Kajian terhadap syarat dan fenomena semasa dalam pembangunan program homestay di Malaysia

Abstract

Abstrak

Pada masa kini, program homestay di Malaysia telah menjadi suatu alat pembangunan komuniti luar bandar yang merupakan salah satu agenda pembangunan negara. Bagi menggalakkan dan mencapai pembangunan komuniti tersebut, komuniti seharusnya diberi peluang dan latihan yang secukupnya berkaitan bidang yang diceburi. Hal ini kerana, program homestay adalah satu mekanisme yang tepat dan berpotensi untuk meningkatkan taraf hidup komuniti yang kurang bernasib baik di kawasan luar bandar di Malaysia. Walau bagaimanapun, masih lagi komuniti di luar bandar menghadapi cabaran dari segi penyampaian sumber informasi berkaitan pembangunan homestay, khususnya syarat asas yang harus dipenuhi. Data primer dan sekunder telah diperolehi melalui kajian lapangan yang melibatkan dua buah homestay yang terkenal di Kundasang, Sabah. Kajian ini mendapati informasi berkaitan syarat asas pembangunan homestay harus disediakan oleh pihak agensi kerajaan agar komuniti luar bandar sedar dan berminat untuk turut terlibat. Selain itu, kajian ini mendapati fenomena semasa program homestay melalui kewujudan homestay komersial berbanding homestay tradisional yang diusahakan oleh komuniti bandar dan luar bandar. Kajian ini penting kepada pihak berkepentingan dalam industri pelancongan untuk mengenal pasti atau menambahbaik polisi sedia ada berkaitan program homestay. Kajian ini berharap bahawa para penyelidik program homestay juga boleh menggunakan data daripada kajian ini bagi menjalankan kajian tentang program homestay di Malaysia pada masa akan datang.

Kata kunci: homestay komersial, komuniti, luar bandar, pembangunan, penyertaan, syarat

Research on regulations and current phenomenan in homestay programme development in Malaysia

Abstract

In Malaysia, the homestay programme is instrumental in developing the livelihood of the rural communities in which community development is a part of the national development agendas. To cultivate and ultimately achieve community development, equal chances and ample training in their respective field must be given to the community. This is because the mechanism of homestay programme has the potential to uplift the state of the poor in the rural area of Malaysia. However, some local communities in rural areas are facing challenges in terms of limited access to information on homestay programme, particularly related to the needs of rules and regulations which should be fulfilled. Both primary and secondary data were gathered from fieldwork, which involves two popular homestays in Kundasang, Sabah. The study discovered that the basic regulations of homestay development must be relayed by the government agencies as an effort to improve awareness among the rural community and any interested party. On the other hand, the study also unveils that current phenomena of homestay programme can be observed through the increase of commercial homestay as opposed to the traditional homestay operated by the urban and rural communities. Hence, this article offers a discussion of the current issue in the homestay programme and basic regulations of homestay programme development in Malaysia drawn from secondary sources and from the experience of the researcher. This study is significant to the tourism stakeholders to identify or enhance the existing policies on the homestay programme. This study is hoped to provide data for future studies on the homestay programme in Malaysia.

Keywords: commercial homestay, community, rural area, development, participation, regulation