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Tourism: The Golden Goose of Sabah

Karimi Raslan - Ceritalah ASEAN

<p>Jhennis Mintjelungan is a 30-year-old Minahasan working as a hotel receptionist in Sorong, the gateway to the Raja Ampat islands—dubbed the &quot;world&#x27;s most beautiful&quot; by Conde Nast Traveller. <br/>He hopes that the current the trickle of visitors to the islands will increase dramatically and spur the local economy in this, the far western tip of Papua. </p><p>On the shores Lake Toba in North Sumatra (3649 kilometres away), Bona Pana Parlindungan a 54-year-old tour guide prays for more foreign visitors. </p><p>With a newly upgraded airport in nearby Silangit and direct flights to Jakarta, there&#x27;s a distinct possibility that the world&#x27;s largest caldera lake will become busier. </p><p>Tourism in Southeast Asia is growing rapidly: in 2014, travel and tourism contributed USD117.9 billion (or 4.8%) of the region’s combined GDP. By 2025, this is expected to grow to USD209.4 billion (or 4.9%)—indeed, Southeast Asia is the second-fastest growing region for tourism in the world, after South Asia.<br/> <br/>Global trends emphasizing adventure have sparked greater interest in the less well-known parts of the region. </p><p>But what should local leaders be doing to nurture this potentially fickle industry? </p><p>What are the ingredients required to attract visitors and keep them coming? </p><div class="media-content"><div class="slider-for"><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/business/03/21/bona-pana-parlindungan.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/business/03/21/danau-toba-1.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/business/03/21/datuk-masidi.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/business/03/21/datuk-masidi_2.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/business/03/21/kinabalu-national-park.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/business/03/21/sorong1.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/business/03/21/sorong2.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/business/03/21/sipadan-island.jpg"/></div></div><div class="media-content slider-desc"><div class="item-desc"><p>Bona Pana Parlindungan, 54, is a tour guide at Lake Toba in North Sumatra.</p><cite>Karim Raslan</cite></div><div class="item-desc"><p>Lake Toba or Danau Toba is a growing tourist hub in North Sumatra.</p><cite>Karim Raslan</cite></div><div class="item-desc"><p>Datuk Masidi Majnun is the Sabah State Minister for Tourism, Culture and Environment.</p><cite>Photo courtesy of sayangsabah.com </cite></div><div class="item-desc"><p>Datuk Masidi Majnun is the Sabah State Minister for Tourism, Culture and Environment.</p><cite>Photo courtesy of sayangsabah.com </cite></div><div class="item-desc"><p>Mount Kinabalu is the tallest mountain in Southeast Asia at 4,095 m.</p><cite>Photo courtesy of sabahtourism.com </cite></div><div class="item-desc"><p>Sorong is known as the gateway to the Raja Ampat islands which is known for its pristine beaches and rich marine life.</p><cite>Karim Raslan</cite></div><div class="item-desc"><p>Sorong is known as the gateway to the Raja Ampat islands which is known for its pristine beaches and rich marine life.</p><cite>Karim Raslan</cite></div><div class="item-desc"><p>Sipadan Island is a popular diving spot off the east coast of Sabah.</p><cite>Photo courtesy of sipadan.com </cite></div></div><p><br/>I would strongly recommend policymakers study what the East Malaysian state of Sabah has done right. </p><p>With 3.4 million visitors in 2016 (and just over a million from China alone), Sabah has become one of Asia&#x27;s most successful eco- and adventure tourism destinations. </p><p>Of course, a combination of Mount Kinabalu (Southeast Asia&#x27;s tallest mountain), countless diving spots as well as pristine forests have helped boost the state. </p><p>Budget carrier AirAsia has also played a vital role – driving down fares and expanding capacity. </p><p>However, Sabah wasn&#x27;t always a success story. Twenty-five years ago, the state was facing a major economic dilemma. </p><p>For decades, local businessmen had focused on extractive industries: logging the state&#x27;s extraordinarily rich forests. </p><p>By the early 1990s, it was clear that this was unsustainable. </p><p>Datuk Masidi Manjun, who is the state’s Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment, is sanguine: &quot;Back then, it wasn&#x27;t difficult persuading ordinary Sabahans that conservation was the way forward. Sabahans have always had a close affinity with the forests.