KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27 — The Sarawak government perceives ‘Responsible Tourism’ as a responsibility for the state to make its tourism business sustainable, its Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Openg said yesterday.
Abang Johari said understanding the nature of Sarawak government tourism setting, product portfolios and fragile ecosystem, it was only logical to choose to pursue responsible tourism to set in the equilibrium, satisfying the visitors, local hosts and the state of Sarawak as a whole.
“Responsible Tourism is all about making tourism better places for people to live with and a better place for people to visit.
“It focuses on what people, businesses and governments do to maximise the positive economic, social and environmental impacts of tourism. It is all about identifying issues locally and addressing it transparently,” he said
Abang Johari said this in his opening speech at the welcoming dinner for delegates of the 2019 World Tourism Conference (WTC 2019) which was also attended by Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Mohamaddin Ketapi here yesterday.
WTC 2019 which started on August 26 is organised by the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia.
This fifth edition of WTC continues to look at further enhancing sustainability of the tourism business, widening its horizon, to look ‘beyond’ tourism — consolidating various sectors including health, education, transportation and entertainment into the spectrum.
Abang Johari said Sarawak government recognised together with the world that Responsible Tourism took a variety of forms and was characterised by travel and tourism which minimised negative economic, environmental and social impacts and generates greater economic benefits for local people and enhances the well-being of host communities.
“Responsible Tourism is exciting. It is very experiential and caring to our local hosts and to our environment. With people as the heart of Responsible Tourism, we give back to ensure sustainability of the industry for the years to come.
“Our nature-based and landscape tourism calls for respect for conservation and for the future generation. Our culture tourism calls for the creation of benefits for hosts and when our hosts are happy, our guests leave with fond memories,” he said.
Meanwhile, Abang Johari said Sarawak had targeted five million visitor arrivals this year as compared to 4.4 million visitors that brought in RM7.95 billion in tourist receipts in 2018. — Bernama
