Decision making and community participation: A case study of the tourism industry in Langkawi

Community participation is regarded as an important tool for successful tourism planning. Western scholars generally agree that active community participation in the decision making process will benefit local communities. However, in developing countries, such participation is difficult to put into practice because of shortcomings in structural and operational limitations in the tourism development process. A study in Langkawi Islands, Malaysia was conducted from March to July 2004 to explore and identify weaknesses in, and constraints upon current community participation in tourism planning. The study adopts a mixed method approach combining both quantitative and qualitative methodologies involving local residents in Langkawi and stakeholders in the tourism industry. This study found three main problems in the existing participation approaches of tourism planning in Langkawi: (1) inadequate information about the participation process; (2) limitations in participation procedures; and, (3) local residents' negative attitudes towards the process. Finally based on the study's findings, several suggestions are put forward for a future approach of community participation in tourism planning in the study area. This study recommends that a future participation framework should provide an alternative for optimum involvement with a potential for a higher participation level.