Ecological Conservation, Ecotourism, and Sustainable Management: The Case of Penang National Park

Abstract

Penang National Park (PNP), as Malaysia's smallest national park, is one of the few naturally forested areas left on Penang Island, in Peninsular Malaysia. The main objective was to analyse users' preferences and willingness to pay to enhance improved management of PNP for the dual aim of conservation and recreation. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to analyse the formation of attitudes towards different aspects of PNP. Results showed that implementing enforcements with rules and regulations and imposing permits and charges on certain activities were the most influential variables of PNPs' perceptions. The results of a random parameter logit model (RPL) demonstrated that visitors placed the highest value on having adequate information about PNP, and the second-highest value on improvements in the park's ecological management. The welfare measure for improvement in management of PNP against status quo is estimated at about MYR 9. Results also showed that demand for better conservation and management of PNP is relatively price-inelastic. Simulations of the results showed, under a MYR10 admission fee, that improvement in management would have 96% of market share compared with status quo. This study concluded that visitor entrance fees can and ought to be introduced OPEN ACCESSForests 2015, 6 2346 as a means of financing conservation initiatives and possibly preventing congestion.

Assessing Tourists’ Preferences for Recreational Trips in National and Natural Parks as a Premise for Long-Term Sustainable Management Plans

“…This is in line with other studies which indicated that tourists expressed a high interest in more accessible and improved information [8,10,39]. In the studied area, the park authorities are constantly improving the manner in which information is provided to tourists through several funding programs, as they are aware that the quality of a recreational trip can be influenced by the information available.…”

“…Offering tourism opportunities while minimizing environmental impacts remains an ongoing task for park authorities that should be constantly based on a systematic evaluation of tourists' preferences and behavior [7,8]. Preferences refer to the tradeoffs between social, economic, and ecological values of goods and services provided by the protected areas [9].…”

Visitors preferences on forest conservation and management in Endau–Rompin National Park

“…Other issues include illegal hunting, poaching of terrestrial animals, and extraction of agarwood. These circumstances in a national park would result in visitor dissatisfaction (Kaffashi et al 2015).…”

“…A choice experiment (an elicitation technique for choice modelling) has the capacity to estimate values for alternative multi-attribute resource-use options. It estimates trade-offs among different attributes of the park, including price, besides the marginal changes in each individual attribute (Kaffashi et al 2015). Information gathered will help the management of ERNP and JNPC managers gauge the relative value of each of the different attributes being evaluated.…”

Sustainability Analysis of Mangrove Ecosystem for Ecofisherytourism in Sidoarjo Lumpur Island

“…Ketersediaan pusat informasi dan pemandu wisata menjadi hal yang penting bagi pengunjung yang baru pertama kali berkunjung ke lokasi wisata (Lindberg dan Veisten, 2012). Variabel biaya yang ditambahkan kedalam harga tiket masuk tidak menjadi permasalahan bagi sebagian besar pengunjung karena informasi yang didapat menjadi kepuasan pengunjung (Kaffashi et al, 2015).…”