21Jun

Sabah Rural Development Ministry plans rural tourism initiatives through Mini Estet Sejahtera

KOTA KINABALU: The state Rural Development Ministry plans to further develop rural tourism through the Mini Estet Sejahtera (Mesej) project, starting with Kadamaian, located in the Kota Belud district. Minister Ewon Benedick who is Kadamaian assemblyman, said Kampung Sayap would be pioneering the pilot programme, starting with SK Sayap through its edu-tourism programme in welcoming visitors including international tourists. “The school initiative would enhance the knowledge of students in tourism industry and generates fund for the school. “I had launched the edu-tourism programme at SK Sayap in 2016 before becoming an assemblyman. “The school has an upside-down hut as an attraction in its edu-tourism park. I hope more schools would emulate such ideas and find activities to generate economic returns for the school fund. “Today, Kampung Sayap being identified as the pilot group for the rural tourism Mesej is another example of my commitment to continue supporting them,” he said after receiving a courtesy call from the SK Sayap Edu-Tourism main committee and the village tourism main committee at his ministry’s office here. He said the new programme would be conducted in collaboration with Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry through Sabah Tourism Board. Meanwhile the school’s edu-tourism coordinator Boniface Jiran said they welcomed such efforts to incorporate the new Mesej concept in the village, which would in turn bring positive impacts to Kampung Sayap, such as improvement of road links there. “The edu-tourism approach also helped improved the students’ academic performances, where they all have achieved the basic ability for reading, writing, counting and reasoning. “At the same time, it also increased their confidence as they could communicate in English with foreign tourists as we had visitors from Japan and England coming to the school,” he added. Source: New Straits Times
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30Apr

Poverty alleviation through rural tourism development

KOTA KINABALU: Over the years, Sabah has seen a growing number of homestays and camping grounds cropping up, overlooking scenic views of rivers, nature and mountains in the rural areas. Districts such as Kadamaian, Kiulu, Ranau, and Tambunan among others have become quaint destinations of choice for vacationers in search of the experience of living closer to nature. Nature-based activities such as hiking, trekking, water rafting, and even extreme sporting events have also increased following its popularity among travel adventure enthusiasts. Such eco-tourism potential has moved many rural villagers into taking the opportunity to generate income and create quality tourism products in line with the state government’s effort to develop rural tourism and elevate the people’s economic status. Prior to 2014, rural tourism development was not fully implemented throughout Sabah until Sabah Tourism Board (STB) chairman Datuk Joniston Bangkuai, in realising its potential, called on STB to look into the matter. A Rural Tourism Product Unit was setup immediately to identify potential rural tourism products and to encourage involvement of village community as well as local authority. This followed by activating the Tourism Action Council in all districts throughout the state. Small districts namely Kiulu in the Tuaran parliamentary constituency and Kadamaian in the Kota Belud parliamentary constituency were then chosen by STB management as two pioneer districts for rural tourism development. “The effort taken to introduce and develop rural tourism for two years has resulted in the implementation of Visit Kiulu Month (April 2017) and Visit Kadamaian Month (May 2017). “This 2017 visit month programme has significantly impacted the locals as the programme is able to promote the two districts locally and overseas. For example, the influx of tourist into Kiulu has provided direct profits to the villagers. “In both Kadamaian and Kiulu, the ‘lung washing’ activities such as hiking and trekking have successfully attracted local tourists and those from China, South Korea, and Europe,” said Joniston. This success has motivated villagers from other districts such as Tambunan, Kota Marudu, Tenom, Keningau, Kudat, and Ranau to follow the footsteps of implementing and developing rural tourism in their respective areas. During the 2017 visit month, Kadamaian recorded 90,000 tourist arrivals with RM900,000 in tourism revenue while Kiulu received 53,000 tourists with RM4.3 million in tourism income. Joniston hoped the target of 400,000 visitors and RM20 million tourism receipts could be generated through Sabah rural tourism, which comprises 25 districts, this year. “For STB, we will continue to promote and market rural tourism products and implement a strategic plan. STB will also continue to work with district tourism action council (in 25 districts) to bring Sabah’s rural tourism to the international level by 2025,” he stressed. As at January 2018, almost 98 per cent of District Tourism Action Council have been activated to bring tourism progress in rural districts throughout the state. Source: New Straits Times
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30Apr

