Introduction to Tourism Destination Planning & Development Essay

Tourism provides a major frugal maturation opportunity for many a(prenominal) countries and a means of improving the livelihoods of its residents. Both the public and private arenas knotted in tourism depend on planning to achieve sustainable tourism exploitation that regard the local community, creates appropriate employment, maintains the natural environment, and delivers a quality visitor experience. Tourism refinements that pursue development without kosher planning would face several(prenominal) negative impacts upon the community and host region, such as the erosion of the regions cultural identity as well as the destruction of landscapes. Malaysia is situated in sou- tocopherolward Asia and consists of 13 states and 3 federal territories, separated by the South China Sea. 11 of Malaysias states are located in Peninsular Malaysia and 2 in east Malaysia, situated on the island of Borneo. The capital metropolis of Malaysia is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government and Iskandar is known as the administrative center.Tourism is Malaysias second base largest immaterial exchange earner, with a total number of 1,817,061 tourist arrivals in January 2012 alone and 9,438,592 in the following five months, nearly a hundred thousand more than in the first five months of 2011. Malaysias Minister of Tourism, Dato Seri Dr. Ng Yen Yen has stated that total receipts from tourism in this item was RM 21.8 billion and according to the National Key Economic Area annual report in 2011, the tourism assiduity is projected to provide and incremental contribution of RM 66.7 billion to the inelegants National Gross Income. every these show the very rapid growth of Malaysias tourism sector.Moreover, the tourism industriousness in Malaysia has excessively been noted to have provided a number of 1.2 jillion jobs in the country, helping boost the economic and socio-economic development of Malaysia whether directly or indirectly, tourism ha s helped generate employment in industries such as agriculture, handicraft, hotel, transport and humanities and culture, while simultaneously conserving aspects of history, culture, heritage and environment of the country.Malaysias attractiveness as a tourist destination passel be largely contributed by the fact that, in line with its foreign tagline Malaysia, Truly Asia, it is a colourful hotpot of cultural diversity. Malaysias community consists of not only Malays, Chinese and Indians, but overly a number of ethnic people such as the Kadazandusun and Iban in Sabah and Sarawak, as well as the Selatar clan in Johor. With its multi-cultural heritage and exotic traditions, food and festivals, many tourists are drawn to visit the country every year. In addition, Malaysia besides has the advantage of having a warm, tropical climate all year long, something which many Western travellers look forward to enjoying, as well as having the advantage of being free of major natural disaster s such as volcanoes or earthquakes.Malaysia is also proud to have UNESCO-listed World Heritage Sites to its name, in the beginning the Gunung Mulu Geo-Park in Sarawak, and the historical sites of Malacca, with Mulu attracting 15000 tourists annually while Malacca welcomed more than four million between January and April this year.Recently, it has been revealed that the tourism industry was allocated an RM358 million under Budget 2013 in conjunction with Visit Malaysia Year 2013/2014, in order to commit a target of 26.8 million arrivals for the coming year. The Government will also review domestic policies and regulations regarding foreign equity equilibriumrictions and limits on employment of foreign talent, as well as rules governing recognition of international qualifications, requirements for commercial presence, composition of board of directors, and residency for expatriates in order to assist in liberalising the services sector to reach its full potential in Malaysia.Succes sful implementation of tourism destination development involves a lot of planning, in terms of the assessment of available resources at the destination, marketing strategies to be undertaken, economic and pecuniary analysis as well as an analysis of the market, the environment and also the social impacts of the development. In this assignment, I will attempt to measure the planning process and effects of it in regards to the state of Pahang in Malaysia.Introduction- PahangPahang is the tertiary largest state in Malaysia and is bordered to the north by Kelantan, to the west by Perak, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan, to the south by Johor and to the east by Terengganu and by the South China Sea. Its state capital is Kuantan, and the royal town is Pekan. Approximately 1.5 million people reside in Pahang to date and the ethnic composition is roughly 1,000,000 Malay and Bumiputera, 233,000 Chinese, 68,500 Indians, 13,700 others, while the rest are non-citizens. Geographically diverse, Pah ang ranges from holeous country in its west to one of the