Direct expenditure effects of the Rainforest World Music Festival 2009 in Santubong, Sarawak

An economic impact analysis of a tourism activity could indicate the losses in benefits to the area if the activity were not to take place in the area. The potential losses are equated to the total amount of associated expenditures of visitors spending in the area. An ex post assessment is carried out to measure the impacts of visitors expenditure in a tourism activity, the 3-day Rain Forest World Music Festival 2009 (RFWMF2009) in Santubong, Sarawak. On site data on all associated expenditures spent in the area during the festival were collected from a sample of the visitors. The results show that 34%, 18% and 48 % of the visitors have participated in 1, 2 and 3 days in the festival, respectively. The average total expenditure of per participant is about RM334 per day. A simplified Money Generation Model (MGM) is used to derive the direct economic benefits of the RFWMF2009. The festival has created RM7.4 mil in total sales, 117 new jobs and RM3.3 mil in income to the region. The local authority has received RM0.69 mil in total tax revenue. The impacts are estimates of losses that would have resulted if the festival has not taken place

Conservation of deltaic mangrove forest resources in Kuching, Sarawak: local communities' willingness to pay

The mangrove forest resources in the Kuching Delta are being exploited extensively for agricultural, industrial and other development purposes despite conservation efforts being carried out. This study was aimed at determining the willingness to pay by the local communities for the conservation of the mangrove resources. Data were collected from the local communities living near the mangrove forests and the WTP was obtained by using the contingency valuation technique. 316 respondents were interviewed and asked to indicate the maximum amount they were willing to pay for the conservation of mangrove forest resources. The majority of the local community members were willing to pay for the conservation of the resources, with a mean value of RM15.70 per year per person. Conservation of the resources was perceived positively by the residents with a mean value of 3.9 (out of 5 rating scale). Levels of education and income of the local communities have positive influence on the willingness to pay for conservation of the resources. Mangrove forest benefits could be obtained in perpetuity if conserved; the estimated gross present value of the benefits (WTP) is RM28.3 million, at the annual social discount rate of 4 %

Profiling Participants Of The Rainforest World Music Festival

For tourism marketers and event organizers, the identification and understanding of the customers are important for market segmentation. Profiling the tourists allows segmentation to be done on the basis of the person who makes the trip. The main objective of the study is to identify the characteristics of the participants of the annual music festival in Santubong, Sarawak. The satisfaction of the participants on the services provided and the facilities available is evaluated using the perception analysis on the services and facilities. On-site data are collected from a sample of the visitors to the three days festival; the data include all associated expenditures spent in the area during the festival. The results of the study show that 34%, 18% and 48 % of the visitors participate in 1, 2 and 3 days in the festival, respectively. The average total expenditure per participant per day is about RM477 giving an estimated gross total expenditure during the 2009 festival of about RM9.62mil. Of the international visitors, 57% are from Europe, 33% from Australia and New Zealand, 4% from America, 5.9% from other Asian countries. The majority of the participants prefer to stay in hotels in the city than in hotels near the site of the festival because they could find more tourism products and services in the city. Most participants are satisfied with the services and facilities available at the festival site; however, the main concerns of some of the participants are the cleanliness of the toilets, the availability of transportation, and the parking facilities. The organizers and marketing agencies involved could use information from profiling studies to plan strategies to increase participation of music enthusiasts as well as non enthusiasts in the future

Conservation Of Deltaic Mangrove Forest Resources In Kuching, Sarawak: Local Communities’ Willingness To Pay

The mangrove forest resources in the Kuching Delta are being exploited extensively for agricultural, industrial and other development purposes despite conservation efforts being carried out. This study was aimed at determining the willingness to pay by the local communities for the conservation of the mangrove resources. Data were collected from the local communities living near the mangrove forests and the WTP was obtained by using the contingency valuation technique. 316 respondents were interviewed and asked to indicate the maximum amount they were willing to pay for the conservation of mangrove forest resources. The majority of the local community members were willing to pay for the conservation of the resources, with a mean value of RM15.70 per year per person. Conservation of the resources was perceived positively by the residents with a mean value of 3.9 (out of 5 rating scale). Levels of education and income of the local communities have positive influence on the willingness to pay for conservation of the resources. Mangrove forest benefits could be obtained in perpetuity if conserved; the estimated gross present value of the benefits (WTP) is RM28.3 million, at the annual social discount rate of 4 %

Dimensi Personaliti Terhadap Pembudayaan Keusahawanan Dalam Kalangan Graduan di Malaysia

“Bekerja sendiri” sebagai usahawan merupakan kerjaya yang harus diberi perhatian sebagai alternatif oleh para graduan selain makan gaji dalam usaha menghadapi masalah pasaran pekerjaan yang terhad dan kadar pengangguran yang tinggi di kalangan graduan. Oleh itu, pihak berwajib antaranya Kementerian Pengajian Tinggi (KPT) memainkan peranan penting dalam membudayakan keusahawanan dalam kalangan pelajar IPT dan graduan agar kerjaya usahawan menjadi pilihan setelah tamat pengajian. Justeru, kajian ini mengkaji tahap kompetensi pembudayaan keusahawanan dalam kalangan graduan di Malaysia dengan tumpuan terhadap mereka yang bekerja sendiri. Kajian ini menggunakan data primer yang dikumpul melalui survei Kajian Pengesanan Graduan dari tahun 2007 hingga 2009 yang melibatkan 3062 sampel graduan IPTA dan IPTS di Malaysia dan dianalisis menggunakan kaedah Analisis Faktor. Hasil kajian menunjukkan bahawa Sahsiah Diri (kematangan, jati diri, keupayaan berdikari, keyakinan diri, berpengetahuan dan kebolehan menyelesaikan masalah serta membuat keputusan) dan Kemahiran Insaniah (keupayaan menyelesaikan masalah, kritis dan kreatif, analitikal, nilai-nilai positif dan kemahiran berkomunikasi) merupakan dua dimensi personaliti utama dalam diri seseorang graduan yang melibatkan diri dalam bidang keusahawanan

