Coastal tourism and the catalytic potential of small and medium premises: The case of Kelantan, Malaysia

As tourism industry evolves and becomes creative, developing tourism does not have to rely solely on large scale accommodation facilities. In coastal tourism, in particular, the role of small to medium scale premises may indeed be catalytic in attracting tourists and thus in advancing the tourism cause provided they are given due attention with respect to the provision of essential facilities and amenities. Tourism industry in Kelantan faced these kind of challenges in its 2012 Visit Malaysia Year which estimated the influx of some six million tourists into the state . This paper discusses the important aspects of infrastructure facilities in the development of small scale tourist accommodation facilities. The focus is on the the quality issue of infrastructure provision in Kelantan’s coastal tourism sub-sector as it faced the 2012 challenges. The study involved field interviews utilising questionnaires with both premise operators and visitors and field observations of the physical condition of the premises. The findings revealed that the utilities and facilities provided by the electricity suppliers (TNB) and the promotional aspects of the premises were two factors that significantly influenced visitors’ decision to re-visit the accommodation premises in future