Penang Community-based Homestay Tourism Driving Factor for Resources Conservation and SDGs: A Qualitative Study

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6463-801-1_20How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Homestay; Community-Based Tourism (CBT); Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) and Tourist Perspective

Abstract

Homestay tourism is popular among tourists for its uniqueness, socio-economic benefits and inclusive community-based collaborations. Community-based tourism (CBT) homestays’ natural settings, local cuisines, traditional culture, and authenticity have attracted many tourists to Malaysia. This study explores the critical success factors in developing CBT homestay programs in Penang, Malaysia, concerning its sustainability. Using a qualitative research approach, data were collected through focus group discussions, observations, literature reviews, document analysis, and semi-structured in-depth interviews to examine stakeholders’ perceptions of CBT homestays from the tourist perspective. The findings indicate that the sustainable nature of homestays, active local community participation, and cultural tourism attract tourists. Resource conservation contributes to sustainable tourism practices and benefits the host community financially. Consequently, it incentivises preserving cultural histories by promoting local crafts, heritage sites, and traditional activities such as local songs, dances, and oral histories. Hence, CBT promotes the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: SDG 1: No Poverty, SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, and SDG 13: Climate Action. Nevertheless, no standardised framework exists to address the diverse policy practices and challenges in balancing Malaysian homestay programs’ environmental, cultural, and socio-economic sustainability. The paper examines sustainable homestay policy strategies through the lens of tourist experiences to develop a framework of sustainable strategies that strengthen tourism policies within the Malaysian homestay framework. The finding advocates increased SDG policy awareness, education, and governance mechanisms to sustain the CBT homestay model. It also suggests standardising CBT homestay registration and governance to maintain sustainability and appeal to tourists. As an improvement to Penang’s homestay tourism sector, it is an integral part of Malaysia’s tourism industry.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Angayar Kanni Ramaiah
AU  - Azila Azmi
AU  - Suria Sulaiman
AU  - Ningrum Natasya Sirait
AU  - Robert
AU  - Lesly Saviera
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/07/31
TI  - Penang Community-based Homestay Tourism Driving Factor for Resources Conservation and SDGs: A Qualitative Study
BT  - Proceedings of the 9th Terengganu International Business and Economics Conference 2025 (TiBEC IX 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 277
EP  - 295
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-801-1_20
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-801-1_20
ID  - Ramaiah2025
ER  -