Impacts Of Highland Management Practices Of Local Authorities On The Public Scenic Preferences And Scenic Beauty Of Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

Abstract

Highland environment is significant due to the tourism implication, where scenic beauty of such landscape can be an asset that attracts tourists. The study assessed the impacts of highland management practices (HMPs) on scenic beauty and public scenic preferences of Cameron Highlands. Comparison of preferences between local and foreign tourists and correlations between components of HMPs (e.g. naturalness, management activities and land use) and preferences were elucidated. A photographic questionnaire survey (n = 439) was the primary instrument used to measure tourists’ scenic preferences using coloured photographs. Scenic preferences were identified using a rank order of twelve. The survey also measured the impacts of HMPs on scenic beauty using a five-point likert scale. A semi-structured interview (n = 10) of local residents on similar measures supported these primary data using content analysis.

Result indicates the tea land use received the highest ratings (rank 1), while several naturalness components also received high ratings; hill (rank 2), waterfall (rank 3) and natural forest (rank 4). This suggests that the naturalness of Cameron Highlands should be sustained, due to its scenic quality, while the tea plantation remains the scenic icon of Cameron Highlands. A commercial land use received the lowest ratings (rank 12). Results also show that the components of HMPs contributed impacts on scenic beauty of Cameron Highlands. The study confirms the patterns of scenic preferences of Cameron Highlands between tourists and local residents yield close similarity in results and both instruments (e.g. questionnaire survey and interview) show high convergence of results. The hypotheses which stated that foreign tourists were more likely to agree to the effect of HMPS on the scenic beauty preferences than the local tourists were not fully supported in this study.

The correlation results show the components of HMPs had positive relationships with scenic preferences. The study has numerous implications to the District Council and Land Office of Cameron Highlands. These implications include consideration of scenic beauty in the highland management decisions and public participation in the planning process and preservation and protection of scenic value.