From Costa Rica to Malaysia: revolutionizing tourism with corporate social responsibility

The growing importance of sustainable tourism necessitates the integration of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) into tourism law framework. However, Malaysia's tourism law focus primarily on economic growth, with CSR practices remaining voluntary and inconsistently adopted. This paper aims to identify how Malaysia can enhance its tourism law framework by imposing mandatory CSR practices, drawing on a comparative analysis with Costa Rica's successful model. Costa Rica’s Certification for Sustainable Tourism (CST), rigorous environmental regulations, government incentives, and strong community involvement serve as exemplary practices. To achieve these objectives, this paper adopts a comparative analysis method, collecting data from various sources including Costa Rica’s CST framework, Malaysian tourism law, and international CSR guidelines. The paper’s key findings reveal that Costa Rica’s CST program effectively promotes sustainable practices among tourism businesses, minimizes environmental harm through stringent regulations, encourages CSR adoption via government incentives, and ensures community involvement in the tourism sector. Based on these findings, the paper proposes that Malaysia develop a national certification program for sustainable tourism, enhance environmental regulations, provide government incentives, and promote community-based tourism. Implementing these recommendations will not only foster sustainable tourism development in Malaysia but also ensure long-term environmental protection and community benefits, positioning the country as a regional leader in sustainable tourism.