ABSTRACT
Developing countries like Malaysia often use tourism as a tool to boost the economy of the country and to provide job opportunities to the local community. Besides, successful tourism development in Malaysia needs collaboration from various stakeholders and local community participation in tourism planning. Haywood (1988) argued that “If the planning process is to succeed, the public participants must have good information, and, to be fully informed, the participants must have access to full information on the tourism industry” (p. 109). Thus, knowledge and skills about tourism industry are prerequisites for the success of tourism development. Moreover, the development of local community is an important agenda for the Malaysian government, whereby it is taken up by the community-based tourism (CBT) programmes. CBT programmes in Malaysia can be realised through homestay programme as it is a popular tourism product in the country. Homestay Programme has been recognised as one of the biggest potential products due to the fact that it has been actively supported by the Malaysian government.
