KOTA KINABALU: A total of 33 staff members of Borneo Cultural Village are taking up Mandarin to better serve the growing number of Chinese tourists visiting Sabah. Most of the trainees are locals from villages around Papar aged between 18 and 45.
The 28-day course is funded by the Sabah Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry and conducted by AMC University College.
The programme equips participants with practical language skills for use in the tourism and hospitality industry.
Participants are learning basic conversational Mandarin, listening skills and commonly used phrases to help them communicate more naturally with Mandarin-speaking visitors.
The objective is to provide communities around the cultural village with new skills and open up more opportunities in the state tourism sector.
AMC University College training coordinator Daniel Sitor said the emphasis was on practical communication that participants could use from day one at work.
"Even a simple greeting or conversation in a visitor's own language can make them feel more welcome," he said.
"That's the kind of confidence we want our participants to build through this course."
Sitor added that stronger language skills would not only improve the visitor experience but also give local tourism workers an added advantage as Sabah attracts more international travellers.
