KIULU: Nestled against the backdrop of green mountains about 1o kilometres away from Pekan Kiulu here, lies a picturesque community-based tourism spot that awaits adventure seekers.
The Lingga Eco Tourism (LET) offers visitors both extreme and relaxing nature activities. The site is surrounded by the gushing river of Kiulu, with its beautiful vista guaranteed to put visitors in an instant state of calm.
Since its establishment in 2018, LET chairman Kait Lansangan said they received about 4,000 visitors, including independent travellers from Canada, United Kingdom, and Korea.
Many of them were visitors who wanted to explore and experience an off-beat rural destination, he added.
"Seeing the potential of operating a community-based tourism destination, the villagers worked together to create a hiking trail. The 7-kilometre Dapako Hill trail quickly became popular among local adventurers.
“Many of them recorded their experience and promoted Dapako Hill on social media. Most of our international visitors came to know about LET via YouTube,” said Lansangan, adding tourism activity in Kampung Lingga has helped to bring income to the community.
Visitors enjoying the scenic view of Kiulu river at the Lingga Eco Tourism in Kampung Lingga Kiulu.(more…)
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Tourism Board is offering grants for researchers currently conducting or supervising tourism study in Sabah.
Selected applicants will receive a total of RM20,000 for each research.
State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Jafry Ariffin said the grants were intended to provide researchers with the opportunity to contribute to the development of the state's tourism industry.
Areas of interest for the study to be conducted are Mantanani Island, Mabul Island, Kiulu and Kadamaian.
"It is our hope that this grant would benefit and encourage more studies to be done on areas such as tourism, which is one of the three main trusts in the Sabah Maju Jaya roadmap.
"We believe the findings from these studies are beneficial in helping the state to create a holistic approach in improving the socioeconomic impact of the local communities as well as the environmental implication through tourism initiatives", he said in a statement.
Jafry added that surveys and data were vital in many industries, including tourism, and believed the findings would provide better insight in formulating strategies to attract more visitors.
Sabah Tourism Board chief executive officer Noredah Othman said the grant was in line with their effort to rejuvenate the industry in the wake of interstate travel and in preparation for the international border to be opened again.
Interested applicants can visit https://tourism.sabah.gov.my/news-updates. Submission period closes on Oct 31. - New Straits Times
KOTA KINABALU: The quiet atmosphere at Minurod Campsite in Kiulu is lively again with people starting to visit rural tourist destinations since the inter-district travel ban was lifted in Sabah.
With the reopening of tourism activities, many have planned outings with their family, such as going off-grid to explore Kiulu, a rural subdistrict known for its nature and serene river.
Part of the bigger Tuaran district, Kiulu is located about 60km from the state capital.
Visitors taking a dip in Kiulu river by the Minurod Campsite. (pic courtesy of Sabah Tourism Board)(more…)
KOTA KINABALU: A shared passion for dinosaurs has brought three friends to rustic Kiulu, where they developed a one-of-a-kind family park called the Jurassic Land Kiulu.
Built on a three-acre land and managed by Visiont Ventura company, the Jurassic Land Kiulu is set to become a much-awaited new eco-tourism product offering visitors a dinosaur safari adventure.
(more…)
SANDAKAN: The Agnes Keith House here will be developed as a "Dark Tourism" product.
Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Jafry Ariffin said the state Museum Department through the E-Seram programme will be undertaking the planning.
Dark tourism is a product that involves travelling to places associated with death and suffering.
The programme will give visitors the opportunity to spend a night at the house to experience for themselves the life of the famous American writer, Agnes Newton Keith, her husband, Harry Keith and their son, George, he said.
However, the programme had to be postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic that hit the world since last year.
He added that there were many locations in Sabah that have a history of war, destruction or tragedy that could be developed as a tourist attraction.
The Agnes Keith House here will be developed as a "Dark Tourism" product. - Pic courtesy of Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry
"Perhaps many do not know that the mansion on the hill holds a mystery," Jafry quipped.
Among Agnes' notes include experiences of horror she often went through during her stay in the house.
Agnes wrote: "I don't believe in ghosts. But every day I see a tall woman saying goodbye to her husband, picking up her baby and going down the street alone, standing at the end of the street and looking back."
A maid who worked in the mansion when Tom Bayles lived there from 1967 to 1968 saw a woman standing on the steps.
Many more notes in the form of articles were also displayed in one corner of the house which narrated the horror incident experienced by its occupants.
It proves that despite its uniqueness as well as its history, the Agnes Keith House also holds a paranormal mystery that would make it interesting to visit.
