Philippine E-Journals

Sustainable Livelihood and Community Perception of Tourism Development: A Case Study of Langkawi Island, Malaysia

Siti Hajar Mohd Idris | Redzuan Othman | Mohd Abdullah Adnan | Norlida Hanim Mohd Salleh

Discipline: Social Science

 

Abstract:

This study is conducted in Langkawi Islands, Malaysia. Initially, majority of the people in the community are fisherfolks and farmers. In 1987, the island has been declared as one of Malaysia’s tax-duty zones. By this declaration, it led to the rapid growth of the tourism industry and changed the socioeconomic pattern of the community. This study is trying to evaluate the level of livelihood sustainability of the community and their perception on the impact of tourism development in Langkawi Island. Descriptive design of livelihood sustainability framework developed by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP, 2005) and mean analysis were utilized. Under livelihood sustainability, four assets/indicators were analyzed, namely: human assets, financial assets, physical assets and social assets. As for community perception, it covers three aspects that are economic, social and environmental aspects. Face-to-face interviews involving a total of 493 respondents were conducted in November-December 2011. The results indicate that the development of tourism in Langkawi Island brings benefits to the community in terms of the increment in their human, financial, physical and social assets. Community perception also supports that they gained economically, socially and environmentally benefits from the development of the tourism industry in Langkawi Island. Therefore, various incentives should be given to encourage their involvement in this industry.