VIRTUAL REALITY (VR) GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM (GIS) MODEL TO PROMOTE RURAL TOURISM PRODUCT IN PERAK TENGAH DISTRICT

Abstract

Perak Tengah District is not stated as an important tourism cluster in Perak. Nevertheless, Perak Tengah has tourism resources that need to be highlighted as an alternative for rural tourism. The main issue is that Perak Tengah district's tourism resources have not been effectively advertised or utilised, nor have there been any formal digital tourism marketing activities been put into place. The mixed method study was used to identify potential rural tourism products and to obtain the opinion of local operators on how to market the tourism products. The evaluation of rural tourism in terms of goods and destinations in Perak Tengah Districts is the main emphasis of this paper. The findings show that marketing and promotion have emphasised on strengthening local business environments and cultivating strong stakeholder ties. The adoption of Virtual Reality Geographical Information System (VRGIS) model by Perak Tengah District in developing the tourism roadmap or ‘Peta Pelancongan’ is to encourage communication and data exchange which are the essential elements for its success. For future research, the extension of developing a comprehensive application for rural tourism products in Perak Tengah District should be considered.