Tourists now want more than just seeing: Masidi

Papar: Merely offering interesting places to visit is no longer enough to attract tourists as their taste and perception have now evolved.Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said modern tourists want more than just looking at the people's culture while a tour guide gives them explanations.

"They want more than that. They want to feel it, experience it and get involved in the culture. Sabah is very rich when it comes to culture and we have a lot to offer. It is time for us to produce those attractions to boost our tourism industry.

"Merely bringing tourists to see places of interest will not sustain businesses any longer," he said when opening the Borneo Cultural Village here on Saturday.

He praised the founders of the village for their efforts and commended the lavish setting of the village that offers about seven traditional houses, each serving their own local delicacies and attended by Chinese-speaking guides.

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The village opened its doors to the public two years ago and among the traditional houses that can be found there are the Traditional Papar House, Traditional Brunei House, Chinese House, Murut House, Penampang House, Bajau House, Tidung House and others as well.

It also features three restaurants – a Chinese restaurant, a Korean restaurant and a halal restaurant for Muslims.

Masidi said the village is able to offer tourists who are only here for a short time, to experience the lives of the locals and to see mini-Sabah.

"We need to vary our tourism products so that we can provide as many options as possible for tourists and give them reasons to come to Sabah," he said.

Masidi also noted that the tourism industry is very important to the people because it is essentially an industry for the people and run by the people.

More than 90 per cent of those employed in the industry, he said, are local Sabahans, which makes it even more crucial for the Government to take care of the industry.

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"Because if something goes wrong with the sector, the locals will be the first to be affected. I am very proud that tour operators, resort owners and other industry players have always preferred Sabahans to work for them.

"In fact, the tourism industry is the one industry that employs the highest number of Sabahans and I hope that this employment will give our people the necessary experience and skill for them to help expand the industry in the future," he said.

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