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The concept of ecotourism which applies to tourism activities in natural and undisturbed environments, is frequently thought to be antonymous with urban environments, however, can be proven possible. Despite Sabah being well regarded for its ecotourism sector, the concept of urban ecotourism in the city of Kota Kinabalu has yet to be explored. Existing ecotourism destinations in Sabah are facing carrying capacity problems thus there is a growing need to explore new and different destinations or attractions to meet the demand of tourists. This study examined local Kota Kinabalu residents and tourists’ perception and values pertaining to the potential of Kota Kinabalu as an urban ecotourism destination as well as how preservation of green spaces in cities encouraged sustainability using a multi-methodological approach. Based on the results of this study, both respondent groups ranked Kota Kinabalu city as having a high potential as an urban ecotourism destination. In addition, the results of this study could assist decision or policymakers in the local tourism sector with tourism development decisions.

Kg. Kolosunan is located upstream from Babagon dam in Sabah and currently gazetted as Babagon water catchment area. Since then, human activities on land and river within the vicinity of the dam has since been restricted by local authorities. This has affected local communities’ livelihood that has traditionally depended on farming and river fishing to source for food. Chosen as a pilot project for Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) since 2015, this project aims to educate and gain support from the local communities to conserve the area. This paper explores the potential(s) of ecotourism in Kg. Kolosunan as an alternative livelihood for the local community which were affected by resource use restriction due to the gazettement of the water catchment area. Data collections were done through survey, in-depth interviews analyzed using SWOT analysis and finally from previous reports. Results showed that the existing ecotourism in Kg. Kolosunan has the potential to be developed as a sustainable ecotourism site. SWOT analysis also identified the requirement management strategies to improve tourism development in Kg. Kolosunan.

In favour of the Big Five Invertebrates form the basis for ecosystem functioning but are typically neglected in ecotourism activities. Entotourism is introduced to elevate awareness about the potential of invertebrates and their conservation activity through tourism. Improved awareness via tourism activity can potentially lead to improved conservation practices. Yet, do tourists accept entotourism as another product of ecotourism? This study aims to determine the perception of tourists on entotourism activity in Sabah. We are implementing a mixed-method to acquire information needed via questionnaire surveys and in-depth interviews. At the same time, we applied a random sampling technique to gain the respective respondents. Data analysis used a t-test to examine gender perception and presented via Spider-Web configuration. In comparison, we used content analysis via Leximancer for qualitative analysis. This study demonstrated that people have a slightly different perception of insects and awareness based on their gender. Results show that most participants responded positively to insect information, awareness and their interest in certain insects. Respondents also gave their support to entotourism, which provided them with some new knowledge about insects. The interview has also indicated a positive perception of invertebrate information as part of the entotourism concept included in ecotourism activity. In conclusion, tourists’ perception of entotourism activity unveils a significant potential for the inclusion of invertebrate into current and future ecotourism activity, especially in Sabah. Alternately, it can be applied as a preparatory step for better planning and execution of invertebrate’s conservation and entotourism activity.

The Tabin Wildlife Reserve (TWR), Lahad Datu, Sabah is a popular tourist spot in Malaysia. It is the largest wildlife reserve in Sabah, mainly focusing on endangered mammals and birds. Thus, in this research, it is proposed to include invertebrates’ information in the current ecotourism activities in TWR. Implicitly, it could increase a sustainable invertebrate conservation. Invertebrates possess many benefits to humankind, namely waste recycling whereby, they cycle minerals and organic minerals for plants and animals. Thus, this investigation aimed to study the tourists’ perception on including invertebrate information in the current TWR ecotourism activity. Hence, to collect data from tourists, pre-visit and post-visit questionnaire surveys were adopted as the methodological approach during preliminary entotourism activities. Two different conceptual framework sets (pre-visit and post-visit) were posited in this investigation. The collected data were analysed via Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and Analysis of Moment Structure (AMOS) software program by adopting Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). SEM analyses revealed that both pre-visit and post-visit surveys have significant variance towards Ecotourism. This implied a good potential in including invertebrates in ecotourism activities especially in Sabah. The findings of this study are important to contribute to the literature of invertebrate conservation awareness in Sabah, since very limited researches were conducted specifically on entotourism field.

Tabin Wildlife Resort in Tabin Wildlife Reserve, Lahad Datu, Sabah is a popular tourist spot in Malaysia for being the largest wildlife reserve by mainly focusing on endangered mammals and birds. Thus, in this research, it is proposed to include invertebrates’ information in the current ecotourism activities in Tabin Wildlife Reserve. Implicitly, it could increase a sustainable invertebrates’ conservation. Invertebrates possess large benefits to humankind, namely waste recycling whereby, they cycle the minerals and organic minerals for plants and animals. Thus, this investigation aimed to study the tourists’ perception on including invertebrates’ information in current Tabin Wildlife Resort ecotourism activity. Hence, to collect data from tourists, pre-visit and post-visit questionnaire surveys were adopted as the methodological approach during preliminary entotourism activity. Two different conceptual framework sets (pre-visit and post-visit) were posited in this investigation. The collected data were analysed via Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and Analysis of Moment Structure (AMOS) software program by adopting Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). SEM analyses revealed that both pre-visit and post-visit surveys have significant variance towards the ecotourism. This implied a good potential in including invertebrates in ecotourism activities especially in Sabah. The findings of this study are important to contribute to the literature of invertebrates’ species conservation awareness in Sabah, since very limited researches are conducted specifically on entotourism field.