Sabah Offers Fresh Air for Tourists Escaping Pollution

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is offering itself as a “lung cleansing” destination for tourists needing a breather from pollution in their home countries.

Tapping the growing Chinese, Japanese and South Korean markets, Sabah Tourism Board is offering tourists fresh mountain and river air in village settings along the Crocker Range.

“We are working with the local communities to host tourists in a wide range of nature activities – from camping by the river to trekking hills,” board chairman Datuk Joniston Bangkuai said of plans for the Rural Tourism Road Show from Aug 4 to 6.

Bangkuai said the key focus for the back-to-nature product was in Kadamaian, Kiulu, Ranau and Tambunan at the foothills of Mount Kinabalu, along the range that stretches from north to south of Sabah.

He said community-based organisations in these areas were offering a variety of products from whitewater rafting, camping, trekking, fishing, besides a chance to experience local cultures, food and outdoor living to visitors.

“The focus is for villagers to earn more while also ensuring that the tourists stay longer in the rural areas,” Bangkuai said, adding that the move would also encourage local villagers to appreciate and preserve their natural environment.

Bangkuai said the board was working with district office tourism committees to identify more areas for this plan.

He said there was a market for such tourism products as in the case of the Kampung Talungan community in Kota Belud that earned some RM100,000 from 30,000 visitors camping by the Kadamaian river and other outdoor activities.
Source: The Star