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KOTA KINABALU:Beautiful spots, sites and sights are many and various in Sabah. There is the majestic Mount Kinabalu, the vast green fields of Sabah tea, the invigorating air of the highlands and the crystal-clear river that thunders down from the mountain. There are beautiful natural landscapes and of course there is also the people, warm and naturally hospitable. They are ever ready and willing to welcome guests into their home.

Some 60 Malaysian Chinese Tourism Association (MCTA) members from Sabah, Sarawak, Labuan and Peninsular Malaysia descended upon these touristic spots to study, experience and enjoy the `offerings in the rural area. They started their tour with a stop over at Tamparuli Township, where they walked across the hanging bridge.

After that they also walked around at Pekan Nabalu, a popular stop for travellers towards Ranau, where their next destination was. A briefing at the Sabah Parks by deputy director Justine Gintabid about the Sabah Parks was accorded to the group, with impressive details on the Parks’ vastness and what could be seen and enjoyed there as tourism destinations.

The next stop was The Sabah Tea resort, a picturesque area within the tea plantation, sited in Nalapak Ranau. An overnight stay was arranged for the group where they enjoyed the accommodations with the quaint picket fence named after some British and Australian personalities.

A long drive to Kg Tombotuan Kota Belud was next when the group enjoyed the beauty of nature along the way, and finally descended into the valley below. The river rushing down from the mountains and flowed through the village was indeed a sight to behold. The peacefulness of the village, with houses equipped for homestays was indeed an attraction worth return visits.

From the valley of Tombotuon to the Nahandang camp site at Melangkap Tiung, the group travelled on. The river and the campsite in the area was duly enjoyed and exclaimed upon. They then crossed to the other side to see Polumpong Campsite. They were feted with traditional food lunch, where they enjoyed leaf-wrapped rice, wild ginger, Mangifera (Bambangan) and pickled wild ginger, among others.

They then travelled out of the village and visited Karanahan View in Kg Tampasuk Dua , where they were welcomed by maidens in traditional costume, led by the proprietor, Michael Asik. The dancers danced for the guests much to their delight. After that they departed for their accommodation in Kg Rampayan called Ded’sa’an Beach Village.

Their next destination was Kiulu White Water Rafting at Kondis Point. The group which initially was divided into two groups, converged and rafted down the river. After enjoying the splashes and the adrenalin rush, they ended their trip.

Tham Yau Kong who was the chief Tour Guide at that time said this trip was carried out to promote Sabah’s community-based tourism (CoBT) and he believed it would contribute tremendously to rural tourism.

“Our CoBT enable rural tourism participants to promote their products to visitors more extensively. The visit by the MCTA members and foreseen collaboration with them will ensure growth of rural tourism and help participants grow and be more competitive in the tourism market.”

Tham also spoke to the group about War Tourism, a product initiated by him and being promoted as a niche market.

Jimmy Wong, the Organising Chairman of the visit shares that the trip went very well as the group was shown beautiful tourism sites that were well frequented by visitors.

“There are however a lot of room for improvement, such as camping facilities among others. Overall, it was alright. The distance is okay as one can break up the journey from Kota Kinabalu, for instance, they can stop by in Tuaran for its famous Tuaran Mee, at Tamparuli for the hanging bridge and so on.”

“It can be packaged in one itinerary. For example, they can climb the mountain and then go and enjoy a leisurely stay by the river. As for my expectation, I hope this trip had showcased more interesting sights in Sabah besides the Mountain, for our guests.”

Lawrence Wong the Immediate Past Chairman of MCTA Sabah echoed Jimmy, saying that the sights and sites shown were eye openers for the visitors and hoped that more visitors from all over Malaysia would come over to the State and visit the tourism spots in the rural area.

“I believe the villagers that we visited were very happy as they too hope for more tourist arrival in their place,” he shared adding that he was confident with the outcome.

MCTA Sabah Chapter chairman Vincent Sia shares some of the peninsula-based travel agents had visited Sabah prior to the trip but were not familiar with CoBT products.

