Joniston listening to briefing by Muhammad Jailani on their tourism offerings at the “Seminar Semarak Pelancongan dan Sesi Padanan Niaga” held here yesterday
KOTA KINABALU: Melaka is intrigued by the concept of community-based tourism in Sabah, and is eager to learn more about it.
Assistant Tourism, Culture, and Environment Minister Datuk Joniston Bangkuai’s remark that Sabah has more than 300 rural tourism operators, many of which are community-based, drew favourable reactions from Melaka Tourism, Heritage, and Culture Exco Datuk Muhammad Jailani Khamis.
At the start of a business matching session between Melaka and Sabah tourism players during the “Seminar Semarak Pelancongan dan Sesi Padanan Niaga” held here
Thursday, Joniston said Sabah is known for eco and rural community tourism, which Melaka could help to promote.
In turn, he said Sabah could reciprocate by assisting Melaka in promoting the state’s historical heritage.
“Melaka is well-known for its historical heritage and distinct culture. The same can be said for Sabah, which is well-known for its community-based rural tourism destinations and eco-tourism products that appeal to nature lovers.
“The variety of this one-of-a-kind tourism product is enough to demonstrate what Sabah has to offer that Melaka does not, and vice versa. Both Sabah and Melaka are also on the UNESCO World Heritage list, with Melaka designated as a UNESCO World Heritage City and the Kinabalu Park designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
“I believe Sabah and Melaka have complementary tourism products and that we should work together to promote the uniqueness of our tourism products to revitalise the country’s tourism activities as a whole,” he said.
Muhammad Jailani, who officiated the seminar, said community-based tourism is a new concept for them and Melaka’s tourism industry players could learn so much from Sabah and share new information.
“I see the necessity for both Melaka and Sabah to cooperate, and for our tourism players to visit Sabah’s rural areas so that they may observe how the community manages its tourism business.
“I am also looking into how Melaka can learn from Sabah about Roll on-Roll off (RORO) service as part of our commitment to developing the Dumai-Melaka RORO project,” he said, in reference to the Menumbok-Labuan RORO service.
Melaka Tourism General Manager Sa’ari Basiron and Tourism Malaysia Sabah Director Ednie Rahma Ab Rahim were also present.