Exploring Non-Visitors’ Attitude Towards Kubah National Park’s Attributes, Roles and Functions

National parks are highly valuable and vital to the ecosystems for countries around the world. In Malaysia, it forms one of the ecotourism products or sites in Malaysia. The swift development and growth of ecotourism particularly in the national parks are inspired by the increased promotion from both tourism operators and the government. Managing national parks require both visitors and non-visitors’ information and their attitudes towards the importance of the park’s attributes, roles and functions. Hence, the purpose of this study is to examine the importance of attributes, roles and functions of national parks in Sarawak, from the perspective of residents and non-residents in Kuching areas (non-visitors). Non-residents include of domestic and foreign tourists, who are found in Kuching at the time of data collection. For these purposes, Kubah National Park (KNP), one of the most visited national parks in Sarawak, has been selected as a case study. Non-visitors’ were surveyed as they might be potential visitors in the future. Even if they will not visit the area in the future, the existence of the park would also benefit them indirectly as well as their future generations. Such indirect benefits or values are normally referred as non-use values. The non-use values refer to the values that human derived from the goods and services independent of any present or future use that people might make of those goods (Beukering et al., 2007). It usually divided between the bequest values and existence values. Face-to-face interviews involving selected respondents in Kuching areas were conducted in September to December 2018. A structured questionnaire was developed as the primary research instrument. Only respondents over 18 years of age who were willing to participate, were being interviewed. Results indicate that non-visitors have positive attitudes towards the attributes, roles and functions of KNP. The majority of participating respondents placed higher priority on the protection of the natural environment and wildlife as well as preservation of the biological diversity of the environment. The examination of how visitors and public perceive the roles and roles and functions of KNP would assist in delivering appropriate management and sustainable conservation of the area. This information is essential in understanding of the public or non-visitors’ attitude and perception of KNP’s attributes, roles and functions

Evaluating visitor’s preferences of ecotourism and management attributes in Kubah National Park : a choice experiment approach

The growing numbers of national parks worldwide have somehow attracted the interests of nations around the world as it is now one of the important income generator for the tourism industry of a particular country. Since its inauguration, the concept of national parks has developed and expanded based on the important attributes of its environmental resources, albeit it is frequently affiliated to the possibilities of conservation and preservation of the biodiversity and its environment. The central motivation for this study is to estimate visitor’s preferences for improvement in ecotourism and management in Kubah National Park (KNP) by utilizing the economic valuation tools, specifically the choice experiment (CE) model. Accordingly, the focus of this study is limited to the valuation of ecotourism and management attributes of KNP, Sarawak, Malaysia. Choice experiment of the stated preference approach was utilized and five attributes of ecotourism and management attributes were identified, namely; (i) amenities (AMT), (ii) information availability (INFO), (iii) interpretive trails availability (ITA), (iv) park guide availability (PG) and (v) entrance fee charges (MPRICE). Information and statistics were gathered using questionnaires from face-to face interviews. Conditional logit (CLGT) model analyses involving a sample of 303 respondents was carried out

Evaluating Visitor’s Preferences of Ecotourism and Management Attributes in Kubah National Park: A Choice Experiment Approach

The growing numbers of national parks worldwide have somehow attracted the interests of nations around the world as it is now one of the important income generator for the tourism industry of a particular country. Since its inauguration, the concept of national parks has developed and expanded based on the important attributes of its environmental resources, albeit it is frequently affliated to the possibilities of conservation and preservation of the biodiversity and its environment. The central motivation for this study is to estimate visitor’s preferences for improvement in ecotourism and management in Kubah National Park (KNP) by utilizing the economic valuation tools, specifcally the choice experiment (CE) model. Accordingly, the focus of this study is limited to the valuation of ecotourism and management attributes of KNP, Sarawak, Malaysia. Choice experiment of the stated preference approach was utilized and fve attributes of ecotourism and management attributes were identifed, namely; (i) amenities (AMT), (ii) information availability (INFO), (iii) interpretive trails availability (ITA), (iv) park guide availability (PG) and (v) entrance fee charges (MPRICE). Information and statistics were gathered using questionnaires from face-to face interviews. Conditional logit (CLGT) model analyses involving a sample of 303 respondents was carried out

Willingness to Pay for Kubah National Park : Evidence from the Contingent Valuation Method

The purpose of this study is to estimate Kuching residents’ (non-visitors) willingness to pay (WTP) for the conservation of Kubah National Park, Sarawak. In order to answer the research objectives in this study, Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) was put into application as the elicitation method and there were 160 respondents who involved in this data collection, where the random sampling method was executed. A dichotomous choice CVM (DC-CVM) was adopted and logit models were used to analyze the CVM analysis. The empirical results indicated that as the price increases, the probability in saying ‘Yes’ decreases. The minimum estimated mean for the WTP is an increment of 4.38% (RM0.44) while the maximum estimated mean is an increment of 200.24% (RM20.24). In addition, work status, education level attainment and income show positive and significant results