The Effectiveness of Environmental Interpretation in Influencing Visitors’ Knowledge in Kinabalu Park

Abstract

Protected areas are established for the conservation of unique and pristine environment. Although protected, they are subjected to possible environmental and social impacts due to increasing tourism activities. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of Kinabalu Park's environmental interpretation in mitigating these impacts through the assessment of visitors’ knowledge. Visitors' knowledge was compared between those who were exposed (post-visit) and not exposed to the interpretive programs (pre-visit). Overall, environmental interpretation in Kinabalu Park contributed to the visitors' knowledge related to general facts as post-visit samples indicated higher level of knowledge. However, there were no differences in their knowledge related to scientific aspect.