I refer to “Raub to become a tourism hub” (The Star, June 4)
and wish to share some of my views. Malaysia is currently getting a monthly
average of RM5bil in tourism receipts from two million foreign visitors.
The target is to boost the figures to RM14bil and three
million, respectively, by 2020.
This can be easily achieved if all those involved in inbound
tourism know exactly what foreign visitors require and cater to their needs.
As such, interviews should be conducted at all major exit
points to gather essential details from tourists such as their travel
arrangements, expectations, experiences, and motivation for their return
visits.
These exercises should be carried out on a weekly basis, if
not daily, and the results promptly released to interested stakeholders. The
intelligence would allow many of the 3,200 licensed tour and travel agents to
be more proactive.
The Tourism Ministry has previously disclosed that there were
111.5 million domestic tourists and RM34.7bil in revenue. Again, more
enlightening details are needed for those involved to take better advantage of
this sector.
In the absence of any official figures, it is anyone’s guess whether
the expenditure for outbound tours and travel is higher than both the receipts
for inbound and domestic tourism combined.
Tourism is also a two-way trade. Many Malaysians travelling
overseas would be proud to be appointed Tourism Ambassadors after a full day
seminar empowering them to personally invite foreigners they meet to visit our
country or even their hometowns.
With good marketing, any spot on earth, however desolate, can
be turned into a tourist attraction and these include barren deserts or deep
jungles.
It is actually not difficult to attract both foreign and
domestic tourists to visit any village or town in Malaysia, and only minimal
expenditure is needed on basic government infrastructure and private sector
investment.
A must-have is a tourist centre that houses all the local
produce a village or town can offer and this includes all the great food,
fruits, vegetables, handicraft, traditions and cultures that tourists can
experience or buy without having to search all over the place.
Anything that is produced elsewhere, particularly from
overseas, should not be allowed on sale in such local tourist centres. In fact,
the whole village or town should remain authentic and retain its unique charm
which will be lost once it turns too touristy.
To accommodate overnight visitors, any shop house in town can
easily be converted into a cheap but comfortable budget hotel. A village house
with a spacious compound can be a great setting for a home stay programme.
However, the challenges are for the locals to clean up their
act, realise the enormous benefits of tourism and welcome visitors like family.
Any village or town is like a heaven on earth to me if it is kept very clean
and colourful.
Cleanliness includes the environment, rivers, drains,
roadsides, streets, buildings and people, and ensuring the toilets are not
horror chambers.
Painting the whole town in strong colours is not only
artificial but also grotesque. Colours should be natural, from flowering plants
or colourful leaves and fruits.
The most beautiful village in my mind is one with flowers
blooming on both sides of the kampong road stretching for miles interspersed with
ripe rambutan fruits hanging heavily on the branches.
It would be a jogger’s paradise especially at dawn and there are no
dogs in a kampong to bother passersby.
What the locals can do is literally put their act together by
roping in all their resources and share with visitors, beginning with the
history of their settlement, their present livelihood and the vision they have
for their descendants.
Their economic activities, local traditions and cultural
practices can be fascinating to tourists, and more so if they get to
participate instead of just watching or treating the locals as human specimens.
A great example is for foreigners to celebrate their wedding
anniversary by going through a bersanding
ceremony blessed by their children and relatives.
The invited guests may also wish to pick up some local dances
and silat moves to perform rather
than just watch the locals go through the motions.
Embracing tourism and welcoming visitors is the best way to
revive or develop local cultures and traditions. New cottage industries can
easily be introduced.
For example, there is no shortage of hard stones in any
village. They can easily be polished and lacquered to look like shiny
semi-precious stones or paperweights and sold as souvenirs at affordable prices.
Even the most barren village or town devoid of any natural
resources or human capital can attract visitors if the locals are humble and
willing to learn from others.
All they need to do is ask and provide basic facilities to
visitors to make them feel welcome. Many volunteers find fulfillment in
teaching the young and training the adults who try to excel.
Over the centuries, great civilizations were built through
exchanges between locals and visitors. In this era, a town or village will
remain in the backwaters if it continues to shun tourism.
Backpackers should be particularly welcomed as they go through
their “University of Life”. Some of them may return to our country as CEOs of
giant corporations and invest in a village or town where they were treated with
respect or touched by genuine hospitality.
The success of the Raub Integrated Tourism Blueprint can
ripple across the nation as it can be used as a template to replicate the
efforts in many other districts.
Tourism can quickly grow to become our largest and leading
industry if it is fully exploited and embraced by our citizens.
YS Chan
Kuala Lumpur
