COMMUNITY-BASED ECOTOURISM IN PANTAI CUNANG, SELANGOR

Abstract

Ecotourism, one of the many types of tourism, is defined by Wallace and Pierce (1996) as an
activity of visiting natural areas for learning, having fun and providing voluntary assistance.
While tourism industry is a vital economic sector in any country, it comes with positive and
negative effects on certain aspects. One approach commonly adopted in managing ecotourism,
and thus reducing the negative effects is involving the community. Community-based
Ecotourism Management (CBETM) involves the local community in its development,
operation and management, where a substantial portion of the benefits remain within the
community. This unique aspect of tourism management has sparked interest in conducting this
study. This study aims to investigate the perception of the local community on ecotourism and
community-based ecotourism management, and seeks to make sense of stakeholders’
involvement in community-based ecotourism management. A combination of quantitative and
qualitative methodologies was applied in this research, with interviews and surveys being the
primary data collection approaches; while descriptive statistical and thematic analyses were
applied as data analysis techniques. Pantai Cunang, in Tanjung Sepat, Selangor, was chosen as
the study area. This study has found that the community in Pantai Cunang perceived that
community-based ecotourism in the area has a relatively minimal negative impact on
environmental and socio-economic aspects, but lack of participation of the local community.
This finding benefits the authorities in understanding the importance of good involvement in
decision-making processes to conserve and preserve the existing flora and fauna and maintain
the sustainability of ecotourism.