Is the Sense of Community towards Participation in Tourism Development among the Minorities in Multiracial Countries the Same?

This paper investigates and compares the community support for tourism development between two groups of minority ethnic descendants in Malacca, Malaysia, namely the Baba-Nyonya and Portuguese. A descriptive research design using a quantitative method with self-reported and self-administered questionnaires through across-sectional approach was applied. Through the descriptive and inferential statistics, some significantly useful insights pertaining to the issue investigated were obtained. The research outcomes indicate that the sense of community is somewhat more effective in small communities in terms of togetherness, closeness and a sense of belonging compared to the slightly bigger minority group. In addition, the sense of community attributes through membership, influence, integration and shared emotional connections contributes to community participation in tourism development regardless of which ethnic group one belongs to.

Authors:

• Nur Shahirah Mior Sharifuddin
• Mohd Salehuddin Mohd Zahari
• Muaz Aizuddin
• Mohd Hafiz Hanafiah

Keywords:

• Participation
• minority
• tourism
• development.

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