Joniston officiating the Nahandang Malangkap Homestay and Campsite Open Hall at Kampung Melangkap, Kota Belud.
KOTA BELUD: Sabah Tourism Board (STB) is ready to help rural communities get the skills they need to transform their area into a world-class rural tourism destination by 2025.
State Tourism, Culture, and Environment assistant minister Datuk Joniston Bangkuai said his Ministry (KePKAS) hopes to see more rural and community-based tourism operators in Sabah achieve the ASEAN Tourism Standards.
This was following the success of Kadamaian tourism, which is now rapidly growing and for which the Kadamaian Tourism Association was awarded the ASEAN Community Based Tourism Standard 2019-2021 in Hanoi, Vietnam, early last year.
“The tourism industry is one of the main thrusts of the Sabah Maju Jaya Development Plan to develop the state between 2021 to 2025. My Ministry and STB are always committed to developing the rural community through tourism activities that contribute to the state’s economy,” said Bangkuai.
Joniston (seated, left) with local residents while the Melangkap Tourism Association (MATA) Chairman, Petrus Sualan, Nahandang Melangkap Homestay and Campsite Advisor, Bidin Molindoi and Federation of Rural Tourism Sabah (FERTAS) President, Walter Kandayon after the official opening of the Nahandang Melangkap Homestay and Campsite Open Hall in Kota Belud.
“To achieve this goal, STB will provide seminars and skills training in terms of awareness, safety, and management to tourism associations, rural tourism operators, and local communities involved in conducting tourism activities in their respective areas,” he added.
Bangkuai, who chairs STB, said this at the launch of the Nahandang Melangkap Homestay and Campsite Open Hall at Kampung Melangkap here, on Sunday.
He had also called on rural tourism industry players to adopt sustainable practices in operating the industry to ensure sustainable and long-term development.
The Nahandang Melangkap Homestay and Campsite Open Hall is among 85 projects to build and upgrade tourism infrastructure under the Sabah New Deal for Kota Belud, which involves a total financial assistance of almost RM1.67 million.
This special assistance was implemented by the state government during the Covid-19 pandemic, where STB helped coordinate the distribution of financial assistance to the affected local tourism industry players.
To boost rural tourism activities, Bangkuai also encouraged rural tourism operators to continue to work with STB in identifying new quality tourism products that can be developed.
This includes exploring the potential of introducing Dark Tourism in the district, where KepKAS is actively planning to promote such tourism concepts to locals and foreign visitors.
“I believe rural areas, such as Kota Belud, have the potential to develop Dark Tourism products that can be used as a new marketing strategy for Sabah’s tourism sector.
“For example, the Pandasan War in the 1910s has the potential to be promoted as rural Dark Tourism in this district. This Pandasan War is a historical event of the Kota Belud community that can add value to tourism activities here.
“At the same time, home stay operators or community-based tour operators may include storytelling sessions as part of their activities, where operators spend time with their visitors and recount past historical events or folklore stories in this area,” said Bangkuai.
