Skip to main content
Review | Sustainable Environmental Insight | Volume 1 - Issue 2 - 2024 | 96-107 | https://doi.org/10.53623/sein.v1i2.478
© 2024 by the author(s), and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License

Exploring the Cultural Tourism of Malaysia: A Comprehensive Review

Author(s): Zulayti Zakaria 1 , Ang Kean Hua 2
Author(s) information:
1 Program Antropologi and Sosiologi, Fakulti Sains Sosial dan Kemanusiaan, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Malaysia.
2 Jabatan Geografi, Fakulti Sastera dan Sains Sosial, Universiti Malaya, Malaysia.

Corresponding author

Sustainable Environmental Insight

Volume 1 - Issue 2 - 2024

 About the journal
Submit your article

In line with the Malaysia Tourism Transformation Strategy in 2020, the government devoted enormous resources to nurture and cultivate the industry to achieve the Tourism of National Key Economic Area (NKEA). This initiative aims at re-invigorating tourism within Malaysia. The unparalleled essence of foreign tourists depends upon culture and the attributes the experience evokes. Generally, tourism choices are more influenced by the cultural part and values of undisguised cultural virtues, whether in the form of tangible or intangible distinctions. Cultural elements direct tourism guidebooks, postcards, pictures, television programs, commercials, posters, and itineraries, etc. Cultural tourism projects can be viewed as a medium to highlight group distinctions. They also serve as tools in teaching, growth, performing economic and tourism roles. The vision and attribute of heritage and culture will signify destinations in the future. The Malaysian Tourism Blueprint (2010-2020) considers cultural tourism as one of the key pivot areas of another NKEA. This article intends to delineate the existing literature pertinent to cultural tourism in Malaysia. The review of the literature attempts to provide an extensive record of the current conceptual insights within the area. Given the immense potential of the country as a culturally rich destination, there is still room for exploring experiences and insights to keep the zeal alive for cultural products of Malaysia. At the top of this, the policy frameworks are geared towards enhancing tourism. As a culturally rich country, Malaysia needs to attract tourist interests to explore and visit Malaysia's roots, its people, and the diverse community that makes Malaysia unique. The findings of this literature review are instrumental in setting the future studies agenda in order to address the existing dearth of the knowledge base.

Read Full-Text
Previous article
Next article

Adnan, A.H.M.; Shah, D.S.M.; Haniff, M.; Tahir, M.; Salim, M.S.A.M.; Muhyiddin, A. (2021). The lived experiences and non-formal education of Malaysian 'Orang Asli' (Native People) youngsters. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 11(9), 682‒695. http://doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v11-i9/11050.

Ali, K.K. (2022). A discourse on the Malay cultural identity within the Malaysian society. Kajian Malaysia: Journal of Malaysian Studies, 40, 83‒107. http://doi.org/10.21315/km2022.40.1.5.

Ariffin, W.J.W.; Shahfiq, S.; Ahmad, F.; Ibrahim, A.; Ghazalli, F.S. (2023). Handicraft innovations: A strategic approach to preserving intangible cultural heritage of Malaysia. ISVS e-Journal, 10(7), 137‒146.

Baharuddin, S.A. (2020). Cultural diversity in Malaysia and the reconciliation for integration. Jebat: Malaysian Journal of History, Politics & Strategy, 47(3), 308‒331.

Boon, K.M. (2022). 'The only thing is you have to know them first': Protest policing and Malaysia's BERSIH protests (2011–2016). Small Wars & Insurgencies, 33, 868‒901. https://doi.org/10.1080/09592318.2021.2025287.

Cai, Z.; Fang, C.; Zhang, Q.; Chen, F. (2021). Joint development of cultural heritage protection and tourism: The case of Mount Lushan cultural landscape heritage site. Heritage Science, 9, 86. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-021-00558-5.

Ezenagu, N. (2020). Heritage resources as a driver for cultural tourism in Nigeria. Cogent Arts & Humanities, 7, 1734331. http://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2020.1734331.

Cheng, Z.; Chen, X. (2022). The effect of tourism experience on tourists' environmentally responsible behavior at cultural heritage sites: The mediating role of cultural attachment. Sustainability. 14, 565. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14010565.

Juanis, B.; Saleh, Y.; Ghazali, M.K.A.; Mahat, H.; Hashim, M.; Nayan, N.; Kurnia, R. (2022). Knowledge, attitudes and practices of youths towards the intangible cultural heritage elements of Dusun ethnic in Malaysian environment. In IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 975, 012008. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/975/1/012008.

Kalvet, T., Olesk, M., Tiits, M., Raun, J. (2020). Innovative tools for tourism and cultural tourism impact assessment. Sustainability, 12, 7470. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12187470.

Kamaruddin, N.; Rogers, R.A. (2020). Malaysia’s democratic and political transformation. Asian Affairs: An American Review, 47, 126‒148. http://doi.org/10.1080/00927678.2020.1715046.

Viken, A.; Höckert, E.; Grimwood, B.S. (2021). Cultural sensitivity: Engaging difference in tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 89, 103223. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2021.103223.

Mehtiyeva, A.; Prince, S. (2020). Journeys of research, emotions and belonging: An exploratory analysis of the motivations and experience of ancestral tourists. Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, 20, 85‒103. https://doi.org/10.1080/15022250.2020.1728376.

Razali, A.F.; Barkauskaitė, H.M.; Naivkas, V. (2021). Malaysian product design identity: Review on the ‘keywords’. European Journal of Economics and Business Studies, 8, 156. http://doi.org/10.26417/ejes.v8i1.p156-175.

Rina, N. (2021). Tradition, cultural contact and English for tourism: The case of Mentawai, Indonesia. Heliyon, 7, e07322. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e07322.

Lai, S.; Zhang, S.; Zhang, L.; Tseng, H.W.; Shiau, Y.C. (2021). Study on the influence of cultural contact and tourism memory on the intention to revisit: A case study of cultural and creative districts. Sustainability, 13, 2416. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13042416.

Tomasi, S.; Paviotti, G.; Cavicchi, A. (2020). Educational tourism and local development: The role of universities. Sustainability, 12, 6766. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12176766.

Wang, S.; Blasco, D.; Hamzah, A.; Verschuuren, B. (2023). Tourists and ‘philosophers’: Nature as a medium to consciousness and transcendence in spiritual tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 99, 103543. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2023.103543.

Richards, G. (2018). Cultural tourism: A review of recent research and trends. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 36, 12‒21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2018.03.005.

Baran, Z.; Baran, H. (2022). The future of digital tourism alternatives in virtual reality. In Handbook of Research on Digital Communications, Internet of Things, and the Future of Cultural Tourism; Baran, Z., Baran, H., Eds; IGI Global: Pennsylvania, United States, pp. 58-84.

Read Full-Text
About this article

SUBMITTED: 14 August 2024
ACCEPTED: 26 September 2024
PUBLISHED: 29 September 2024
SUBMITTED to ACCEPTED: 43 days
DOI: https://doi.org/10.53623/sein.v1i2.478

Cite this article
Zakaria, Z., & Hua, A. K. (2024). Exploring the Cultural Tourism of Malaysia: A Comprehensive Review. Sustainable Environmental Insight, 1(2), 96–107. https://doi.org/10.53623/sein.v1i2.478
Keywords
NKEA, cultural tourism, Malaysian Tourism Blueprint, economic
Accessed
437
Citations
0
Share this article