Sustainable tourism emphasises responsible utilisation of economic, socio-cultural and environmental resources for tourism development. Extant literature in sustainable tourism leans towards subjective and qualitative description in explaining the dynamic nature of the trans-disciplinary indicators of sustainability. However, few mechanisms have been proposed or developed to quantify the indicators measuring sustainable tourism in an indigenous ethnic context. The current study measures 61 sustainable indigenous tourism indicators of the Mah Meri ethnic group that comprise three constructs, namely, community resources, community development and sustainable tourism. Simple random sampling was employed for data elicitation and a weighted average score using R software as the basis of analysis was used to produce a sustainable indigenous tourism barometer (SITB). The study identifies 11 sustainability dimensions from the initial three main constructs that are treated as the relationship aspects in this study. Based on the Sustainable Indigenous Tourism Barometer (SITB), community participation, empowerment, economic and socio-cultural sustainability are found to be the main influencing dimensions of sustainability of the Mah Meri ethnic group. However, natural resources, financial resources and environmental sustainability indicated weaker relationships in explaining sustainability of the Mah Meri ethnic group. Based on the SITB, the results demonstrate that the Mah Meri ethnic group are a “potential sustainable” tourism stakeholder.

Purpose – This study aims to assess the possibility of adapting evidence-based policies in the daily operations of tour operators in Semporna, Sabah, Malaysia. This intervention is important, as on-site investigations reveal that operators are operating their businesses with little reference to the ecotourism policy guidelines. Design/methodology/approach – This study adopted a full qualitative approach. In-depth interviews were conducted on tour operators in Semporna, while text mining was used to elicit data from the Malaysian National Ecotourism Plan. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data from the primary sources. Findings – Gaps were evident between best practices guidelines from the National Ecotourism Plan and the day-to-day practices of tour operators in Semporna, Sabah. This was due to the limitations of the National Ecotourism Plan and the limitations of the operators in identifying and adhering to best practices; the impracticality of best practices in site-specific scenarios; and the b...

Recently, marine and coastal tourism have become a rapidly rising trend in the tourism sector. This paper aims to scrutinise the significant trends in global research on marine and coastal tourism using bibliometric analysis. The bibliographic data of 969 studies were examined from the Scopus database to identify marine and coastal tourism research activity and the period was defined from 1986 until 2020. The dataset was retrieved on 3 October 2020. All the datasets were gathered without regard to a specific historical line to include those publications connected to both phases of the search. The reason behind gathering all the information was because of its contribution to this field. The study will highlight the journal’s most prominent trends in terms of publications, universities, regions, keywords and journals. This study aids to provide a summary of the field of marine tourism. This study would help to increase ones understanding by exposing them to a major part of the primary research. The existing research points and possible future research topics will be documented in this study

Purpose: The study aims to conduct a critical analysis of available economic tools to value non‐market rural tourism products and services, and assess the strengths and weaknesses of these tools.Design/methodology/approach: The paper reviews existing valuation methods to better understand how estimates of rural tourism products and services are conducted. The paper also critically evaluates the applicability of these methods.Findings: The study concludes that the selection of a method is mainly based on applicability of the approach. In assessing the non‐market value of rural tourism products and services, a method is selected by identifying its strengths and weaknesses. A review of previous studies suggests the evaluation of the practicality of each method according to the topic studied.Originality/value: The paper contributes to a better understanding of available valuation approaches that give reliable estimates on non‐market rural tourism products and services.

The economic valuation is crucial to estimate non-marketed goods, which refer to public willingness to pay (WTP) for conservation efforts in the tourism area. Both local communities and visitors play an important role in developing sustainable tourism and well-being. However, the information on economic valuation based on their preferences and well-being is still limited in the world heritage site Gunung Mulu National Park (GMNP). Thus, the study attempts to elucidate the WTP on how the local community and visitors value biodiversity conservation in GMNP through park entrance fees and how it relates to conservation awareness and community well-being in the area. The validated questionnaire was distributed to the visitors (n = 87) and the local community (n = 99) through an online and face-to-face approach, respectively. From the study, the estimated mean WTP among the public was MYR40.61 (USD9.60) per entry, which is highly influenced by their level of attitude and experience. The level of attitude among the respondents has influenced the WTP for the existing park entrance fee. Meanwhile, there is no awareness construct that affects the WTP for increased fees among visitors and the local community. The low level of knowledge and experience of the respondents but the high level of attitude has influenced the good WTP for the cheaper park entrance fee. It is noted that certain socio-demographic factors had influenced their WTP for the offered and maximum price. It was found that the environment and social factors have significantly influenced the WTP among the public. However, the economic factor did not predict their WTP. The findings enhance the relationship between crucial social value determinants and the economy, particularly on WTP in a protected area.