Industri pelancongan dan alam sekitar di Port Dickson: Menyorot titik keseimbangan antara permintaan dan penawaran (Tourism industry and the environment in Port Dickson: Highlighting the equilibrium of demand and supply)

Abstract

Industri pelancongan bergantung kepada alam sekitar sebagai sumber yang tidak ternilai. Dalam perkembangan dan pembangunan sektor pelancongan di Malaysia, peningkatan jumlah pelancong telah meningkatkan permintaan terhadap perkhidmatan-perkhidmatan berkaitan seperti pengangkutan, penginapan, pemakanan, rekreasi, tandas/persalinan dan sebagainya. Kesemuanya telah membawa perubahan persekitaran yang adakalanya menjejaskan ekosistem kawasan. Kajian ini bertujuan untuk meneliti saling hubungan industri pelancongan dan persekitaran di Port Dickson. Didapati faktor fizikal, pengurusan oleh MPPD, peniaga / pengusaha dan pelancong sebagai pengguna bertanggung jawab ke atas kualiti pantai Port Dickson. Implikasi tekanan penduduk, sifat pengotor pengujung, peniaga / pengusaha yang mengutamakan keuntungan, kelemahan perancangan dan penguatkuasaan penjagaan alam sekitar mungkin memudaratkan ekosistem pantai jika langkah sesuai tidak diambil. Dalam konteks
saling hubungan tersebut produk bernilai yang dinikmati oleh para pelancong seharusnya tidak terjejas bagi memastikan Port Dickson kekal sebagai destinasi pelancongan mapan untuk jangka panjang.

Katakunci: daya tampung, ekosistem pantai, industri pelancongan, kemudahan pelancongan, pelancongan mapan,Port Dickson

The tourism industry relies on the natural environm ent as its resource base. In the development of Malaysia’s tourism the increase of tourist arrivals has also increased the demand for related services such as transportation, accommodation, food, reacreational facilities, toilet / changing rooms hence so forth. Meeting all these needs has brought about environmental changes which may impact the ecosytems adversely . This study takes a closer look at the interrelationship between tourism industry and the pysical environment in Port Dickson. The results showed that physical factors, the local authority (MPPD)
management, the business and tourist operators, and the tourist as consumers were all responsible for the quality of the environment prevalent in Port Dickson. The implications of population pressure, environmentally unfriendly tourist conduct, business and operators putting profits above all else, and relatively ineffective institutional planning and enforcement would all conspire to jeopardise the environmental integrity of the Port Dickson coastal ecosystem. To ensure that Port Dickson remains as a sustainable tourist destination in the long run it is imperative that the necessary mitigation measures are taken urgently.

Keywords: carrying capacity, coastal ecosystem, ecological integrity, sustainable tourism, tourist facilities , tourism industry