AZAHARI BIN OMAR¹

Almost all National Parks in the world change entrance fees for visitor. Entrance fees are a necessary source of income to National Parks in Sarawak, Malaysia. The Sarawak Forest Department has decided to increase entrance fees from RM3 to RM10 and these will be implemented by 1^st July 2002. The government hopes that this will double revenues from this source.

These fees can be compared with Tunku Abdul Rahman Park in Sabah, where the park entrance fee is RM2 per person, and to Taman Negara National Park in West Malaysia, where the entrance fee is only RM1, but a camera permit costs RM5 and a fishing licence RM10, and car park charges are RM5 per day (Rowthorn et. al., 1999). These rates is still cheap compared to ê 6.25 (RM33.60) for adults to visit White Scar Cave, Yorkshire Dales National Park, in Britain.

The new rate were approved by the Forest Department and State Cabinet and incorporated into the National Park and Nature Reserves Regulations 1999. Single entrance fees for entering national parks will be increased to RM10 for adults and RM5 for children. Five-entry passes, multiple entry passes and group entry tickets are also offered.

These new fees will be applied to all the twelve national parks and three nature reserves that are opened to the public. The Forest Department Sarawak has stated four main rationales for increasing these fees (a) increased revenue to cover the rising costs of goods and services, (b) user-pays concept, and (c) instilling a sense of ownership.

The objectives of my research were to study the perception of visitors of the new entrance fees and the probability of them coming back in the future.

A questionnaire was used to determine the perceptions of visitors on new entrance fees. The data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software. The target sample for this study was 100 respondents, 50 respondents from Bako National Park and 50 from Matang Wildlife Centre. The samples were stratified into foreign and local visitors based on previous years records of visitors. Bako National Park and Matang Wildlife Centre were selected as study areas, based on the ratio of foreign visitors and local visitors, accessibility, and the experience offered to visitors.. Bako receives the highest number of foreign visitors and Matang recorded the highest number of local visitors; Matang receives the highest number of visitors of all national parks of Sarawak.

Visitors were interviewed during weekdays and weekends in June 2001, and 64 responses were received, 27 from Bako and 37 from Matang; five visitors declined to be interviewed. A further 20 questionnaires were given to visitors for self-completion, but only seven were returned. Out of 64 respondents, 59.4% were Malaysian and 40.6% were foreign.

At Matang Wildlife Centre, 68% of the 37 respondents were return visitors, having visited at least once before, and 78.4% said that the fee of RM10 was very expensive. The reasons given for this were the lack of facilities, the activities indulged in (picnicking, swimming) and their levels of income. Only 29% said they would come again if the fee were increased to RM10.

The picture was different at Bako National Park, where 85% of the 27 respondents reported that it was their first visit. Most respondents (74%) said that an entrance fee of RM10 was reasonable, citing either the cost of development, cleaning, conservation and maintenance purposes (9 responses) or the beauty of the park (2 responses) . Most (72%) were prepared to come again if the fee was RM10.

The increase in entrance fees would have little effect on the number of visitors to Bako National Park, but the number of visitors to Matang Wildlife Centre would decrease significantly, perhaps by as much as 71%.

The entrance fees collected at Bako in 2000 amounted to RM63,168; with a higher rate but 26% fewer visitors, the revenue would be RM101,068, an increase of 60%. But for Matang, the revenue collection would be only RM129,365 compared with RM161,706, a decrease of 20%.

The reason for raising the entrance fee was to increase revenue collection, but this may only work in National Parks which have a majority of foreign tourists. Revenue at easily-accessible sites visited repeatedly by locals may actually decrease.

The results would be more precise if more visitors had been interviewed. Also, extending the study to other National Parks would give a better overall picture of visitors’ reactions to the RM10 entrance fee.

The study shows that the RM10 rate is only appropriate for certain areas, while others need a lower rate if revenue is to be maximised. Foreign visitors generally accept the new rate because most of them come from developed countries with favourable currency exchange rates.

The increase of fees will not encourage local people to visit National Parks. The objective to encourage people to appreciate, enjoy, learn and love our nature will not be achieved. The government should review the entrance fee rate to encourage more local people to visit our National Parks. A lower rate should be given to local people to encourage them to visit our parks.

Rowthorn C., Andrew D., Hellader P. 1999. Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei. Lonely Planet Publications, Australia.