Visitor's perceptions and visitation attributes of Kinabalu Park and Tawau Hills Park in Sabah

This study investigate visitors’ perception and visitation attributes of Kinabalu Park and Tawau Hills Park which focus on visitors’ awareness of being in a Protected Area, willingness to pay for conservation (WTP), recreational satisfaction, and willingness to come back. Data were collected by self...

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Bibliographic Details
Format: Thesis
Language:English
English
Published: 2015
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Online Access:https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/40610/1/24%20PAGES.pdf
https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/40610/2/FULLTEXT.pdf
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Summary:This study investigate visitors’ perception and visitation attributes of Kinabalu Park and Tawau Hills Park which focus on visitors’ awareness of being in a Protected Area, willingness to pay for conservation (WTP), recreational satisfaction, and willingness to come back. Data were collected by self-administered surveys using questionnaire on 300 respondents each from Kinabalu Park (KP) and Tawau Hills Park (THP). Descriptive and chi-square analyses were performed where socio-demographic profile and visiting characteristics are independent variables; awareness, WTP, satisfaction, and willingness to come back are the dependent variables. Descriptive analyses show the number of foreigners, education level, and monthly income in KP were higher than THP. Respondents in KP and THP had different visiting characteristics. Chi-square results found that awareness being in a Protected Area was significantly different between the first-time respondents and repeat respondents. Most of the respondents were willing to pay for conservation. Foreign respondents were willing to pay the rate of WTP lower than the rate stated by Sabah Parks. Meanwhile, chi-square results show satisfaction was significantly affected by source of information; whilst, willingness to come back was affected by monthly income. Results produce information from the visitors as a better basic for Sabah Parks to plan successful strategies to achieve a balance between tourism and conservation in Kinabalu Park and Tawau Hills Park.