CONFERENCE PROCEEDING. International Conference of Management, Business & Social Sciences Impact (ICMBSSI 2018) USA PASSION DEVELOPMENT

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1 USA PASSION DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE PROCEEDING International Conference of Management, Business & Social Sciences Impact (ICMBSSI 2018) 0 0

2 International Conference of Management, Business & Social Sciences Impact (ICMBSSI 2018) Copyright 2018 USA Passion Development Sdn Bhd ( D) No. 30-3A,Tingkat 4, Jalan Putra 8, Taman Putra Kajang, Kajang, Selangor. All rights reserved. No part of this proceeding may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any process without the prior written permission of the publisher, except for the inclusion of brief quotations for Review. EISBN :

3 EDITORIAL BOARD EDITOR IN CHIEF Prof. Dato' Sri Dr. Ashgar Ali bin Ali Mohamed Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia (International Islamic University of Malaysia) EDITOR Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohd. Faizal Mohd Isa Universiti Utara Malaysia (North University of Malaysia) CO-EDITOR Dr. Zul Ariff Bin Abdul Latiff Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (University of Kelantan Malaysia) CO-EDITOR Ts. Dr. Nor Haslinda Binti Abas Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (University of Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia) MANAGING EDITOR Siti Syaiedatul Assilla Binti Azian USA Passion Development Sdn. Bhd. 2

4 CONTENTS TITLE SELF-ENGAGEMENT IN AVITOURISM : A CASE OF TAMAN NEGARA BIRD COUNT (TNBC2017), MALAYSIA PAGE 4 INTRODUCTION, OBJECTIVE & METHODOLOGY 5 FINDINGS 6 CONCLUSION & MAIN REFERENCES 7 3

5 SELF-ENGAGEMENT IN AVITOURISM : A CASE OF TAMAN NEGARA BIRD COUNT (TNBC2017), MALAYSIA Khatijah Omar 1,2, Muhammad Abi Sofian Abdul Halim 1,2, Hazman Samsudin 1, Zaleha Mohamad 2 & Isma Rosila Ismail 3 1 Institute of Tropical Biodiversity & Sustainable Development 2 School of Maritime Business and Management 3 Center for Basic & Liberal Education,Universiti Malaysia Terengganu Abstract: In most parts of the world, tourism has been described as the largest and fastest-growing economic sector and avitourism (observing birds in their native habitats) which is a part of ecotourism, has been identified as a growing trend in tourism. Despite the rapid growth of avitourism globally, the local market potential of avitourism is yet to be further explored because many researchers have admitted the potential of avitourism in bringing significant economic and conservation benefits to local communities. The aim of this study is to investigate the personal engagement among the youth participants in avitourism activities. It is important to record their engagement because knowing the level of participants engagement could help to predict the sustainability of avitourism activity or program. The sustainability of avitourism depends very much upon understanding both the avitourism product and the willingness of avitourists to continuously enjoy birding activities. The data was collected using self-administered questionnaires distributed to youth participants who participated in Taman Negara Bird Count (TNBC2017) program. The results reveal that self-engagement among youth participants was high and this gives signal that avitourism could have a good potential in Malaysia. As suggested by previous literature, enhanced understanding of avitourism opportunities and avitourist desires could guide avitourism growth, assist the economies of many local communities, highlight birds and habitats vulnerable to the negative impacts of avitourism, as well as helping finance conservation activities. It is hoped that the findings of this study can also provide some guides to relevant agencies such as tourism agencies in drafting or reformulating policies and strategies to further promote avitourism in Malaysia because with its abundant species of birds, Malaysia has a huge potential to be a significant avitourism spot. Keywords: Tourism, bird watching, avitorism potential, self-engagement, youth participants INTRODUCTION Globally, tourism has been described as the fastest-growing economic sector and it keeps on growing. Malaysia is also experiencing the same trend with tourist arrivals and receipts in 2017 is million and RM82.1 million respectively (Tourism Malaysia, 2018). There are some special areas in tourism such as ecotourism, medical tourism, sport tourism and education tourism, to name a few. Recently, avitourism has gained interests of many and it is classified as a sub set of ecotourism as it promotes conservation and environmental sustainability (Hvenegaard, 2002). In fact, avitourism has been said as one of the faster growing subsectors of ecotourism, recognized for its economic values: besides promoting conservation and environmental sustainability, it also brings significant economic benefits to 4

