PAPAR: Homestay operators in state have set a new branding – to offer a lifetime experience to their guests throughout the year.
And to ensure guests are “in-the-know” of their activities, the Homestay Association Sabah (HAS), with the collaboration of Tourism Malaysia and Sabah Tourism Board, took the initiative to come up with a colourful and useful brochure which they call the 365 Days Celebration with Homestay Sabah.
With the tagline “Discover Sabah, Malaysian Borneo through Homestay”, the brochure is filled with photographs reflecting the many programmes carried out by homestay operators in the state, a map of Sabah to show where these homestays are located as well as a run through of their activities, addresses, contact numbers and prices.
STB chairman Tengku Zainal Adlin Tengku Mahmood, who launched the brochure at Kampung Mandahan here on Tuesday, described the brochure as “handy” and is a true reflection of the homestay programme in Sabah.
“Every homestay in the state offers different experiences to their guests.
“It is an opportunity for visitors, be it domestic or foreign, to have an up, close and personal experience with locals in the state. I mean we have over 30 different ethnic groups and speaking more than 80 different dialects …how many people know this? We want them to know and so, what better way than to record it in a brochure so people would know where and when these activities would be carried out,” he said.
Having said that Zainal Adlin however hoped that homestay operators in the state would also take the initiative to ensure that their guests are entertained.
“Homestay operators should at least know one local dish, one local dance, one local handicraft and one local song which they can share with their guests, because this is what tourists want. Community-based activities are what make eco-tourism interesting,” he said, adding that it would also benefit the villagers from the spillover of the programme.
Meanwhile, HAS president Jeffry Yahya @ Cobra disclosed that to date, there are 16 homestays in Sabah with some 200 participants.
“We took the top three rankings for highest performing homestay operators in Malaysia, and in fact, last year, we even exceeded our targeted RM2.7 million revenue collection, when by year-end, we recorded RM3.5 million. We also welcomed 7,000 domestic and 13,000 foreign visitors.
“This year we have set the bar higher to RM4.5 million and we are confident that this can be achieved because as of February, we have already recorded some RM700,000 from 2,900 domestic and 800 foreign visitors,” he said.
Jeffry added that over the years, people’s interest in homestay programme had been overwhelming based on the number of new registrations to become participants.