Sabah Tourism and Kadazandusun chamber to explore collaboration in rural tourism development

 By Olivia Miwil - April 14, 2021 @ 4:34pm

Sabah Tourism Board chairman Datuk Joniston Bangkuai (thir from left) receiving a souvenir from Kadazandusun Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) delegation led by its president Datuk Bonipasius Bianis during a courtesy call by KCCI, on Wednesday. - Photo courtesy of Sabah Tourism Board

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Tourism Board (STB) is looking into collaborating with the Kadazandusun Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) to provide rural folk with proper tourism soft skills training.

STB chairman Datuk Joniston Bangkuai said the Kadazandusun and Sabahan community needed upskilling to enhance their knowledge competency so they would have better communication skills when explaining their product and cultural values to tourists.

"We are really going strong on rural tourism because of its huge potential. In Kiulu itself, the revenue for its rural tourism is RM5.2 million with more than 40 operators based on the 2019 report.

"We can work together with KCCI on initiatives to empower our Kadazandusun community in the tourism area and KCCI can be a platform to conduct training for targeted areas towards the preservation of culture as well as environment," he said in a statement.

Bangkuai, the Kiulu assemblyman who is also assistant tourism, culture, and environment minister, said this during a courtesy call by a KCCI delegation at the STB office here, today.

Among the potential collaborations is a pilot project to train the local community to understand product values so they would not be taken advantage of by tourists and visitors alike.

STB had in 2019 collaborated with Universiti Malaysia Sabah on pilot projects to teach the Kadamaian and Kiulu communities basic Chinese and English language.

Last year, a similar project was scheduled to be carried out with the Marais and Rundum communities in Tenom but was halted due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Earlier, KCCI president Datuk Bonipasius Bianis highlighted the need to provide basic training for Kadazandusun folk who had potential to be tourist guides in their respective areas.

"I have received feedback especially in Kampung Kiau in Ranau. The people are guiding bird watchers. However, what is lacking is their knowledge (on birds) and communication skills.

"There's a need to give them basic foreign language skills, especially in English, and knowledge on bird species. This is so they can give value-added services as a guide instead of just guiding because they are familiar with the area," he said.

KCCI noted a similar situation was also happening among local traditional weavers, who lack the skills in explaining the value of their products and hence they often settled for a much lower price when negotiating with tourists.

Bianis said KCCI looked forward to working with STB on helping the Kadazandusun community to get back on their feet, noting that some of its 800 members involved in tourism were affected by the pandemic.

Present at the courtesy call were STB deputy general manager (finance, corporate and products division) Julinus Jimit; KCCI deputy president Datuk Ladislaus Maluda; KCCI secretary-general Pius Jaua; and, KCCI vice presidents Edmond Lo, Anne Antah and Dennison R. Indang.