KUCHING: Imagine a tourism package that crosses boundaries from Kuching to Pontianak, from Brunei to the southern part of Philippines.
This is the idea envisioned by Tourism Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg who said there are now many trans-boundary possibilities due to improved air connectivity in the BIMP- EAGA sub-region.
As such, he urged the business community especially in Sarawak to inject more creativity and innovation in their approach so as to produce products that are marketable yet affordable.
With good packages, he said tourists would cherish their stay in the region and not just ‘eat and go away’.
Abang Johari mentioned this in response to the incoming BEBC Malaysia chairman Roselan Johar Mohamed who earlier said BIMP-EAGA was previously looked down by others and nicknamed ‘bring in more people, eat and go away’.
“Our private sector must be proactive to analyse and at the same time explore opportunities where the people here can work together (with others in the region). In terms of tourism, there should be packages to ‘sell’ Sarawak, Kalimantan, Brunei, Sabah, and Philippines.
“With that sort of interaction, I am sure it will spill over to other sectors for example real estate,” he said during the official change over of chairmanships of Bimp-Eaga Business Council (BEBC) Malaysia and its Sarawak chapter at a leading hotel here on Saturday night.
Abang Johari also said he was thankful to the federal government for allowing MASwings, which once only operated rural air services (RAS), to serve as regional courier in BIMP-EAGA.
“It is now flying to Brunei, Tarakan and Pontianak, and soon to other important sectors such as Balikpapan and all the way to Manado,” he said.
Abang Johari, who is also Tourism Minister and minister tasked with BIMP-EAGA, said there are many other sectors in the state that can benefit from the improvement of land and air connectivity such as medical services, higher education facilities, logistics services and real estate.
As proven in recent trade shows in Pontianak, the people there showed interest and a capability to buy properties in Sarawak especially in Kuching, which is nearer and linked with a good road network, Abang Johari said.
As for medical facilities, he said private medical specialist centres such as Normah Medical Centre in Kuching are popular places for those from West Kalimantan while the Sibu Medical Centre is also attracting their interest.
“The interest is so much so that our hotels are occupied by these people seeking treatment,” he said.
He also said there are now many Indonesian students in higher institutions of learning in the state especially the branch campuses of Swinburne and Curtin as they are attracted to the standard of learning which is equivalent to the benchmark set by Australia.
“You know why they come here? Because they want to master English,” he said, adding that some of these students stayed in houses bought by their parents.
He also said the people in Kalimantan Barat province also looked at Kuching as their exit point for their goods, and this presented opportunities for those involved in logistics business.