</p><p>&quot;It helps that Tourism, Culture and the Environment are all under the same Ministry. This means we are able to craft and coordinate the right policies, thereby ensuring that everyone (including the private sector) is moving in the same direction.</p><p>&quot;Sabahans are proud of their cultural heritage. This is taught and nurtured in schools. We are a multicultural and multi-religious people. The State Government is working hard to ensure that our native cultures thrive.&quot; </p><p>Jackie Jimin, a 29-nine-year-old native Kadazan marketing professional, is extremely upbeat. Having studied and worked for many years in Kuala Lumpur, she was able to return to Sabah in 2010 and find similarly well-paid work: &quot;I came back to look after mother who&#x27;d been ill. The local economy&#x27;s a lot more diverse now. The tourism boom has opened up lots of opportunities. Things are &#x27;amplified and advanced&#x27;.&quot; </p><p>Others are more cautious. Asgari Stephens, a Kuala Lumpur-based but Sabah-born, private equity investor talks about the need to upgrade local skills: &quot;We need to raise standards, improve training and work to compete with Bali and Phuket. Mass tourism from China isn&#x27;t necessarily very profitable.&quot; </p><p>Datuk Masidi reinforces this: &quot;You can&#x27;t just look at visitor numbers. That can be deceptive. You need to ensure that ordinary people are benefiting as well: local restaurants, home-stays, handicraft makers and even the fellows selling home-made ice cream.</p><p>&quot;It&#x27;s also critical to encourage the community to maintain and take care of the natural beauty all around us—to ensure everything remains pristine so that we can leverage-off the attractions. Moreover, given that eco-Tourism is so important, conservation has to be an integral part of the government&#x27;s development agenda.&quot; </p><p>According to Datuk Masidi: &quot;Every year, we add more to our permanent forest reserve. The International Union of Conservation of Nature requires that 10% of land should be &#x27;Totally Protected Forest&#x27; (or &#x27;TPF&#x27;). To date, Sabah has gazetted 23% as TPF with plans to reach 30% by 2025.” </p><p>This is not to say that it’s smooth sailing. The controversy over the MYR223 million Sukau Bridge in Kinabatangan (which critics claim will damage wildlife), highlights the on-going dilemma between conservation and economic development. </p><p>The ongoing security problems in Eastern Sabah have also dampened visitor numbers in Sandakan, a key eco-tourism hub.</p><p>As the Sabah experience clearly shows, a tourism industry isn’t something that can be legislated into existence. </p><p>Rather, it&#x27;s long-term process: building trust, training service providers and maintaining standards – requiring enormous patience as a broad range of stakeholders are brought on-board. </p><p>But the good news is that even obscure destinations can hit the big time: look at how the Philippine island of Palawan with its gorgeous seas has become an online sensation.<br/> <br/>So, as local leaders seek to grow their tourism portfolio, they would be wise to check out the “Land Below the Winds” for tips as to how to grow a multi-billion-dollar industry.</p></div>

<p>With 3.4 million visitors in 2016, Sabah has become one of Asia's most successful eco- and adventure tourism destinations. However, Sabah wasn't always a success story. Twenty-five years ago, the state was facing a major economic dilemma. For decades, local businessmen had focused on extractive industries. </p>

With 3.4 million visitors in 2016, Sabah has become one of Asia's most successful eco- and adventure tourism destinations. However, Sabah wasn't always a success story. Twenty-five years ago, the state was facing a major economic dilemma. For decades, local businessmen had focused on extractive industries.