ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL BENEFITS OF WILDLIFE TOURISM IN MALAYSIA; A REVIEW

Abstract

Malaysia's tourism industry is a key foreign exchange earner, providing the country with a significant source of revenue, jobs and resources. Therefore, it is important to ensure tourism sector stays environmentally and economically sustainable. Majority of wildlife-watching tourism takes place in protected areas. For tourists travelling to Malaysia, nature, national parks, and wildlife are regarded the most valuable tourism assets. The discussion on this paper will be focused on three aspect of economic and social benefits; 1) economic advancement of wildlife tourism, 2) potential contributions to poverty reduction and community development and 3) raising revenue for conservation management. However, as tourism authorities, hotels, and tour operators place a greater emphasis on mass tourism and economics, environmental degradation and other issues are having a detrimental impact on tourism. The required policies and regulations for sustainable tourism growth should been enforced by the government.