Tourism planning at the local level : a case study of Lundu-Sematan, Sarawak, Malaysia

Abstract

Many of the studies in tourism planning have given much emphasis on the economic imperatives to encompassing a broader perspective that includes social and environmental factors. Thus, governments of various developing countries have taken up tourism as a panacea for economic development and diversification of the national economy. More often, tourism plans are formulated and developed at the National or Federal, and State level as a move towards an orderly development for the various sectors within the country. By and large, these plans are farmed out to foreign consultants as the main expert, with some input from their local counterparts.

Seemingly, as some authors (Getz, 1986; Fayos-Sola, 1996, WTO, 1994) have articulated, these plans are often hardly implemented. Planning remains a paper exercise at the Federal or State level, while implementation at the Local level is not given adequate attention. In this regard, the purpose of this study is to use a qualitative approach to explore the post formulation stage of a tourism masterplan and to investigate the barriers and impediments to tourism development at the local level. Information was gathered through a triangulation of methods: document research, key-informant interviews and informal participant observation.

Analysis of the interview data indicates some issues and challenges that possibly will hinder or impinge on tourism development at the local level. These issues and challenges were categorised into three major themes: Infrastructure, Tourism Institutional Framework and The Community. These research findings suggest that there are various elements that may possibly inhibit the development of tourism at the local level unless remedial actions are taken soon. Hence, it is the responsibility of the government at the various levels to address these issues before tourism can effectively contribute to the overall development of the community at the local level.