SANTUBONG: Facilities at tourist attraction areas of the Santubong peninsula and wetlands national park would undergo major restoration and upgrading works to further enhance its appeal to the visitors.
WETLANDS NATIONAL PARK: Nature’s own beauty could be a major tourist draw.
PRODUCT VISIT: A boat carrying Ik Pahon, Audry and other members of the entourage on its way to the Santubong Wetlands National Park.
FULL OF LIFE: A jellyfish is a normal sight in the clear waters of the area.
A product visit to the area led by Tourism and Heritage Ministry permanent secretary Datu Ik Pahon Joyik yesterday revealed that some of the facilities were in bad condition and requires immediate attention.
He believed that failing to do so would add to its already slight dented image which might affect its tourist volume.
The programme yesterday also invited some 40 tourism players and stakeholders to get their feedback.
“Our visit to the two areas today is to compile our tourism inventory to see how the products are, following the conclusion of our tourism lab. Part of the lab’s finding revealed that facilities in some tourism products that we have are in need of upgrades and repairs.
“The inspection revealed that some of the facilities were quite rundown and needed repairs to maintain its appeal to the visitors,” said Sarawak Tourism Federation (STF) president Audry Wan Ullok to The Borneo Post after the completion of the visit.
Audry commented that some of the products also needed to be packaged properly and that more promotions were needed.
Citing the wetlands national park as an example, she stressed that there were lots of talk about watching dolphins at the area but in reality, not many actually knew about it.
“Unfortunately, not many people actually knew about the dolphin watch. The dolphin-mangrove watch tour is not generating a positive volume but there are a lot of possibilities to this downside.
“This work visit has been an eye opener on what needs to be done and how we can increase the attraction level of these places. We will try our best to sell these products and attract more visitors,” Audry added.
She also stated that among other things, the visit enabled all who participated to put themselves in the shoes of the tourists, hence understanding better on what needed to be done to make the tourism products more appealing.
In addition, Audry also suggested at looking into improving the accessibility of the Santubong Peninsula.
She pointed out that only 4WD vehicles could access the peninsula and this would certainly decrease its appeal and interest to potential visitors.
“Repairs and upgrade of facilities would be our main priority but we also envisioned the peninsula to be a place where you could rent a bike to explore and such,” she said.
With the inspection done, it was hoped that restoration works could be carried out as soon as possible as to ensure that the peninsula and wetlands parks would not lose its attraction amongst the visitors.