NAVIGATING CHALLENGES AND EMBRACING INNOVATION IN SHINING A LIGHT ON MALAYSIAN ASTROTOURISM

Astrotourism, as a specialised segment within interest-based tourism, offers a unique synergy between scientific exploration, cultural heritage, and sustainable tourism. This study critically examines the development of astrotourism in Malaysia through qualitative thematic analysis grounded in Focus Group Discussions (FGD) involving ten experts from the academic, industry, and policy-making sectors. The findings identify four main dimensions. First, significant challenges include severe light pollution, a lack of infrastructure in remote areas, the absence of designated dark sky reserves, and the lack of a comprehensive regulatory framework. Second, substantial opportunities exist through the potential integration of astrotourism with Islamic tourism and ecotourism, leveraging Malaysias cultural richness, natural biodiversity, and existing observatory infrastructure. Third, the development of mobile applications is identified as a key innovation capable of enhancing tourist experiences through storytelling, real-time environmental data, and event notifications, while also supporting tourism operators with marketing tools and user feedback systems. Fourth is the policy and social frameworks as drivers of integrated astrotourism development in Malaysia through the restructuring of tourism policies, science communication within space policy, as well as inclusive rural transformation, to demonstrate how astrotourism can be positioned as a cross-sectoral policy driver that contributes to economic development, civic education, and community empowerment.