KUCHING: Imagine a tourism package that
crosses boundaries from Kuching to Pontianak, from Brunei to the southern part
of Philippines.
This is the idea envisioned by Tourism
Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg who said there are now many
trans-boundary possibilities due to improved air connectivity in the BIMP- EAGA
sub-region.
As such, he urged the business community
especially in Sarawak to inject more creativity and innovation in their
approach so as to produce products that are marketable yet affordable.
With good packages, he said tourists would
cherish their stay in the region and not just ‘eat and go away’.
Abang Johari mentioned this in response to the
incoming BEBC Malaysia chairman Roselan Johar Mohamed who earlier said
BIMP-EAGA was previously looked down by others and nicknamed ‘bring in more
people, eat and go away’.
“Our private sector must be proactive to
analyse and at the same time explore opportunities where the people here can
work together (with others in the region). In terms of tourism, there should be
packages to ‘sell’ Sarawak, Kalimantan, Brunei, Sabah, and Philippines.
“With that sort of interaction, I am sure it
will spill over to other sectors for example real estate,” he said during the
official change over of chairmanships of Bimp-Eaga Business Council (BEBC)
Malaysia and its Sarawak chapter at a leading hotel here on Saturday night.
Abang Johari also said he was thankful to the
federal government for allowing MASwings, which once only operated rural air
services (RAS), to serve as regional courier in BIMP-EAGA.
“It is now flying to Brunei, Tarakan and
Pontianak, and soon to other important sectors such as Balikpapan and all the
way to Manado,” he said.
Abang Johari, who is also Tourism Minister and
minister tasked with BIMP-EAGA, said there are many other sectors in the state
that can benefit from the improvement of land and air connectivity such as
medical services, higher education facilities, logistics services and real
estate.
As proven in recent trade shows in Pontianak,
the people there showed interest and a capability to buy properties in Sarawak
especially in Kuching, which is nearer and linked with a good road network,
Abang Johari said.
As for medical facilities, he said private
medical specialist centres such as Normah Medical Centre in Kuching are popular
places for those from West Kalimantan while the Sibu Medical Centre is also
attracting their interest.
“The interest is so much so that our hotels
are occupied by these people seeking treatment,” he said.
He also said there are now many Indonesian
students in higher institutions of learning in the state especially the branch
campuses of Swinburne and Curtin as they are attracted to the standard of
learning which is equivalent to the benchmark set by Australia.
“You know why they come here? Because they
want to master English,” he said, adding that some of these students stayed in
houses bought by their parents.
He also said the people in Kalimantan Barat
province also looked at Kuching as their exit point for their goods, and this
presented opportunities for those involved in logistics business.
Borneo Post
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