The tourism industry is currently Malaysia's third most important industry in terms of foreign
exchange earnings after the manufacturing and palm oil sectors. Its contribution to GDP
growth is about 7.2%, suggesting that the industry is still in its infancy and therefore offers
much scope for future growth. Furthermore tourism industry has been recognized as
important economic activities especially during the current economic crisis. Malaysian
government announced as part of the Mini Budget tabled in parliament on 10th March 2009 …

This paper presents the findings of the first phase of a larger research project on
innovativeness of tourism related entrepreneurs. This initial phase involves an exploratory
study into the innovative behavior of 23 tourism related entrepreneurs based in the island of
Langkawi. Based on in depth semi-structured interview, the participant discussed their
business challenges and innovative behavior that they adopted in responding to those
challenges. This research contributes to the understanding of innovative behavior of tourism …