Socioeconomic implications of scuba diving tourism development on the island community of Malaysia: A preliminary observation

This paper discusses scuba diving tourism development on several islands in Malaysia and its socioeconomic implications to the island communities. Scuba diving tourism is a specialized form of tourism that offers scuba diving activities as the main product of island holidays. There are several features that make scuba diving islands a popular tourist destination renowned globally. These include a healthy marine environment, complete and accurate information throughout the whole tourism journey, the presence of a variety of diving sites such as the remains of sunken ships, deep trenches in the coral reefs, good underwater visibility and rich marine life species. This literature study was based on the experience of selected islands namely Pulau Sipadan, Pulau Mabul, Pulau Layang-Layang, Pulau Perhentian, Pulau Redang and Pulau Payar. Scuba diving as a tourism activity has brought a direct socioeconomic implication the local communities. This may be observed through the islanders’ participation in various economic activities. However, there are also some negative impacts such as market manipulation by outside parties, increasing land wnwership by outside people and agricultural land use changes in the islands.