“I believe they enjoyed the trip tremendously and I am sure that they are interested in promoting the activities and places they went to, which include the Polumpung Melangkap Campsite in Kadamaian and water rafting in Kiulu, among others.”

Participant Eliz Grace Tan, director of Cluster Sales Dorak Asia, based in Kuala Lumpur was impressed with what she saw during her visit.

“It is a real eyeopener for me personally, and a shame that being a Malaysian I didn’t know such a gem existed in Sabah especially the community tourism and war tourism! I’m sure this rare beauty and uniqueness of Sabah will attract the global attention in the tourism arena,” she stressed, adding that she would recommend her family, relatives and close friends to explore first.

“Surely it will be made known to others;  it is too marvelous not to make it known to the world!” she enthused. She is the Ground Operator of Turkey with a headquarter in Turkey and overseas office in Malaysia.

As for the hosts, they were enthusiastic about MCTA visit.  For Martin Kong the General Manager of Sabah Tea, the visit by MCTA participants, to Sabah Tea Resort introduced new business partners from Peninsula Malaysia, Sarawak, and Labuan.

“Over recent 10 years, Malay travellers from Peninsula Malaysia have visited Sabah in large numbers.  I notice after a period of Movement Restriction Order (MCO) and after interstate travel to Sabah is allowed on 1 November 2021, an increasing number of Peninsula Chinese has looked east and started visiting Sabah.”

“This inspection trip to Sabah organised by the MCTA with support from Tourism Malaysia and Sabah Tourism is right on target.  With exposure to new market segments, more domestic travellers will end up in Sabah over the next few months, to speed up our tourism recovery. We also made new friends and supporters who will bring us more visitors.”

Kosimin Sulidon the headman of Kg Tombotuan Kota Belud was very pleased with the arrival of the MCTA group as they could help to promote his village which offered a cool environment being in a valley under the brooding Mount Kinabalu.

“There are ten homes here that are actively involved in the homestay, with a varying number of rooms in each house. We have several activities here including trekking up Nungkok Mountain and tubing on the river, hiking to the waterfalls and fish feeding among others.”

Somboton Gunsalahon of Polumpung Campsite in Kadamaian, agreed that the MCTA visit would benefit them tremendously if they were introduced into the tourism market as a viable tourism destination.

“We can accommodate 400 tents in the past but we had to decrease it to 200 at any one time to ensure that there is social distancing. Our campsite is usually for leisure vacationers who want to enjoy the river, the natural environment and the sight of Mt. Kinabalu. We have hosted groups on teambuilding here too,” he shared.

Bidin Molindoi operated Nahandang Melangkap Homestay and Campsite since 2014 banking on the crystal-clear river and good sight of Mt Kinabalu from his site. He had played hosts to many visitors since.

Having been affected by the Pandemic, he also hoped for a better future and a return of more busy days with the visit and subsequent promotions by MCTA members in the Peninsula Malaysia.

Lasmin Lopog who owned Kondis Point, Kiulu White Water Rafting, shared that he was quite happy with the visit by MCTA and hoped that they would promote his product as a destination in Sabah.

“I hope tourists will come every day as they did before the pandemic. Our tourists were mostly Chinese from China then,” he stressed.

For Michael Asik proprietor of Karanahan View Kg Tampasuk Dua Kota Belud, the visit by MCTA was quite exciting and he hoped that the visitors had a pleasant time in his site. He expressed his hopes that the MCTA members would pick his place to be a destination for their guests.

Kaisah Darinsin spokesperson for Tegudon Tourism Village Kota Belud shared that their nine huts have been rather quiet lately and she expressed her hopes that they would be mentioned in MCTA promotions so that there would be tourists arrival in the near future. The Tegudon Tourism village, well-known as a stargazing site, also offered views of Mount Kinabalu and a scenic river, especially for photography buffs.

With the help of outside facilitators, the community could be assisted and be more aware of their product potentials and how to maintain as well as value-add their offerings. -Anna Vivienne