Presentation during INTROP Colloquium

1. Comparison of Mountain bikers’
expenditures at
Bukit Kiara, Kuala Lumpur and
Putrajaya Challenge Park, Putrajaya
By
Nur Syuhada Binti Che Ibrahim
(nursyuhadacheibrahim@gmail.com)
Universiti Putra Malaysia
Serdang, Selangor

2. RECREATION
Take accounts of any kind
of activities like visiting
areas such as parks,
wilderness areas, lakes,
rivers, and forest as well
as engaging in different
activities (Kara & Demirci,
2010).
The activity that people
choose to engage in when
at leisure, and it may be
multifaceted, comprising
physical, cognitive,
emotional and social
components (Broadhurst,
2001).

3. Mountain
Biking
(MTB)
Cycling focusing primarily on
off-road travel and it is an
environmentally sustainable
and gives the rider a physical
and enjoyable outdoor
experience (Mountain Bikers
of Santa Cruz, 2007).
Originated in Marin
County, California and it is
widely acknowledged that
Gary Fisher and Joe Breeze
were its original founders
(Mountain Bike Hall of Fame
2008, Worland 2003).

4. Events of Mountain Biking in Malaysia
Programme Date/Year Venue Organiser
Malaysian Mountainbike Downhill
Super Series! (MDHSS)
Annually since 2010 Around Malaysia
Malaysian Downhill Association
(MDHA)
Putrajaya Inter Park Ride (PIPR) Monthly activity Putrajaya
Perbadanan Putrajaya & Chemical
Company Of Malaysia Berhad
1 Belia 1 Malaysia Mountain Bike
Championship 2011
28 & 29 May 2011
Taman Cabaran Putrajaya,
Presint 5, Putrajaya
Perbadanan Putrajaya
Pakan Mountain Bike Cross-
Country Endurance
1 October 2011 – 31
December 2011
Pakan, Sarawak
Department of Youth and Sports
Sarawak
Putrajaya MTB Jamboree 21 April 2012 Putrajaya Ministry of Tourism Malaysia
MTB Challenge Perlis 19 May 2012
Felda Rimba Mas, Padang
Besar, Perlis
Perlis Youth Council & the
Department of Youth and Sports
Karnival MTB DH & XCO 26-27 May 2012
Taman Cabaran Putrajaya,
Presint 5, Putrajaya
Ministry of Youth and Sports
KL Mountain Bike Carnival
(KLMBC)
7 & 8 July 2012
Taman Lembah Kiara, Kuala
Lumpur
Quick Release Adventures
Langkawi International Mountain
Bike Challenge (LIMBC)
15 - 20 October 2012 Langkawi Island, Malaysia Human Voyage

5. MOUNTAIN BIKING and ECONOMY
• Cycling can provide a variety of social and economic
benefits to local areas and the community by
stimulating tourism and recreational expenses (IMBA
2004, Faulks et al. 2007).
• MTB activity was able to provide economic benefits to
the local economy and country (Mountain Bikers of
Santa Cruz, July 2007).

6. Expenditure?
• Expenditure can be defined as the total consumption
expenses/spending made by a visitor/user or on behalf of
a visitor/user for and during his/her trip and stay at
destination (UNWTO, 1993).
• For most trips, majority of the visitors/users spending is
for lodging, meals, transportation and shopping (Bowker
et al., 2007; Crompton et al., 2001; and USDI Fish and
Wildlife Services and USDC Census Bureau, 2007).
• According to White and Stynes (2008), spending for
services and goods were mostly influenced by the type of
recreation trip and the distance travelled.

7. Importance of Expenditures Pattern
• Visitors’ expenditures is one possible segmentation basis
within travel behaviour and has been used in several
studies, demonstrating its usefulness and validity as a
basis for segmenting the tourist market.
• Help in describing the size of each travel market in
economic terms, and destinations can better benefit from
marketing efforts (Regan and Damonte, 1999).
• Leads to the identification of attributes influencing travel
expenditure characteristics among market segments
(Fredman, 2008).

