Preliminary Study on the Role of Creativity in Outdoor Recreation Activities towards Enhancing Visitors’ Experience in Malaysia

Abstract

Abstract-Tourism destinations should not depend too much on their natural resources alone nowadays. They should manage their natural resources creatively without compromising with the environment.Creativity and innovation are becoming key elements to attract visitors to a destination in this era. The main concern of this research is to examine creativity and innovation elements used by Malaysian outdoor recreation stakeholders and market players for their activities. Mixed methods were applied to get an in depth understanding about t h i s novel topic. Secondary data taken from related literature on this topic were presented for this preliminary study stage. The results of the initial phase of the study indicate t h a t the outdoor recreation development in Kedah is significantly limited, while in Pahang there are areas for improvement and in Selangor future development need more creative approaches. In general creativity is still lacking relating to the activities and marketing aspects in outdoor recreation.