Tourism cooperative for scaling up community‐based tourism

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to share how a tourism cooperative creates economic sustainability as well as bringing socio‐cultural and environmental benefits to its members. Design/methodology/approach The authors' case study was the Miso Walai Homestay in Batu Puteh on the Kinabatangan River of Sabah, Malaysia. In‐depth interviews were conducted with cooperative managers and cooperative members who were identified through the purposive sampling method. Direct observation was used to gain an understanding of ground reality. Findings A community cooperative effectively manages economic, socio‐cultural, and environmental concerns of the local people. Society's perception of entrepreneurship and main‐streaming has changed. Shareholdership enables higher community involvement in the decision‐making processes, increases tourism income distribution, solidifies the sense of ownership, strengthens social cohesion and, inevitably, increases community support. Practical implications The lessons learned from the experience of the Model of Economically Sustainable Community Tourism (MESCOT) in using a community cooperative to run its community‐based tourism (CBT), which eventually expanded its economic benefits, are relevant to researchers and practitioners, and can guide other local CBT organizations in Malaysia. Originality/value Although the case study referred to a specific community in Malaysia, the findings do prove that an effective model for community‐based tourism is possible and has potential for replication in other places with similar enabling environments.