A flight of fancy?

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EARLY this week, leaders of the local tourism industry could not believe their eyes – they looked for some mention of Sarawak’s role in the development of that trade within the framework of the ongoing Economic Transformation Programme (ETP), and they found … nothing much, other than note of the need to repair the 1km plank walk to the Mulu Caves and of the importance of our biodiversity as a potential tourism product. Although obviously unhappy with the treatment, yet they were being polite about it, hoping that Sarawak’s needs would be addressed in due course.

Before the ETP was drawn up, Pemandu might have invited the local practitioners for discussions – laboratories as they’re called nowadays to make brainstorming sessions sound scientific – as to what Sarawakians wanted to be included in the scheme if things. Perhaps, it is not too late for them to supply additional input to Pemandu for the good of the industry as a whole.

Discrimination against Sarawak?

I have had some experience in this business. As a member of the Tourism Development Corporation in the 1970s, I learnt a lot about the pulls and punches – and politics – in the industry. I tried my best to bring Club Med to Sematan but my request was turned down in favour of Cherating as proposed by Terengganu because “Sarawak has no beaches.”

I’m not saying there was discrimination against Sarawak in this particular case, but generally there have been attempts to marginalise us in terms of tourism development. During the conferences and seminars organised by the Pacific Area Travel Association (Pata), I observed the behaviour among the industry players in West Malaysia – how they outbid or ‘killed’ each other. How very parochial or territorial they were.

For instance, hoteliers and bus companies based in KL insisted on their hotels and vehicles being used exclusively by the Pata delegates. The Penangites prevailed upon the delegates to go to Penang only and nowhere else because their town was the Pearl of the Orient, parading Sir Francis Light as their founder as a lure to the delegates from Australia and New Zealand.

For that excellent marketing strategy they got the pre-conference workshop; the Melaka folk persuaded the tourists to see A Formosa, “no other fort in the world like it.” The Sabahans were sure that the tourists would enjoy the beaches of the ‘Land Below The Wind’; no other beaches were as clean. The Sarawak contingent sold their state as the ‘Land of the Hornbills’ instead of the ‘Land of the Headhunters’; this latter slogan frightened the timid foreigners and was ruled as unsuitable, but we got a number of travel writers to join the post-conference tour to Kuching. Not sure how many hornbills they saw, but their articles about the state put Sarawak on the edge of the tourist map, anyway. Many tourists descended on our shores as a result; mention Skrang Safari, and Benuk or Segu longhouse – these were the destinations chosen by the writers.

I would not be surprised if there was still some discrimination against Sarawak in terms of tourism development by the federal planners. Strange as it may seem, it could have been the weakness of the Sarawakians themselves at bargaining that helped perpetuate the attitudes of the early tourism traders. We are not assertive enough where it matters; bargaining vigorously for our own state would be considered as un-Malaysian. We want others to think good of us. We are not in the habit of hurting the feelings of others; we’re considerate and well-brought-up. To put it plainly: too polite for our own good.

What surprised me is that though we have two tourism ministries in place, one at the federal level and the other at the state level, yet this hangover from the 70s still lingers. Between the two ministries, the problem of cake-sharing in the industry as a whole could have been solved for mutual advantage; instead they allow themselves to be guided by the operators who monopolise the business. This may have been the attitude of the tour operators 30 years ago but one would have expected to see a change after so many years of living together as a nation.

Apparently, the tourism authorities prefer to rely on the market players to manage the industry for their own benefit. That’s what hard-nosed businessmen normally do, with little or no engineering from the government. Well, it’s time the hornbill grew a hard nose too!

Off the beaten track

It is true that Sarawak is off the beaten track and this is a serious disadvantage in a contest to lure large numbers of tourists to our shores. Coupled with the geographical handicap we are faced with the problem of air connectivity.

The nearest is Singapore and we should have continued with tapping our source of tourists at Singapore before they depart for Bali and Australasia. We used to have an office there but no one talks about it any more. We may have to do some footwork again in Singapore if we want to divert the tourists to our State. Kota Kinabalu is another source from which we can persuade the tourists from Hong Kong and Taiwan to spend time in Miri and visit the Mulu Caves now that we have been told there is a financial provision with which to repair the plank walk to the cave.

Do it our way

Although the connectivity problem has been partly solved by the arrival of AirAsia on the scene, giving the travelling public a choice of airlines to fly, there is no guarantee that the present state of affairs will not change as we have no control over a company which depends on economic viability rather than on pure sentimentality for expansion.

For that reason, we must be prepared for the day when we may have to have our own airline and be allowed to have our own open sky policy.

I know what you are thinking: where is the money for it. If there is a will there is money. This may be a flight of fancy but fancy the day when you have to fly to your home town for the Gawai or Hari Raya when the buses and express boats are fully booked and the roads are choked with traffic.

Shall I ask, if we don’t begin now when can we start? After all in nine years’ time we will be a state with high income status, or so we have been told. Better start laying the groundwork now.

It would be in order to be parochial in this particular instance. We are being practical, having our own airways. If we must have a share of the visitors to fill up our hotels and convention centres, we must look for tourists who spend company money – for the convention goers, seminars, conferences. We have the facilities as good as anywhere else. Bid for Pata Conferences or other meetings. We have any number of event organisers. Give them the job. We are hospitable people and there is no need for our counter minders to attend seminars on ‘How To Smile Naturally’ like they do in Singapore.

We have hosted a number of international conferences and seminars and we have had no major problems except the problem of certainty to get connectivity on the way home for the participants. Our own airline will see to that.

If we get many tourists from China, Singapore and Indonesia, that’s good enough. If we have our own airways, we can make arrangements with other airlines when we are free to think and act for ourselves.

Won’t it be fun to fly by Sarawak Airline System?

How’s that for a topic of conversation during the Hari Raya visits?

Selamat Hari Raya – Maaf zahir dan batin.