Sabah’s wonders impress MICA members

News Date:  January 10, 2022

Media : The Borneo Post

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah’s unique culture and rural destination experience leave a lasting impression on Malaysian Inbound Chinese Association (MICA) members, enhancing the state’s potential as a preferred holiday destination.

The members toured several popular attractions in order to become more familiar with Sabah tourism products, including a community-based tourism spot in the highland Kundasang where they experienced natural fish spas and the ‘tagal’ system.

They shared their fish spa experience on social media, which piqued the interest of Malaysians as well as their Chinese followers.

Tourism, Culture, and Environment Assistant Minister cum Sabah Tourism Board chairman Datuk Joniston Bangkuai said Sabah is constantly highlighting its rural destinations for their unique tourism offerings that cannot be found anywhere else.

“The ‘tagal’ system, for example, is an interesting concept combining culture and the need to protect the environment. Many rural communities in Sabah initiated tagal system in their respective village, which has become quite a popular attraction among visitors,” he said at the MICA B2B Networking event here, on Monday.

“Sabah is indeed very strong on the concept of community-based tourism, and I have always believed that the jewel of tourism is in the rural, with its rich flora and fauna, culture, and friendly people.

“It’s wonderful to know MICA is helping to promote Sabah to our fellow Malaysians in the Peninsula as they are now our potential visitors, as well as to the China market,” he added.

Present were Sabah Tourism Board Chief Executive Officer Noredah Othman; MICA president Datuk Dr Angie Ng; MICA Sabah Chapter president Eddie Chan; Malaysian China Business Council Chairman of Tourism and Culture Datuk Philip Yong; and Tourism Malaysia Deputy Senior Director Amirul Rizal.

MICA has selected Sabah to be its first destination in 2022 in their FOLIDAY campaign for the domestic market. It focuses on “Family, Friends, Fun, and Freebie” with the aim of promoting safe travel.

Commending on MICA’s efforts, Joniston said there was a need for the tourism industry to come up with innovative ideas and services such as rebranding tourist attractions to appeal to locals as well as repricing hotel rooms.

”To survive and thrive during the downturn, the industry needs to be creative and innovative to discover new value propositions. Until borders are completely open, domestic tourism will be the primary driver of the travel industry,” he said.

He emphasised that the Sabah Tourism Board has implemented various measures, including travel incentives and promotional campaigns, to boost and entice domestic tourism.

Meanwhile, Dr Angie stated that the concept of community-based tourism was relatively new to them and that MICA intends to include it in their Sabah destination packages.

“We are very excited to have learnt about this concept during our visit here. The (rural) community is very educated about the environment and we feel Sabah is good for the people in Peninsular to explore this year,” she said.

MICA, she continued, is utilising the many digital platforms available to promote Sabah and other states both domestically and internationally, with the goal of establishing a travelling exchange programme. – The Borneo Post