New opportunities in rural tourism

KOTA KINABALU: A dearth of lodging in remote Kiulu has driven 42-year-old Lasmen Lopuk to develop a homestay within his 0.8 hectare piece of land located at scenic Kampung Poturidong, about 50km away from the State capital. The idea came about during a family day event five years ago when he realised Kiulu, being a beautiful rural sub-district with potential in nature-based activities, lack accommodation for visitors wishing to spend the night. “I was toying with the idea because most visitors come to Kiulu for a picnic and some of them come from far, but they have no place to stay. In 2014, I started small by opening a space for camping ground. “We also provided camps for visitors, so they can experience Kiulu to the fullest. By 2015, I built four chalets with a kampung-style concept and since then, I have been receiving visitors almost every week,” said the owner of Kondis Point Homestay. Lasmen, from Kampung Poturidong, said homestays have existed in Kiulu since the 1990s but noted the operation was not very active back then. He said the homestay concept began to bloom in Kiulu from 2013, as villagers began grasping the opportunities after learning more on homestay and rural tourism development through courses or exhibitions. “As Sabah progresses in terms of urban development, it is also important to focus on developing rural districts through tourism. It is one of the ways to boost the villagers’ socio-economic development as it creates job opportunities. “Since opening my homestay, I have hired villagers to help look after the facilities. I have also noticed that with the presence of homestays in Kiulu, we have received thousands of visitors here,” he said. Lasmen, who used to be a driver and freelance tour guide, now works full-time as homestay operator, benefiting from the profits of tourism. He hoped the development of rural tourism in the state would be more vibrant in future with more villagers taking part in the positive progress. Currently, there are more than 30 homestays in Kiulu and the number is expected to grow. Source: New Straits Times
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08Mar

Kadamaian Tourism Association Courtesy Call

  YB Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment Sabah received a courtesy call from Kadamaian Tourism Association (KATA) on 6 March 2018. KATA is one of the rural tourism association which is actively promoting tourism destinations around Sabah especially attractions found at Kadamaian. YB Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun, Menteri Pelancongan, Kebudayaan dan Alam Sekitar Sabah telah menerima Kunjungan Hormat daripada Kadamaian Tourism Association (KATA)  kelmarin (6/3/2018). KATA merupakan antara persatuan pelancongan luar bandar yang sangat aktif untuk mempromosikan destinasi-destinasi pelancongan yang menarik di Sabah terutamanya produk-produk pelancongan yang ada di Kadamaian. 
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19Dec

More efforts to promote rural attractions next year – STA

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Tourist Association (STA) will embark on more efforts to promote rural tourist destinations in the coming year. Chairman Tonny Chew said STA, with support from the Ministry of Tourism and Culture (MOTAC) and Tourism Malaysia, would assist second-tier cities in promoting local tourism products. “We want to help them promote and market their products so they can benefit from spill over in the industry, because they may not know how to get their product out there. “This effort could provide them with a better platform for them to get their products into the market,” Tonny told reporters during the annual STA year-end gathering at Lucy’s Kitchen, Kinabalu Golf Club Tanjung Aru, Friday night. He said STA plans to promote rural tourist destinations more aggressively through familiarisation trips in order to promote new or under-exposed products. He added that existing locations would be revisited to explore new accommodation and features in places such as Kudat, Semporna, Tawau, Sandakan and Danum Valley. Tonny also said industry players should work together and collaborate to share resources for the development of the tourism industry as a whole, instead of writing each other off as competitors. “If we see each other as competitors from the very beginning, we close our doors to a lot of opportunities and create barriers. “We may be doing the same thing, offering the same product or service, but that doesn’t mean we cannot work together. “We should think of ways to collaborate and work closely to form associates and support each other. “There are a lot of things we can learn from each other by sharing our experiences and resources, thus creating a win-win situation and foster better management as well as reduce operating cost,” he said. Earlier in his welcoming address, Tonny thanked MOTAC and Tourism Malaysia for their continued support in making STA activities a success. He said gatherings such as this served as a good platform for STA members, government representatives and members of the media to exchange ideas, experiences and mingle to discuss issues, as well as to show appreciation to members who had been supportive throughout the years.   Source: Borneo Post
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