Overtourism Impacts on Cameron Highlands Community’s Quality of Life: The Intervening Effect of Community Resilience

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the impacts of overtourism on the quality of life of highland communities, with a specific focus on the mediating role of community resilience. Data was collected from Cameron Highland residents using a quantitative approach to understand their experiences and perspectives on the impacts of overtourism in the Malaysian setting. The results indicate that while overtourism does not significantly diminish quality of life, it positively influences community resilience. Furthermore, community resilience strongly correlates with quality of life and mediates between overtourism and quality of life. The study highlights the positive economic effects of overtourism, contributing to improved living standards for locals despite challenges. It emphasises the need for sustainable tourism practices and inclusive community involvement in future tourism development plans to safeguard both economic benefits and the well-being of residents. The findings provide insights into how tourism can be managed to benefit both tourists and residents.

KEYWORDS:

• Overtourism
• highlands community
• quality of life
• community resilience

Acknowledgement

This research was supported by the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education (Kementerian Pendidikan Tinggi Malaysia) (KPT) through Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS/1/2019/WAB12/UNISZA/01/1).

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education (Kementerian Pendidikan Tinggi Malaysia) (KPT) [grant number: (FRGS/1/2019/WAB12/UNISZA/01/1)].