The Digitainability Strategic-Technology Connection: A Mechanism for Ecotourism Sustainment in the Midst of the Pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 crisis has contributed significantly to a global decline in tourism activity. A dynamic environment during the outbreak of COVID-19 signif-icantly impacted on the resilience of the ecotourism industry. As a result, the focus of this paper is on identifying the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats associated with existing ecotourism destinations in Malaysia, on examining available mechanisms for developing, enhancing, and marketing this product globally, on iden-tifying the initiatives that can be implemented to attract both domestic and also inter-national tourist segments, and on making strategic recommendations. Additionally, this article established an empirical model to ensure the sustainability of ecotourism, which will be capable of verifying Malaysia’s attractiveness as an ecotourism desti-nation in the region. This integrated model will synchronise the relationships between the attractiveness of ecotourism product attributes as a multi-cultural tourism desti-nation (supply) and the behavioural intentions of tourists seeking ecotourism experi-ence (demand) in Malaysia. These attributes have been investigated because it’s not only as supply-side qualifying factors, but also as indicators of prospective tourists’ perceived value. According to current trends in demand for ecotourism, Malaysia is undoubtedly facing stiff global competition and is well positioned to become the region’s preferred destination for ecotourism. Additional information is required to comprehend segments of the ecotourism market, as there is tremendous potential for growth both locally and globally.