24. Macnamara, J. R. (2005). Media Content Analysis: Its Uses, Benefits and Best Practice Methodology. Asia-Pacific Public Relations Journal, 6(1), 1-34. Retrieved from https://opus.lib.uts.edu.au/ bitstream/10453/10102/1/2007002122.pdf.
    25. Marker, M. A., Blanco, A., Lokanathan, S., & Verma, A. (2008). Ecotourism in Malaysia. Project for PP5279: Clusters and National Competitiveness, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. Retrieved from file:///D:/ Ecotourism_in_Malaysia_2008_Paper%20 (3).pdf.
    26. Marzuki, A., Hussin, A. A., Mohamed, B., & Mat Som, A. P. (2011). Assessment of Nature-based Tourism in South Kelantan, Malaysia. Tourismos: An International Multidisciplinary Journal of Tourism 6(1): 281-295. Retrieved from http://www.chios. aegean.gr/tourism/VOLUME_6_No1_ art16.pdf.
    27. Marzuki, A., Rofe, M., & Mohd Hashim, N. A. (2014). Disputes on Nature-based Tourism Development in Northern Peninsular Malaysia. Tourism Analysis, 19: 525–530. doi: org/10.3727/108354214X14090817031314.
    28. Ministry of Culture, Arts and Tourism (MOCAT) (1996). Malaysian National Ecotourism Plan. Petaling Jaya: WWF Malaysia.
    29. Roxana, D. M. (2012). Considerations about Ecotourism and Nature-based Tourism – Realities and Perspectives. International Journal of Academic Research in Economics and Management Sciences, 1(5): 215–221.
    30. Sarkar, A. (2012). Green Marketing and Sustainable Development - Challenges and Opportunities. International Journal of Marketing, Financial Services and Management Research, 1(9): 120-134. Retrieved from http:// indianresearchjournals.com/pdf/ IJMFSMR/2012/September/9.pdf.
    31. Shamsuddoha, M. (2005). Green Marketing and its Implication Problem in Bangladesh. Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences, 3(3), 216-224. Retrieved from https://ssrn.com/ abstract=1302311.
    32. Smith, S. L. J. (2017). Practical Tourism Research (2nd ed.) Wallingford: CABI.
    33. Stepchenkova, S., Kirilenko, A. P. & Morrison, A. M. (2009). Facilitating Content Analysis in Tourism Research. Journal of Travel Research, 47(4): 454–469.
    34. Stroud, N. J., & Higgins V. M. (2011). Content Analysis. In S. Zhou & W. D. Sloan, (Eds.), Research Methods in Communications (pp. 123-143). Northport: Vision Press.
    35. Swarbrooke, J., Beard, C., Leckie, S., & Pomfret, G. (2003). Adventure Tourism: The New Frontier. New York: Routledge.
    36. Page, S. J., & Dowling, R. K. (2002). Ecotourism. Harlow, UK: Pearson Education.
    37. Poudel, S., & Nyaupane, G. P. (2015). Assessing the Impacts of Nature-based Tourism: Host and Guest Perspectives. Tourism Travel and Research Association: Advancing Tourism Research Globally. Paper 31. Retrieved from http://scholarworks.umass.edu/ttra/ ttra2015/Academic_Papers_Oral/31.
    38. The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) (2015). What is Ecotourism. Retrieved from http://www.ecotourism.org/what-isecotourism.
    39. Weaver, D. (2001). Ecotourism. Milton, NSW, Australia: John Wiley & Sons Australia. Yacob, M. R., Radam, A., & Awang, K. W. (2008). Economic Valuation: Marine Parks Ecotourism Malaysia. Serdang: Universiti Putra Malaysia Press.