Homestay Accommodation in Brunei Darussalam: An exploratory study

Homestay is an alternative product to mass tourism where tourists are accommodated with local family allowing the tourist to learn local culture and lifestyle. The changing tourists' preferences influence the phenomenon of this accommodation trend for unique experiences, increasing competition in the market, and the rapid development in communication technology. This paper aims to observe the current state of the homestay situation in Brunei. This research utilized qualitative in-depth semi-structured interviews with a total sample of 23 respondents consisting of homestay operators, local community and tourism officers. The findings are that homestay in Brunei experienced issues with licensing and standards due to unending bureaucracy and unclear instructions, an elusive search of successors for long-term sustainability, and issues on participatory management within the community. This paper contributes valuable insights to developing strategies for the sustainability of homestay tourism, particularly for the stakeholders involved, such as homestay operators, policymakers and tourism practitioners.