Understanding tourism development policies in Malaysia

The aim of this study is to understand and explain in detail how tourism development has evolved in Malaysia, and in particular, what informed its planning and policy. This study draws extensively on a critical analysis of the official plans for Malaysian tourism development, especially from the period of the First Malaysia Plan (1966-1970) to the Tenth Malaysia Plan (2010-2015), and sets this analysis within a Resource Based View (RBV). This study discovered that Malaysia identified individual capabilities that resulted in short-term advantages in tourism that were capitalised upon, and that its strength has been in its four marketing areas of product, price, promotions and distribution channel. However, some areas did not receive full cooperation from all stakeholders, rendering some long-term marketing objectives unachievable. Thus, the government needs to develop a closer relationship with its stakeholders to strengthen its vision and implementation of tourism planning and policies.