Persepsi dan tingkat kepuasan pelancong di Pulau Pangkor (Pulau Pangkor as a tourist destination – An inquiry into visitors’ perception and satisfaction)

Abstract

Pulau Pangkor mempengaruhi wujudnya kemudahsampaian, infrastruktur dan pembangunan. Justeru pembangunan Pulau Pangkor dalam bidang pelancongan telah mendapat sokongan, galakan dan intensif yang istimewa daripada kerajaan. Hasil penemuan kajian, melalui persepsi dan tingkat kepuasan pelancong  mengenal pasti nilai ambang yang menunjukkan banyak ketidak puasan hati para pengunjungnya terutama pada waktu puncak. Melalui kaedah penilaian keupayaan daya tampung membayangkan bahawa terdapat had ambang terhadap penggunaan, jika terlampau maka keadaan di persisiran pantai akan terjejas, kemudahan-kemudahan akan menjadi tepu dan rasa puas hati di kalangan pengunjung akan hilang. Ini merupakan ciri-ciri utama bagi sektor pelancongan yang mampan dan harus dipelihara. Lazimnya setiap penggunaan manusia terhadap alam sekitar semula jadi akan mengakibatkan beberapa perubahan kepada alam sekitarnya. Tumpuan konsep ini ialah mengenal pasti persepsi dan tingkat kepuasan pelancong melalui kaedah penelitian keupayaan daya tampung fizikal di Pulau Pangkor; iaitu berapa banyak perubahan yang boleh diterima bagi sesuatu persekitaran dan mengutarakan atau menghadkan kesan-kesan buruk terhadap persekitaran pantai di Pulau Pangkor.

Katakunci: ambang kepuasan, keupayaan daya tampung, pelancongan, pelancongan pulau, pembangunan lestari, persekitaran pantai

Because of its multiplier effect on accessibility enhancement, infrastructure and general economic development, the continuous progress of tourism in Pangkor Island had received the Malaysian government’s full support and various incentives. The focus of this research is to identify the perception and level of satisfaction among visitors to Pangkor Island based on the concept of carrying capacity and environmental impact of the island’s tourism sector. It was found that that the threshold of tourists’  dissatisfaction occurred especially during peak seasons. This implies that there is a limit to the carrying capacity of the island’s tourism beyond which further changes and increament could not be facilitated. It also implies that since it was only too easy for this limit to be exceeded the island was veritably on the verge of environmental degradation, as facilities became saturated and visitors’ enjoyment diminished. These are all important pointers to the challenge of forging a sustainable development of the island’s tourism industry.

Keywords: carrying capacity, coastal environment, island tourism, satisfaction threshold, sustainable development, tourism