longest coastline in the east of Peninsula Malaysia. There has been evidence found that indicates the earliest habitation of Pahang leads back all the way to the Mesolithic Era. formerly famous for the deposits of tin and gold found along the upper reaches of the Tembeling River, Pahang had attracted the interest of outside bureaus long in advance the founding of Malacca in 1400.Under the control of the maritime empire of Srivijaya, Pahang had expanded to cover the holy southern portion of the Malay Peninsula in the 8th and 9th Centuries. With the collapse of Srivijaya power around 1000, Pahang was claimed first by the Siamese and then, in the late fifteenth century, by Malacca. After Malacca fell to the Portuguese in 1511, Pahang became a key part of the territorial struggles between Acheh, Johor, the Portuguese, and the Dutch. Repeated raids, invasions, and occupations devastated the state, until the decline of both Ac henese and Portuguese power in the early 17th century allowed Johor to re-establish its influence on the much fought-over state. In the late ordinal century, Pahang gradually gained autonomy, and in the middle of the nineteenth century it had become an independent state.The name Pahang has been said to bug out from the language of a Siamese ethnic tribe, meaning ore. The tribe once live thither and loose up several mining areas, especially in Sungai Lembing. According to an old Malay story, at the orient near the Pahang River, on the opposite side of Kampung Kembahang, a large mahang tree fell across the river, frankincense the name Pahang originated. The old name of Pahang is Inderapura. Two thirds of this huge state is covered in forest, thus Pahangs population is dependent mainly on agriculture and natural resources. There is extensive palm oil, umber and rubber cultivation. Due to its long coastline, fishing and tourism related activities are prominent in Pahang and there ar e some small-scale manufacturing and cottage industries which residents are also dependant on. The tourism mission of Pahang isPromoting Pahang as a Major Tourism Destination based on cultural heritage and natural resources for the socio-economic development of the state.Resources of PahangThe Arabic honorific of Pahang is Darul Makmur (Abode of Tranquility), an apt description of the state, with its lush tropical forests, cool mountain air, beaches, lakes and waterfalls nestling in the arms of mountain crevices. Pahang is truly a wild land with a picturesque and ethereal natural beauty beyond comparison. However, Pahang has more than that and its resources can be roughly categorized into several(predicate) classes natural resources, cultural resources, and manmade resources.Natural Resources of PahangTrue to its fame, Pahang is bag to many beautiful and breathtaking natural sites and wonders. It is home to unexplored rainforests, carefully preserved wildlife habitats, undisturbe d ecological sites and raging, wild rivers and waterfalls.1. Taman NegaraThe natural heart of Pahang is unquestionably Taman Negara, Malaysias oldest national park, lovingly referred to as The Green Heart. Gazetted as a National Park in 1938, Taman Negara is Malaysias largest and oldest natural park, with over 4000 km2 of wild, virgin rainforest. Although it also spans across the states of Terengganu and Kelantan, its largest protrusion is into Pahang. It is carefully conserved and protected due to its status as one of the last remaining frontiers of pristine rainforest, not only in Malaysia, but in the world.Taman Negara has a wide variety of flora and fauna, like the long-tailed macaques and rare Sumatran rhinos, as well as over 250 species of flora. One of the most frequented tourist attractions at Taman Negara is the Canopy Walkway, a prison-breaking bridge of strong ropes, cables, net and wood that hangs 40 metres above the ground from which tourists are able to advise the p arks natural beauty without disturbing its resident wildlife.There are also several limestone hills in Taman Negara that have stayed undisturbed since several hundred millions of years ago. Some of the popular caves are Gua Telinga, Gua Kepayang, Gua Daun Menaru and Gua Luas.Visitors also have the chance to take a 40 minute boat trip up the Tahan River to the Lata Berkoh Waterfall, where they can get the invigorating experience of swimming in the cool waters of the deep pool below the fall. Adventure-seeking tourists are also able to shoot up the 7 rapids of the Tembeling River, which takes about 5 minutes as it is a 9km ride.With the help of a hired guide, visitors can also go jungle trekking to experience Taman Negara up close along well-marked trails like the Tahang, Terenggan and Neram Trail. As Taman Negara is so meticulously guarded, tourists need to obtain indisputable permits or licenses in order to gain access to the park. These licenses differ depending on the tourists grouchy intention and can be applied for at any Department of Wildlife counters located at the Kuala Tembeling wall or Kuala Tahan. The permits and respective fares are listed in the following table.