Indigenous Tourism as a Poverty Eradication Tool of Orang Asli in Malaysia Puvaneswaran Kunasekaran

This paper presents the role of indigenous tourism to reduce the poverty among the Orang Asli community in Malaysia. Preliminary study was conducted at two of the well established indigenous tourism destinations in Malaysia; Carey Island and Cameron Highlands. Naturalistic inquiry which was used as the qualitative data collection method helped the researchers to understand the host-tourism relationship before conducting further investigation. The current state of poverty of the minority group is also highlighted in this study. An initial investigation done at the Kampung Sungai Bumbon at Carey Island reveals that the outsiders' influence is highly significant at the village to run the tourism activities successfully. However, the community feels that their culture and tourism business has been exploited by the outsiders. It is hoped that the findings of this study will contribute to existing literature in the indigenous tourism field that could enhance the sector into a more profitable business for the indigenous community.