Sustainable Livelihood and Community Perception of Tourism Development: A Case Study of Langkawi Island, Malaysia
This study is conducted in Langkawi Islands, Malaysia. Initially, majority ofthe people in the community are fisherfolks and farmers. In 1987, the island hasbeen declared as one of Malaysia’s tax-duty zones. By this declaration, it led to the rapid growth of the tourism industry and changed the socioeconomic pattern of the community. This study is trying to evaluate the level of livelihood sustainabilityof the community and their perception on the impact of tourism developmentin Langkawi Island. Descriptive design of livelihood sustainability frameworkdeveloped by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP, 2005) and mean analysis were utilized. Under livelihood sustainability, four assets/indicators wereanalyzed, namely: human assets, financial assets, physical assets and social assets.As for community perception, it covers three aspects that are economic, social andenvironmental aspects. Face-to-face interviews involving a total of 493 respondentswere conducted in November-December 2011. The results indicate that thedevelopment of tourism in Langkawi Island bringsbenefits to the community in terms of the increment in their human, financial, physical and social assets.Community perception also supports that they gained economically, sociallyand environmentally benefits from the development of the tourism industry inLangkawi Island. Therefore, various incentives should be given to encourage theirinvolvement in this industry.Keywords: Tourism development, community perception, sustainable livelihood,descriptive design, Malaysia