In 1995, the Privatization Unit under the Chief Minister Department of Sabah proposed the privatization of the tourism facilities in Sabah Parks. Sabah Parks had taken a firm stand against a privatization program in the early days. This was because it believed that it was capable of providing a wide range of services and facilities that would attract different segments of visitors. Apart from this, Sabah Parks was confident that it could maintain the conservation priority as well as to its roles in relation to the surrounding
communities (Ali and Nais 1996). It feared that such efforts and responsibilities would not be upheld by the private sector. Nevertheless, the privatization program was eventually installed in 1998.
‘Privatization, whether in total or in part, may work in other nature parks, but the Sabah Parks has to date, stood firm against such an option’ (Ali and Nais 1996, p.7);
‘The issue of privatization of visitor facilities and services in the Parks surfaced in May 1995, when the State Cabinet decided to include the Parks’ chalets and restaurants in the State Privatization program. Since the decision comes from the highest authority of the state, Sabah Parks respects the move’ (Ali and Basintal 1997, p.41).
There was no open bidding involved during the selection of the management company; rather, a steering committee was formed, chaired by the Chief Minister, attended by the Ministry of Finance and the directors of Sabah Parks (personal conversation with Sabah Parks officer 2006). Subsequently, Sabah Parks adjusted its approach guided by a new principle in management in order to cope with its new position. This new approach came with the expectation that the privatization of visitor facilities and services would relieve Sabah Parks from financial and administrative burdens and, at the same time, would also increase efficiency and productivity. But most significantly, this move would shift the obligation of Sabah Parks to solely focus on conservation of the parks’ resources (Ali and Basintal 1997).
The concession came with a lease of assets for 30 years starting 1998. The objectives of introducing a privatization program were the following. Firstly, to improve the quality of tourism facilities in protected areas; secondly, to reduce the administrative, manpower and financial burden of Sabah Parks and hence to enable Sabah Parks to focus on its conservation efforts; and thirdly, to provide job opportunities for local communities in a tourism-related business (Ernst and Young 1997). These objectives to support the socio-economic principles of sustainable tourism development have been promoted in national 5-year plans since 2001.
Although the privatization program in Kinabalu Park has been implemented since 1998, so far there is no known study that has been carried out to evaluate the impacts of privatization on the management of Kinabalu Park with respect to meeting the socio-economic principles of sustainable tourism.
Introduction
1.5.2 Research objectives and questions
The primary objective of this research is to evaluate the influence of privatization on the management of Kinabalu Park based on the socio-economic principles of sustainable tourism.
Specifically, this research is focused on evaluating how the existing management structure has served as a facilitating and limiting factor in regulating tourism impacts in Kinabalu Park to support nature conservation, benefit local communities and enhance visitor satisfaction.
The central question of the research is: How does the privatization program assist the park management in meeting the socio-economic principles of sustainable tourism in Kinabalu Park?
Within the framework of this central question, further sub-questions are as follows:
1. Is the present state of tourism development supporting nature conservation in Kinabalu Park?
In order to determine how tourism has supported the conservation activities in Kinabalu Park, a breakdown of financial expenses is obtained to identify the proportionate allocation of the budget to conservation-related activities such as management and maintenance, research and staff training. Furthermore, since this research is carried out to study the influence of the privatization program, any changes in the allocation of expenses before and after privatization are also analyzed to understand whether the introduction of privatization has shifted Sabah Parks’ focus on conservation. The monitoring and tourism impact management system are also identified.
2. How does tourism development in Kinabalu Park benefit the local communities?
Sustainable tourism benefits the local community through providing stable jobs and earning opportunities, which are accompanied by training for long-term benefits. In order to determine how tourism development in Kinabalu Park benefits the local communities, the number of tourism-related jobs offered to local communities and their income level are identified. This is followed by obtaining a feedback on job satisfaction in financial and job security terms.
Training provided by the park management to local communities is also determined.
3. What is the current level of visitor satisfaction?
To answer this question, the level of visitor satisfaction in various facilities and activities in the park is evaluated. The level of satisfaction in the guiding services and the willingness to pay among visitors are also identified. In addition, the existing practice of segmenting the types of visitors visiting Kinabalu Park is assessed.
Methodology
2 METHODOLOGY
Data collection includes both primary and secondary data. While primary data were collected mainly to answer research questions on how tourism development in Kinabalu Park has benefited local communities and on the existing level of visitor satisfaction in the park, secondary data were collected to find out the extent to which tourism in Kinabalu Park is supporting nature conservation activities. Data were analyzed using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences).