Strategi Pengelolaan Kawasan Pelancongan di Sungai Petani: Kajian Kes di Majlis Perbandaran Sungai Petani Kedah

The tourism industry is a profitable sector and large contributor to the national economy. As is the case of Malaysia, a country with the potential in making an investment in the tourism product as a viable industry and thus support economic growth. Malaysia recorded a 3.9 percent increase in tourist arrivals in 2010 than in 2009. Sungai Petani, a district in Kedah (The Northern Peninsula of Malaysia), the number of tourist arrivals already have experienced an increase of 1.5 percent in 2011 compared to 2010. Sungai Petani have created a special area as a tourist transit center of Kedah and as a one of the focus zone support tourism development in order to strengthen and enhance the tourism industry as the main economic drivers of Kedah. This is due Sungai Petani have the potential beauty of the environment (natural resources), heritage, history, ecology, and agriculture which are particularly interesting attractions to become a foundation of tourism area. Therefore Sungai Petani’s tourism attractions should be preserved and developed wisely. In order to develop the tourism area in Sungai Petani, it is advisable to create an integrated management system that is able to guide the direction of sustainable tourism development. This study will examine about people’s satisfaction towards tourism development in Sungai Petani and that is expected to help the managers and industrial entrepreneurs to provide appropriate design to boost the tourism industry in this area. This study will also discuss about how the management of tourism in Sungai Petani, what factors that become supporter and barrier as management efforts in the tourism area of Sungai Petani and what strategies can be implemented to improve management efforts in the tourism area of Sungai Petani.