AGROTOURISM PREFERENCES FACTORS AMONG URBAN DWELLERS IN KLANG VALLEY AREA

Abstract

Agrotourism is a catalyst for initiation of the sustainable tourism activities and diversifyingrural activities. As agriculture is the fourth contributors to the country’s economic development, this sector has vast areas to offer the tourists to feel the excitement from farm and its resources. Agriculture and tourism have their own ability to develop and grow. The collaboration of both strong industries have strengthened the tourism industry in Malaysia. The objective of this study was to determine the agrotourism preferences among urban dwellers in Klang Valley. The findings revealed that most of the respondents agreed that payments for agrotourism activities should be reasonable and satisfactory as the statement showed the highest mean score (4.41). This means that, the payments charged to the customers must comply with what the agrotourism has been offered to them. Most of the respondents also agreed that finding agritourism locations through modern application like Google Maps and Waze should be easy as it has the highest mean score (4.54) on the statement. This was supported by the current trends of the public who are always connected to these applications to easily find any places at any time. Most of the respondents agreed that agrotourism products and activities should be suitable for all range of ages. This is because, public see tourism andleisure time as a valuable time to spend with family members and friends from all range of ages to tighten the relationship. 345 respondents (89.1%) agreed that the major challenges in agrotourism was the issues of lack of information about agrotourism itself. Information is important in order to create publicity about this industry. Results from this study will serve as a guide for authorities in finding ways about how to promote the agritourism based on the respondents’ preferences towards this industry in Malaysia.