Exploring the factors influencing operators’ participation in local community-based tourism: the case of Kota Belud, Sabah

While the Malaysian government has significantly supported rural tourism through homestays, many homestay operators have dropped out. Therefore, this study aims to delve into the issues faced by homestay operators regarding their livelihood issues and the motivating factors influencing their participation in the homestay programs in Kota Belud, Sabah. Additionally, it seeks to fill a research gap by assessing the effectiveness of government initiatives in supporting homestay operators during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, while also addressing theoretical gaps by incorporating the Sustainable Livelihood Framework (SLF) Approach, Expectancy Theory (ET), and Social Entrepreneurship Approach (SEA) as the study's theoretical framework. This qualitative study adopted a case study methodology by conducting semi-structured interviews with ten homestay operators from the Taun Gusi and Aki Nabalu Homestay Programme, and three government officers responsible for overseeing the homestay programme