A comparison of how two homestays (Kampong Beng Homestay and Gopeng Homestay) safeguard traditional Malay food (TMF) as a means of promoting cultural-based food tourism in Perak,Malaysia

Abstract

The study compares and contrasts the extent to which two homestay programmes in the state of Perak, Malaysia, promote and safeguard traditional Malay food (TMF). The first case study is Kampong Beng Homestay (KBH), located in Lenggong Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the second is Gopeng Homestay (GH) that situated in Gopeng, Perak. The homestay programme is a tourism product developed by Malaysia’s Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC), considered a vehicle for rural community development through cultural tourism. It is believed that local food holds significant potential of TMF not only to contribute to the authenticity of the destination, which in turn will enhance the marketing and promotion of the homestay programme. The government also hopes that homestay providers and their local management initiatives - should be given more power and control over their individual homestays so as to market the product according to their specific capabilities, advantages, and interests. Using a case-study approach, this research examines the role of government stakeholders in giving support and promoting TMF in these two homestays and considers their concerns about existing issues and future development, in particular with reference to exploit local authentic culinary heritage in the construction of a unique identity for tourist attraction. The results draw attention to three issues from the context of the stakeholders, homestay providers and tourists across the two case studies. The correlation was found that the government stakeholders need to encourage the homestay providers to increase the viability of their TMF to enhance and promote the uniqueness of their TMF to the tourists so that TMF can be the leading local products in their homestay programme. Besides, the stakeholders need to review the marketing materials for the homestay programme by publicising more information about their TMF to heighten the local food awareness among tourists and thus safeguard not only the TMF but also the heritage, skills and ways of life of the local people in the homestay.