Rebranding will make Jong regatta major tourism event in Bau

BAU:  Rebranding of the Jong Regatta into a full-fledged festival, possibly beginning next year, will make the event the biggest tourism attraction in this gold mining town.

When giving this observation, Tasik Biru assemblyman Datuk Peter Nansian Ngusie yesterday said the organiser had strived to make its future editions bigger and better to attract more local visitors and foreign tourists.

The plans that have been proposed, he said, included the introduction of more sporting events such as futsal competition, wakeboard competition and other water sports events, and even jet-ski demonstration to pull in the crowd and provide entertainment.

“We will make this event bigger. We will include more events, we will strive to improve this event to make it better for both the locals and foreign tourists. Jong Regatta will become one of the biggest events in Bau,” said Nansian, who is also Assistant Minister of Community Services, when officiating at the closing ceremony of the regatta at Tasik Biru here.

The Jong Regatta, re-introduced in 2009 after a hiatus of a few years, has quickly gained momentum in terms of participation and support from the local community. This year, the regatta saw a record participation of 464 entries, including 21 men and six women’s teams in its Open Rafting competition.

On Saturday, Deputy Tourism Minister Datuk Dr James Dawos called on the organiser – Bau District Office – to repackage the regatta into a festival to attract more participants, visitors and tourists.

The Mambong MP also suggested for the date of the event to be shifted to incorporate the school holidays so that it could attract more local tourists from throughout the country. He suggested June as an ideal date, considering the two-week school break and the start of the summer holidays in European countries and the Middle East.

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Jong Regatta likely to be repackaged as Jong Festival

BAU: The Jong Regatta (junk regatta) is expected to be repackaged as Jong Festival beginning next year as the event undergoes a re-branding exercise to attract more major participants and domestic tourists alike.

Deputy Minister of Sarawak Tourism Datuk James Dawos Mamit yesterday highlighted the need for local organisers to be more creative in introducing programmes surrounding the regatta to break out from its conventional activities and events.

The Mambong MP suggested that the date of the event be shifted to incorporate the school holidays so that it could attract more domestic tourists. He suggested June as an ideal date considering the two weeks school break coupled with the starting of the summer holidays in European countries and the Middle East.

“Don’t always think conventionally, be more creative. The organisers must come up with new strategies to attract more participants and visitors. Conventional ways don’t work anymore especially when it comes to attracting domestic tourists.

“The Jong Regatta is an iconic event. There is no such event elsewhere in country. Therefore, it is very important for organisers to pick a date most convenient for the visitors from the country and foreign tourists,” said Dawos when officiating at the 2012 Jong Regatta held at Tasik Biru here.

Among those present were state Tourism Ministry permanent secretary Datu Ik Pahon Joyik, Kuching Resident Abdul Rahman Sebli Senusi and Bau district officer Simon Japut.

Highlighting the importance of attracting domestic tourists, Dawos revealed that statistic of Malaysians who visited all the tourism spots throughout the country last year had reached a staggering 150 million. He said that on average, one person had visited any part of the country at least seven times last year.

He also mentioned that spending by domestic tourists nationwide for last year had reached a whopping RM43.2 billion. As for foreign tourists, the total spending of the foreign tourists was estimated at RM58.3 billion. Emphasising the need to attract domestic tourists, he said that such tourist entry into the state had declined from 22 per cent in 2010 to 18 per cent last year.

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