KOTA KINABALU: The Federal Tourism Ministry would help Sabah develop and turn the Sabah Agricultural Park in Tenom into a world renowned tourism destination.
Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said the park had the products and certainly the potential to attract international visitors but not sufficiently promoted in the domestic and foreign markets.
She said the ministry would allocate RM100,000 for hosting an orchid carnival at the park, as part of an effort to create awareness on the various attractions available there.
“After that we will study what else can we do to help imrpove and promote the park. I believe with the right publicity we can make the place a very popular destination. We have done this with the Sarawak’s Music Festival and I am confident we can do the same thing with Tenom Agricultural Park,” she said to reporters after concluding her three-day visit to Sabah yesterday.
“We will give a lot of focus to developing this unique product that cannot be found anywhere else. The natural wild orchids found in the park for example have a tremendous potential to tap the rapidly increasing niche market of botanical tourism.
“There are a lot of orchid exhibitions but the orchids here are unique and cannot be found anywhere else, and a lot of people would come just to see them,” she said.
Ng added she was also planning to bring in foreign tourism agencies for a familiarization programme at the park, so that they can develop packages to be offered to their clients.
She added another RM200,000 would be given for upgrading the basic facilities at the park and install proper information boards or plaques for all the plants there.
Meanwhile, the minister said she was happy with the implementation of projects funded by her ministry in Sabah.
She said focus would continue to be given on developing high impact products that cater to niche market, including those available at Sepilok wildlife sanctuary and Sepilok Rainforest Research Centre.
She noted RM6.5 million has been allocated under the third rolling plan of the 10th Malaysia Plan for improving the infrastructures in Sepilok while another RM5.3 million was given for upgrading the car park at the research centre.
Continue reading at: Sabah Agricultural Park in Tenom to receive international promotion
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