Terengganu keen to emulate Sabah in developing rural community-based tourism

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah’s rural community-based tourism (CoBT) approach has caught the eye of industry players in other states.

Recently, the Terengganu Tourism Department visited Sabah’s rustic Kiulu countryside to learn more about it.

They visited Kampung Lingga by the riverside, where the villagers manage the Dapako Hill hiking trail and Camping Lingga Eco Tourism site.

They also toured the Kampung Bambangan Lama Recreation Centre, which is run by the village’s women and features huts for lodging, a campsite and a hiking trail built by the operators themselves.

Terengganu Tourism Department director Fadli Yusof Zakaria said the visit gave them insights for a structured CoBT programme that involved local communities as a whole, and that he found the rural community tourism in Kiulu outstanding.

He said like Sabah, Terengganu also saw CoBT as having great potential to offer unique and exciting tourism experiences to visitors.

"Sabah has made progress in CoBT implementation since it began in 2014. We hope the Sabah Tourism Board (STB) can help us develop our CoBT products,” he said.

"CoBT products in Terengganu have their unique aspects, as do those in Sabah.

"We feel that STB and Terengganu Tourism can collaborate on several things, particularly promotion,” Fadli added.

He said Terengganu Tourism noted that collaboration between CoBT operators and tourism associations was key.

In Terengganu, the department only started to focus on the CoBT segment last year and identified 28 potential products in eight districts, 15 of which are ready to be marketed.

Among them are Dataran Batu Putih in Marang and Kalang Warisan in Kuala Terengganu.

Sabah Tourism, Culture, and Environment Assistant Minister and STB chairman Datuk Joniston Bangkuai, who was also present, said Sabah and Terengganu could learn from one another in terms of promotion and attracting visitors from one state to the other.

"We are pleased to see Terengganu taking Sabah as an inspiration in its initiative to develop CoBT products and empower the rural communities.

"With the recent launch of a new direct flight between Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Terengganu, it is even more important for both states to work together in realising our respective tourism goals,” he said.

He also suggested exchange visits between CoBT operators in the states to allow them to build connections as well as share knowledge and experience.