ECOTOURISM IN PENANG NATIONAL PARK: A MULTI-STAKEHOLDER PERSPECTIVE ON ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

Ecotourism in protected areas usually strive for conservation, educational and minimal visitor impacts. Located in the fast-paced developing island of northern Malaysia, Penang National Park (PNP) serves as an ideal ecotourism site for both domestic and international visitors. However, the increasing number of visitors and improper environmental management strategies cause detrimental impacts on the sensitive ecosystems in the area. Hence, this study was designed to identify the environmental issues based on the perspectives of four main stakeholders; management authorities, local communities, tour guides and visitors. Data were collected from the four stakeholders using semi-structured in-depth interviews and stakeholder analysis was used to analyze the stakeholders’ perceptions. The main problem found was the rampant littering by visitors. Other problems include insufficient garbage bins, lack of environmental awareness, feeding wild monkeys, fallen trees and lack of maintenance revenue due to no entrance fee. This paper concludes with recommendations for the management authorities to manage the visitors in a sustainable manner in order to ensure the long term sustainable development of the ecotourism sites particularly in national parks.