Sentiment analysis of tourist reviews on ecotourism clusters in Malaysia for sustainable development

Abstract

Ecotourism is essential for sustainable tourism as it aims to protect natural and cultural resources while offering tourists unique experiences. This paper utilised sentiment analysis of online reviews to determine how tourists feel about Malaysia's ecotourism destinations. The methodology involved collecting and analysing reviews using natural language processing (NLP) techniques. An online platform TripAdvisor was used for data collection. This study analysed customer reviews from 2018 to 2024 and revealed customer satisfaction towards tourism destinations. The sentiment analysis was categorised into positive, negative, and neutral, and afterwards, the reviews from six detailed ecotourism clusters were further analysed. Based on the sentiment analysis, most sentiments in every cluster are positive, even though the polarity amounts and subjectivity vary. The key themes identified include nature, service, culture, adventure, and relaxation, highlighting the diverse attractions ranges that draw tourists to these destinations. Additionally, the study identifies places that may need improvement, particularly in groups with higher numbers of neutral or negative feelings. Several recommendations were made, including investing in infrastructure, improving visitor services, monitoring ongoing feedback, getting local communities involved, and effectively marketing destinations. The result assists in understanding how tourists feel and offers useful information for improving the sustainability of ecotourism places in Malaysia while ensuring visitor satisfaction and contentment.