An Initial Research: The Level of Environmental Awareness and Knowledge among Homestay Operators in Selangor, Malaysia

Malaysia is a popular tourist destination in Southeast Asia. An increase of tourist arrivals (both domestic and international visitors) to Malaysia has seen a yearly increase in the number of accommodation available, especially those that are environmentally friendly. However, being environmentally friendly is a challenge for the tourism industry, especially when involving the accommodation sector. This is evidenced by the findings of a previous study that issues related to environmental sustainability are among problems faced by homestays in Malaysia. Since environmental awareness has been increasing across the world, these issues are important aspects that should be explored, especially relating to the tourism industry and specifically in the accommodation sector. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the level of environmental awareness and knowledge among homestay operators in Selangor, Malaysia. In this preliminary study, 100 respondents were involved, who were selected using simple random sampling among homestay operators in Selangor, Malaysia. The descriptive analysis was done using SPSS software. The results show that the mean value for environmental awareness and knowledge is good. This shows that there is a high level of awareness and knowledge among homestay operators.