The Role Of Cultural Commoditization Towards A Sustainable Tourism Practise Of The Mah Meri Community In Malaysia

Abstract

This paper presents the significant role of culture which is utilized by the Mah Meri community in Pulau Carey, Malaysia to practise sustainable tourism. Mah Meri is one of the 18 indigenous tribes in Peninsular Malaysia. Preliminary study was conducted in the year 2013 at Kampung Sungai Bumbon which is a well-established indigenous tourism destination in Malaysia. In-depth interview which was used as the qualitative data collection method helped the researchers to understand the community resources which can encourage sustainable tourism practise. Cultural tourism products like wood carvings, weavings, Main Jo’oh dance and Ari Moyang are the main attributes which contribute to tourism development. This study reveals that the community is proud of its culture. However, the community feels that their tourism business is facing a threat because of scarcity of natural resources. It is hoped that the findings of this study will contribute to existing literature in the indigenous tourism ground that could improve the sector into a more beneficial source of income for the indigenous community.