National Ecotourism Plan 2016-2025.

This National Ecotourism Plan is a comprehensive document aiming to revise and improve recent study findings in order to develop potential ecotourism destinations, utilizing the Plan as an instrument for Malaysia's overall sustainable development and economic growth while also serving as a tool for the conservation of ecotourism sites in the country. The Plan sets out the following three main Strategic Objectives (1) consolidate recent reviews and studies of the National Ecotourism Plan 1996; (2) review the success and shortcomings in the implementation of the National Ecotourism Plan 1996; (3) recommend policies, strategies and action plans to improve the planning, sustainable management, conservation, financing, promotion and operation of eco-tourism sites. The key strategies to achieve the targets include: (i) promoting investments in ecotourism by streamlining investment procedures to meet international standards and conducting campaigns to boost ecotourism investments; (ii) improving tourism concessions in ecotourism sites with high-quality visitor services compatible with conservation, establishing a sustainable financing system for tourism management in national parks, and ensuring awareness of international trends in concessions management among park managers and tourism officials; (iii) fostering synergy between ecotourism and conservation through actions such as enhancing the National Ecotourism Committee, establishing a national platform for sharing experiences in community-based ecotourism, addressing unsustainable tourism practices affecting marine resources, supporting the development of local nature guides, and enhancing the tourist experience at homestays near ecotourism sites; (iv) implementing ecotourism marketing interventions, including promoting soft ecotourism modules for mainstream markets, emphasizing urban ecotourism, catering to domestic and neighboring markets' demand for eco-adventure, attracting high-spending special interest tourists, encouraging innovation in the industry through priority access to grants, and identifying ecotourism trends; (v) developing ecotourism clusters by identifying a critical mass of competitive or complementary tourism products, including major attractions in a concentrated geographical area, and preparing detailed cluster diagrams.