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ABSTRACT In Malaysia, state promotion of tourism as a main component of service sector expansion and foreign exchange earnings has compelled government at all levels to facilitate leisure industry development. Even in the relatively small state of Melaka, where its historic landscapes constitute significant heritage tourism resources, development projects for theme parks and golf resorts have proliferated. This analysis examines Malaysian tourism development through an evaluation of the diverse tourism sectors in Melaka town and state—heritage, theme park, golf resort, and ecotourism—to demonstrate how the developmental contexts of national and international economic restructuring, combined with regional tourism demand for activity‐oriented leisure, have rationalised large‐scale, high‐cost, environmentally‐sensitive real estate development projects. In the process, authentic natural and historic landscapes have been rapidly forsaken for ersatz “leisurescapes” where both domestic and foreign tourists consume representations of diverse symbolic worlds.
Carolyn Cartier (Tue,) studied this question.