The perception of tourists on the importance and performance of safe city program in Bandaraya Johor Bahru

Abstract

Safety is a crucial aspect that every tourist is considering to travel to a place. Crime frequently occurring in the city area is a major issue for tourists when discussing security issues in urban tourism. Thus, Malaysia is one of the countries that take the initiative to fight crime and implement various strategies, and one of them is Safe City Program. The program has 23 crime prevention measures through a primary prevention approach. In this regard, the Johor Bahru City Council has implemented the Safe City Program in Johor Bahru since 22 November 2004 as a local authority assisted by agencies involved such as the Royal Malaysian Police, Federal Department of Town and Country Planning and others. The purpose of the program is to apply in Johor Bahru City to increase the level of urban security not only to the community but tourists also. Therefore, tourists are the primary respondents in this study as the aim of this study involves tourist perceptions on the importance and performance of crime prevention measures in the Safe City Program. The findings of the study found that the average respondents considered all security measures in the Safe City Program as an essential element in ensuring the safety of tourists while in Johor Bahru. After 14 years of application in Johor Bahru City, most respondents stated that some of the features in the Safe City Program were good and some were just satisfactory. However, through this research, the researcher can see such measures as awareness of the public getting the lowest ranking. In conclusion, the authorities should address the problem and take the opportunity for further enhance the level of awareness of the community and tourists about the Safe City Program.