Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud wants airlines, particularly the national carrier…
Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud wants airlines, particularly the national carrier, to take risks and introduce new routes to beef up the tourism sector in the BIMP-EAGA region.
I am confident that you have the expertise to pull through despite the first three months that would be the most crucial period as to whether or not it will sell and bring in returns, he said after attending the two-day BIMP-EAGA Tourism Mart and Conference 2003 at the State Tourism Complex Thursday.
He said the BIMP-EAGA had much to offer in terms of exotic attractions for tourists.
I hope through the deliberations over the next few days, some strategies can be arrived at to aggressively promote this region to the outside world, he said.
Abdul Taib said Malaysia Airlines (MAS) had done well to increase its flight frequency to service the central and northern region sectors, including Kuching.
He said BIMP-EAGA Malaysia Business Council should also think about extending its reach to other countries close to the region.
With bigger membership, imagine the scope and network you can ride on to promote the tourism industry, he said.
Abdul Taib wants more attractive packages to be introduced, specially tailored to meet the demands of the younger tourists.
It is a trend now that today`s tourists are people who have gone to other parts of world and want to see the differences in this region. These tourists can be scientists, scholars and people from other fields of discipline, he said.
He said if the package suited these tourists` needs, they would not hesitate to come to the BIMP-EAGA region.
It is also noteworthy that after some setbacks over recent years, the collective determination of everyone in BIMP-EAGA area has succeeded in reviving this effort through sub-regional cooperation, he said.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales. She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
