KUCHING: The state government is to gazette about one million hectares of land in Sarawak as ‘Totally Protected Areas’ (TPA) in the next few years to develop their eco-tourism potential.
THANK YOU: Masing (right) honours Phornsiri with a special memento as Zulkifly looks on.
“This was the state’s continuous response to the Pacific Asia Travel Association’s (Pata) aspirations for a green and sustainable destination,” Land Development Minister Dato Sri Dr James Jemut Masing said at a state dinner to welcome delegates to the Pata Annual Meeting (PAM 2010) at the new Legislative Complex (DUN) building here on Saturday night.
Masing said the state’s second Tourism Master Plan was based on sustainable tourism development whereby all national parks were managed in accordance with international standard and design.
In this respect, he assured that the master plan would meet tourists’ expectations with the difference in the manner of presentation rather than substance to ensure eco-tourism assets encapsulating Culture, Adventure and Nature (CAN) were properly managed for future generations to enjoy.
Masing who was formerly Tourism Minister said: “Pata has been an active contributing partner to the state’s tourism development for many years. Pata has been a helping hand since Sarawak started to develop its tourism industry back in the early 1990s.
“In 1997, when I was minister of Tourism, Pata recognised and awarded Sarawak Tourism Board the Golden Award for contribution in marketing niche products and pursuing eco-friendly tourism destinations.”
He was satisfied that Pata was still passionate about the state’s excellent eco-tourism destination, and the fact that PATA 2010 was held here testify to their recognition of Sarawak as an attractive eco-tourism hub.
Masing asked that in its deliberation at the meeting, Pata look into ways and means to champion the cause of tourism development for new and emerging destinations such as Sarawak.
Hoping that Pata would be more sensitive to the needs of developing such destinations, he said all forms of assistance, especially in human capital training and research, were very much welcomed in the effort to develop sustainable tourism.
Masing stressed: “It is my hope that Pata will continue to lend us their expertise to help the state compete on a more level playing field. What they have been doing shows that connectivity from major market sources would be another important contributing factor to the success of tourism.”
On another note, he said tourist arrivals in Sarawak from the Asia-Pacific region including Asean countries was 72.35 per cent of overall tourist arrivals for 2009.
He said the state was lucky to command such a figure, mainly attributed to the two international border crossings namely Brunei and Kalimantan, Indonesia.
“In terms of market destinations, Singapore and Sarawak have symbiotic relationships where we could utilise the differences to benefit both,” he added.
Masing represented Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud at the dinner hosted by the state government. Earlier Pata chairman Phornsiri Manoharn addressed the guests.
The dinner was attended by some 300 guests comprising Pata delegates, local tourism players and the foreign media.
Other notables present were Deputy Tourism Minister Datuk Dr James Dawos Mamit, Tourism and Heritage Ministry permanent secretary Ik Pahon Joyik, Tourism Malaysia state director Ahmad Johanif Mohd Ali, Industry Development director Zulkifly Mohd Said and Pata CEO Greg Duffell.