Stepping up efforts to advocate responsible tourism among the community and tourism players

 I applaud Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) for entering into a Memorandum of Understanding with Sarawak Centre of Performance Excellence (SCOPE) that will advocate responsible tourism among the community and tourism players.

Kudos to STB and SCOPE which will be working together in organisinh workshops and research on the latest trends of responsible tourism focusing mainly on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) such as quality education (SDG 4), responsible consumption and production (SDG 12) and partnerships for the goals (SDG 17).

Such collaborations would engage our local community and hopefully they can come to the same level of understanding on responsible tourism. I thank them for inviting me to participate in their  "Responsible Tourism Webinar" which was held at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) on May 6.

In my speech I have mentioned on responsible tourism which would help us to ensure Sarawak’s biodiversity remains protected. Sarawak is well known for its many national parks and its ecotourism initiatives. The state is home to majestic natural ecosystems, as well as a diverse selection of flora and fauna. Thus, responsible tourism can help safeguard these natural resources and ensure their protection and survival for many generations to come.

The webinar was participated by 50 tourism industry players via Zoom application with many others present physically, featured international speakers like Society for Sustainable Tourism president Susan Santos de Cardenas and EXO Travel Malaysia general manager, Sara Salsini.

The webinar was aimed to create awareness among participants on best practices in sustainable tourism in line with the aspirations of Sarawak Economic Action Council (SEAC) to position Sarawak as a leading destination for eco-tourism and business events in the Asean region by 2030.

With the majority of the participants of these workshops belonging to the B40 women category between the ages of 16 and 70, these expanded skill sets have also given them an opportunity to improve their livelihood. On top of running their homestays, women from the community can produce their own soaps and sell them as an additional side income.The soap-making workshops also, most importantly, provide villagers and rural homeowners with means to create their own hygiene products – a vital addition to combat the pandemic in our daily lives.