Title: Indigenous peoples and tourism business opportunity: the influence of Orang Asli's personality traits and sense of community

Authors: Derweanna Bah Simpong; Mohd Salehuddin Mohd Zahari; Mohd Hafiz Hanafiah; Roslina Ahmad

Addresses: Faculty of Hospitality, Tourism and Wellness, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, 16100 Pengkalan Chepa, Kelantan, Malaysia ' Faculty of Hotel and Tourism Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Selangor, 42300 Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia ' Faculty of Hotel and Tourism Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Selangor, 42300 Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia ' Faculty of Hotel and Tourism Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Selangor, 42300 Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia

Abstract: This paper empirically investigates the influence of Malaysian indigenous people's (Orang Asli) personality traits and sense of community toward their participation in tourism industry-related businesses. Specifically, this study surveyed Orang Asli entrepreneurs who are involved in tourism businesses. This study applies the causal research design through a quantitative method, self-reported and self-administered questionnaire. Two hundred eighty-five (285) completed surveys were successfully collected and coded. Through structural equation modelling (SEM), the path analysis result shows that there is a strong link between Orang Asli personality traits and their participation in tourism businesses. Also, there is also evident that their sense of community is an essential factor for the Orang Asli to partake in the tourism business. This promising indication has undoubtedly drawn several practical implications not only for the Orang Asli entrepreneurs but also for the policy maker and responsible authority.

Keywords: indigenous; entrepreneurs; tourism business; Orang Asli; Malaysia.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTA.2019.107313

International Journal of Tourism Anthropology, 2019 Vol.7 No.3/4, pp.268 - 283

Received: 12 Jun 2018
Accepted: 21 May 2019

Published online: 13 May 2020 *

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