8. The Study
• MTB contributes to economic growth through the
required costs of the activity.
• Due to this advantage generated from MTB, it is
beneficial to estimate the recreational spending
of MTB by using Bukit Kiara (BK) and Putrajaya
Challenge Park (PCP) as the study sites.
• The purpose of this research is to assess
mountain bikers spending profiles at both sites.
This paper reports their expenditures during their
trips and determines the type of expenditure
incurred by the mountain bikers.

9. Study area: Bukit Kiara (BK)
• BK (formerly known as 'West Valley Park') located at
residential area and it is a popular site for jogging and
recreational activities to both residents and outsiders
• It also a popular recreational spot in the middle of the city
widely visited during weekdays and weekends. It is also
famous for its natural trails and fresh air especially for
jungle trekkers and mountain bikers.
• The area was once a rubber estate until it was acquired by
the Federal territory of Kuala Lumpur in 1980.
• Currently, BK is under the authority of the National
Landscape Department.

10. Map of Bukit Kiara

11. BUKIT KIARA

12. Study area: Putrajaya Challenge Park
(PCP)
• PCP is well-equipped with facilities for recreational
activities particularly Mountain Biking (MTB).
• It covers an area of about 30.33 hectares and is located
in Precint 5, Putrajaya. It has a network of MTB trails
that passes through an oil palm and rubber plantation,
secondary forests as well as bushes and grassy areas on
hilly slopes.
• It was developed by Putrajaya Holdings with the cost of
RM38 million and is currently operated by Putrajaya
Corporation in collaboration with the Extreme Sports
Association Malaysia (ESAM).

13. Map of Putrajaya Challenge Park( PCP)
Source: Google Maps, 2012
(https://maps.google.com.my)

14. PUTRAJAYA CHALLENGE PARK

15. Methodology
A questionnaire was designed to obtain the
information regarding on their expenditures for
MTB trip participation.
The questionnaire included questions on
participants’ backgrounds and also their type of
expenditures in MTB trip participation.
A total of 287 questionnaires were distributed,
137 for BK and 150 for PCP.
Data collected were analyzed using SPSS version
20.0.

16. Results and
discussion
• Socio- Demographic of mountain bikers.
• Expenditures profiles of mountain bikers.

17. Socio- Demographic of mountain
bikers.
• USERS BACKGROUND
– Gender
– Age group
– Education level
– Occupation
– Income group
– State of origin

18. Most of the mountain bikers (97.1% for BK, 95.3 for PCP) were male
while the remaining were female.
It is generally accepted that mountain bikers are predominantly male
(Cessford, 1995; FCS, 2005; Green, 2003; Reiter and Blaha, 2002).
Male Female Male Female
BK PCP
97.1
2.9
95.3
4.7
Gender

19. AGE GROUP
AGE GROUP BUKIT KIARA (%) PCP (%)
20 and below 5.2 2.0
21 to 30 27.7 52.0
31 to 40 54.7 36.0
41 to 50 10.2 9.3
Over 50 2.2 .7
In regards to mountain bikers’ age, most bikers (54.7%) were in the age group
of 31 to 40 years old for BK while for PCP, mostly (52%) were in the age group
of 21 to 30 years old.
This is consistent with previous studies where most bikers were in their mid-
20s to mid-40s (Green, 2003; Koepke, 2005; Reiter and Blahna, 2002).

20. EDUCATION LEVEL
EDUCATION LEVEL BK (%) PCP (%)
Primary school 0.7 1.3
Secondary school 36.5 34.7
University/college 62.8 64.0
Majority of them (62.8% for BK, 64% for PCP) attained university or
college education (n= 86).
In another research, it was also found that mountain bikers were
highly educated, with as many as two-thirds having at least college
education (Koepke 2005, Reiter and Blahna 2002).

