More districts attracted to homestay
Published on: Monday, December 21, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: Sabah's homestay businesses, which generated RM4.3 million in 2013, have grown exponentially over the last decade, generating around 30 to 40 per cent more business year-on-year. The share of the pie is enjoyed by 18 operators at present, with their businesses riding on the back of steady growth since 2000.And things may soon change for the better as the tourism industry is now getting back on the rails following the effects of the disappearance of MH370 last year and the Lahad Datu incursion in 2013.
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According to Sabah Homestay Association President Djuanis Mogirong, business is looking up with already two more homestays in the process of registering with the Tourism and Culture Ministry. "They are the Napunsak Homestay and the Marudu Bay in Kota Marudu," he said. "Three or more districts are likely to join the fray, like Kampung Bariawa in Keningau and also Beluran and Pitas, whose village representatives I have met throughout the ministry's pre-requisite seminars," he said. All homestays are required to the register with the ministry. An operator could hold a number of hosts, with many of them spread out into several villages and visitors are assigned to their particular host family.
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For example, the Walai Tokou in Kundasang which has over 50 participating hosts located around the villages in the sub-district. It is a boon for the majority of visitors as many, especially the youths are very, very interested to experience Sabah hospitality at the very basic level.
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Imagine planting paddy, picking fruits from the farm and optionally, witness first hand local traditional showcase of dances, performances and handicraft-making like basket-weaving, eating local delicacies, all carried out right from the source. "They (the tourists) just love them," Mogirong explained. Each operator has its own distinct uniqueness for activities such as white water rafting at the Kiulu homestays, or visit the Tip of Borneo in Kudat through the Misompuru Homestay or watch the "Cowboys of the East" the Bajau horsemen from the variety of homestay operators in Kota Belud. Based on the Sabahhomestay website, homestays in Sabah spread out to Kiulu, Penampang, Kudat, Kota Belud, Papar, Long Pasia, Sandakan and Tambunan, at present. "The first of many homestays in Sabah started out in the late 90s, but somehow accelerated in the early 2000," Mogirong explained. And thanks to the State's diverse culture, rich biodiversity and steady growth in arrivals, local homestays hold a massive potential if developed carefully, he said. Already, the decade old industry, has seen many local homestays ranking among the top three in the country, except for only last year where Sabah was beaten by a local homestay operator in Pahang. For promotion, a dedicated website has been created, detailing the sorts of attraction the visitors can expect from the local homestay activities. Its tagline reads "Come and Experience the Traditional Hospitality while you live in Rural Sabah Abodes," as it featured notable homestays on the website. Still, Mogirong explained the share of the homestay business pie depends on the ability of their own appointed coordinator, which also depends on "how good" their relationship is with the travel agents. For the inactive or poor performing homestay a unit called the Product Tourism Division had also been set up under the Sabah Tourism Board to assist them to profitability and investigate the causes of their poor performance, he said. Furthermore, he said more effort should be carried out to promote Sabah homestay businesses through the roadshows carried out by Tourism Malaysia in foreign countries. He noted many countries like Japan, Korea, Singapore and European countries are encouraging their college students to go for the homestay experience to learn more about the culture of others."Homestays like those in Melaka had in the past enjoyed a good flow of student guests from Singapore. Sabah too had a fair share of the same segment like from Hong Kong and Japan in the past," he said.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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