6 local communities (Steven, 2015). In Malaysia, avitourism or birdwatching activity has increased in popularity which also contributes to the national economic growth (Gertrude David et al., 2017). As the Malaysian government regards tourism as an important vehicle to diversify its economic structure, venturing and promoting avitourism aggressively can also boost tourism Malaysia as a whole (Lean & Smyth, 2006). In the United States of America, in 2012, birding tourism recorded a dramatic increase in income generation. In Malaysia, that can also be possible since Malaysia is rich in various species of birds. OBJECTIVE The findings of this study to provide significant implication for both theory and practices. LITERATURE REVIEW Avitourism has been defined as a travel beyond one s usual situation undertaken overnight, to view birds in their natural habitat by using a binocular (Nicolaides, 2014). Bird watching or birding tourism, also known as avitourism, which means that specific sector of nature-based tourism focuses explicitly on looking at bird species (Biggs et al, 2011). Whereas according to Glowinski (2008) birdwatching is defined as the lively observation, identification, and photography of birds for leisure purposes. Avitourism is categorized under a subcategory of nature-based tourism (Nicolaides, 2014). There are some past studies undertaken in relation to avitourism. Biggs et al. (2011) carried out a study to investigate 11 community-based avitourism projects in South Africa. They concluded that avitourism project can be a cost-effective way to create jobs and deliver conservation and human development benefits if the projects have adequate long-term support. Nicolaides (2013) analysed the role and impact of avitourism in general economic advance in particularly rural areas in South Africa and stated that avitourism is a division of ecotourism which has shown the high potential because birdwatchers are usually from the positions of the relatively well educated and wealthy individuals who love seeing birds in their natural habitats. Nicolaides also stated that avitourism also has a big potential to add value to local societies because avitourism provides an important link between the local community and avitourists. METHODOLOGY This research employed quantitative method to obtain the data by using questionnaire delivered to respondents during the three-day event. As mentioned earlier, there were 271 participants joined TNBC2017 program and they were all the potential respondents. The questionnaire consists of three sections namely Section A (Respondent s Background), Section B (Self-engagement) and Section C (Intention to Participate in the Future). All questions in Section B and 5

7 C were five-point Likert Scale type of measurement ranging from 1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = neutral, 4 = agree to 5 = strongly agree. To measure self-engagement of the participants, measurement constructed by Schaufeli et al., (2012) was adapted and adopted. There were 10 questions altogether and the questions measured three dimensions of self-engagement which are dedication, absorption and vigor. Examples of items are, I am looking forward for bird watching activities for the next day., To me, the activities are challenging, and When I was in the activities, I forgot anything else.. To measure intention to participate in the event in the future, three items were adapted from the items used in Fang et al. (2009). Those 3 questions that measured intention to participate in such event in the future in this study are: I will participate again in this kind of program in the future, I will spread the words to others and viral to friends and the public, and I would invite more friends to join this program. FINDING AND DISCUSSION Due to the richness of the bird species available in Malaysia, bird watching activity has a huge potential to be a popular activity in many potential avitourism spots, whether in Peninsular Malaysia or in Sabah and Sarawak. The results of self-engagement and intention to participate in future in this research have also revealed positive attitude towards avitourism among youth participants. The findings reveal that youths who participated in the TNBC2017 showed high scores in terms of self-engagement and intention to participate in the future. Since the participants of TNBC2017 came from many states in Malaysia, this also indicated that there is high potential in developing birdwatching activity as one of ecotourism activities in Malaysia. As cited by Goodfellow (2015), US FWS survey in 2011 reported that 53% of birders were 45 years of age or older and 30% were 55 or older. In some other countries like Africa and Australia, avitourism has attracted mainly those of middle aged and middle-class participants. This means that majority of birders are among older people. However, the findings of this study reveal that avitourism has also successfully attracted the young. This is a very positive sign and in fact, in general, avitourism nowadays has a huge potential and attract birders from various categories of age because over the globe more and more people are looking for activities to engross themselves in nature, and at the same time to study local cultures and view exotic bird species at the locations they visit. CONCLUSION Past studies stated that birding community is diverse (Connell, 2009) in terms of sex, education levels, as well as income levels. More and more females involve in birding and birding is no longer dominated by middle-aged, white males with high salaries and education levels (Jones & Buckley, 2004). In fact, the motivations, commitment level and birding methods also vary (Kim et al., 2010; Connell, 2004). The results of this study could also provide guidelines for effective planning, management and marketing of avitourism and help tourism agencies to develop products that meet the needs of avitourists. Activities offered in avitourism program should be wisely drafted to suit the specific market segment; the youth, the middle aged avitourists and other segment of avitourists. 6

8 SELECTIVE REFERENCES 1. Chua, Y. P. (2006). Asas Statistik Penyelidikan. Malaysia: McGraw-Hill. 2. DeVellis, R. F. (2003). Scale Development Theory and Applications. London: Sage. 3. Glowinski, S. L. (2008). Bird-watching, Ecotourism, and Economic Development: A Review of The Evidence. Applied Research in Economic, 5(3), Hvenegaard, G. T. (2002, January 1). Birder Specialization Differences in Conservation Involvement, Demographic, and Motivations. Human Dimensions of Wildlife, 7(1), Lean, H. H., & Smyth, R. (2006). Marketing 'Malaysia Welcomes The World: Are Malaysia's Tourism Markets Converging? Business and Economic, 26,