STRATEGIC ANALYSIS OF ECOTOURISM INDUSTRY IN SABAH: APPLICATION OF COMBINED SWOT/TOWS AND AHP

Abstract

Sabah is a wonderful place for a special holiday, offering inspiring natural scenery, diverse landscapes, unique cultures, exciting adventures, beautiful beaches, and fantastic cuisine for the adventurous taste buds. Therefore, Sabah is one of the top tourist destinations, both among tourists and local people. The purpose of this paper is to conduct a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis of tourism in Sabah, which covers both internal and external factors. The analysis will be further enhanced to decide the best decision made by utilizing the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to determine priorities among SWOT factors. Therefore, the SWOT-AHP analysis is a strategy tool used for a qualitative study. The key determinants that influence the coastal, maritime, inland, and ecotourism in Sabah are as follows: Sabah has a rich biodiversity, Sabah has limited infrastructure; however, there is opportunity as there is growing interest in ecotourism, and the potential threat is due to the environmental degradation, which threat the ecosystems. Nevertheless, this paper also has limitations as it only focuses on a limited number of crucial internal and external elements. Thus, further research is essential in identifying the optimal strategy for ecotourism in Sabah.