To differentiate Malaysian “nature adventure” from other ASEAN countries, this study will explore the strength
and weaknesses of the current positioning in specific rural destinations in Malaysia. By understanding the challenges
these destinations face, government, policy makers and other stakeholders can better assist tourism industry players
to start, survive, and thrive. The results of this study can provide tourism-marketing researchers and planners with
some insights into the choice of appropriate potential niche markets to differentiate it, in the tourists’ minds and also
to meet their demand for specialty vacations. It seeks to contribute to academic and practitioner knowledge by
developing a model, which integrates all stakeholders’ interest in repositioning strategy. Hence, the proposed model
will be applied in a number of practical settings, a process involving the exploration and analysis of the nature of the
roles and functions of stakeholders in different rural areas in Malaysia.