21. OCCUPATION STATUS
OCCUPATION BK (%) PCP (%)
Full Time 89.1 86.0
Part Time 6.6 7.3
Student 3.6 6.0
Retired 0.7 .7
Most of the mountain bikers (89.1% for BK, 86% for PCP) were full
time working.

22. INCOME GROUP
INCOME GROUP BK (%) PCP (%)
RM1000 and below 7.3 9.3
RM1001 to 2000 16.1 27.3
RM2001 to 3000 18.2 26.7
RM3001 to 4000 15.3 14.7
RM4001 to 5000 13.9 10.0
RM5001 and above 29.2 12.0
This study shows that mountain bikers’ income was mostly in the range
of RM5001 and above for BK (29.2%) while for PCP, most of the income in
the range of RM2001 to 3000 (26.&%)
 It is generally accepted that mountain bikers’ income were consistently
high (FCS 2005, Greens 2003, Koepke 2005, Reiter and Blahna 2002).

23. STATE OF ORIGIN
STATE OF ORIGIN BK (%) PCP (%)
Kuala Lumpur 24.8 15.2
Pahang 1.5 0.7
Penang 2.2 0.0
Negeri Sembilan 0.0 2.7
Putrajaya 0.7 8.0
Melaka 0.0 1.4
Selangor 64.2 72.0
Johor 0.7 0.0
Singapore 5.8 0.0
•Mountain bikers from Selangor form the largest percentage of users to PCP
and BK (64.2% for BK and 72% for PCP).
•It was followed by mountain bikers from Kuala Lumpur (24.8% for BK and
15.2% for PCP).
•There were no foreign mountain bikers at PCP. In contrast, there was a few
(5.8%) of mountain bikers came from Singapore at BK.

24. Expenditures profiles of mountain
bikers.
TYPE OF EXPENDITURES DESCRIPTION
Food And Beverages
Total cost of food and beverages during
travel to the location from residence
Petrol Cost Total cost of petrol (2 ways: one trip)
Toll Charge
Toll charge during travelling (2 ways: one
trip)
Accommodation Cost for lodging during their trip (one trip)
Equipment/Accessories
Cost for MTB equipments (Bicycle, helmet,
glove, shoes and others)
Total Costs for MTB Upgrades Total cost for bicycle upgrades
Maintenance Per Month Total cost for monthly bicycle maintenance

25. The Spending Averages for Mountain
Bikers at BK and PCP.
Type of Cost
(RM)
Mean Median Std. Deviation Min Max
BK PCP BK PCP BK PCP BK PCP BK PCP
Food And
Beverages
27.95 10.39 10 10 64.22 10.40 0 0 500 60
Petrol Cost 21.01 15.18 10 10 34.44 11.19 0 0 200 60
Toll Charge 10.52 5.55 3 4.7 24.07 6.55 0 0 100 40
Accommodation 23.72 0 0 0 83.32 0 0 0 500 0
Equipment/
Accessories
2103.28 1709.73 1000 500 3328.29 3225.43 60 0 25,000 20,000
Total Costs for
MTB Upgrades
3881.75 1922.33 2000 1000 4496.46 2308.78 0 0 20,000 10,000
Maintenance
Per Month
213.14 98.87 100 50 334.44 147.56 0 0 2000 1000

26. CONCLUSION
• Expenditures on equipment/accessories were found to be high
compared to the others, showing that most of the mountain
bikers were committed in MTB participation.
• They willingness to spend high on equipment/accessories on
MTB shows their commitment level.
• This high expenditure on equipment may have significant impact
on retailing business particularly in bicycle-related industry since
all bicycles are imported.
• A methodical study on the business chain of this sport is
suggested to observe the economy it generates at macro level.
• Additional research is proposed to better understand on the
determinants of mountain bikers’ in making purchases . This
kind of study identify the factors motivating MTB expenditures.

27. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
• The authors would like to thank the research assistants
who gathered and helped in data collection.
• This study was financed by a grant from Research
University Grant Scheme (RUGS) Project Number 03-
01-11-1158RU.