Abdul Karim (standing third left) holds the Sarawak banner alongside (standing from left) Wee, Sharzede, Ting, Abdul Wahab, Hii, and the hotel managers after the pledge signing ceremony. — Photos by Chimon Upon
KUCHING: Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) has launched Responsible Tourism Initiatives which advocates for proper food waste management in the state’s tourism industry.
The initiative, which is in collaboration with non-governmental organisation (NGO) Worming Up, aims to drive positive changes among stakeholders and partners to reduce and recycle food waste.
Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said it had always been the desire of his ministry to educate the local tourism industry community the importance of responsible tourism.
“We will explore the food waste industry as a start of our long journey towards change,” he said at the launch of STB’s Responsible Tourism Initiatives with six hotels here yesterday.
Abdul Karim places his palm on the screen to symbolically launch STB’s Responsible Tourism Initiatives. Also with him are (from left) Sharzede, Ting, Hii and Abdul Wahab.
Citing the Pacific Asia Travel Association’s (Pata) Asia Pacific Visitors Forecasts for years 2017 to 2021, Abdul Karim pointed out that the number of visitor arrivals was expected to increase from 630 million in 2017 to 760 million in 2021.
“The figure is expected to drive up the consumption of food, and as such, this will also generate waste which has long been neglected and not properly addressed by the tourism industry.
“With greater growth, greater waste can be implied and more waste usually translates into a greater environmental footprint and therefore more harm to the ecosystem,” he said, adding that a hotel guest is estimated to generate up to 1kg of food waste per day on average.
Meanwhile, STB chief executive officer Sharzede Salleh Askor said she was looking forward to more partners joining the board in participating in the initiative for a noble cause.
“We may start small but I am positive, for the sake of our long-term business interest and prosperity of the state, contribution from our partners are most welcome in joining the cohorts of committed agencies, “ she said.
During the event, Abdul Karim witnessed the signing of pledge from the six hotels participating in the programme, namely, Hilton Kuching which was represented by its general manager Hamish Watts, Riverside Majestic Hotel represented by its general manager Mark Ferguson, Grand Dormani Rajah Court Hotel represented by resident manager Awang Kedri Awang Bujang, Kuching Park Hotel represented by its general manager Andrew Wong, Merdeka Palace Hotel and Suite represented by its general manager Andrew Fernandez, and UCSI Hotel represented by its resident manager Gene Ong.
Assistant Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Datuk Sebastian Ting, permanent secretary to the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Hii Chang Kee, STB chairman Datuk Abdul Wahab Aziz and Worming Up founder Wee Hung Yee were also present at the function.