Cycling tours, a niche market in Sabah

 

Tourism Malaysia Sabah director Mohd Faharuddin Hatmin (centre), its deputy director Trecey Tojuka (2nd, right), Trek Finder Tours operator Arthur Kimon (right) and media influencers to embark on the first series of Kota Kinabalu Live Rid3 1.0 at Signal Hill observatory tower. - NSTP/Paul Mu

KOTA KINABALU: Tourism Malaysia Sabah has embarked on a virtual promotional tour to prepare itself when interstate travel resumes nationwide.

Its director Mohd Faharuddin Hatmin said now is the time to reactivate the promotional activities before the tourism industry fully reopens.

"These are the steps taken to help the local travel agents to promote their products as they have been inactive for too long," said Faharuddin after Tourism Malaysia launched its first series of the Kota Kinabalu Live Ride 1.0 programme at Signal Hill observatory tower near here today.

The hour-long cycling ride highlights the city's landmarks including the Atkinson clock tower, Sabah Tourism Board building, Kota Kinabalu City Mosque, Sabah International Convention Centre, Sabah Administrative Centre and allows people to enjoy the coastal scenery of Likas bay.

"Cycling tours are a niche market and they have been available before the Covid-19 pandemic struck.

"The Tourism Malaysia foreign offices in Jakarta, Vietnam, the Philippines and other nearby countries were had also tuned in during the live streaming of this programme so that they can inform their agent friends that we have this package.

"We want to create awareness that we have this recreational tourism package," said Faharuddin.

He said there were also facilities in Kota Kinabalu for youngsters and family tour groups, and it was also planning to offer mountain bike experiences for the rough terrain in Penampang, Ranau and Kiulu.

"I also notice that the whole of Sabah is a mix of hilly areas and areas near rivers. This is the factor that attracts visitors to cycle and enjoy the beautiful sceneries. The landscape of Sabah is perfect for outdoor activities and Tourism Malaysia wants to further promote this promising and big market," said Faharuddin.

Besides tapping into leisure tourists, he said the geography of Sabah is perfect for serious cyclists to train in preparation for cycling tournaments, which is also another market.

He said cycling lanes that were already available along the coastal highway in Kota Kinabalu was another plus point.

Faharuddin said he was confident that the tourism industry will rebound stronger this time around as they have learnt a lot from the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Local tourism players had also learnt from past experiences, including the H1N1 (influenza A virus) and SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreaks which had also impacted the tourism industry. However, those experiences were not as bad as Covid-19."

He said the ongoing pandemic prompted tourism players to improve their services online and to become more resilient and persevere, otherwise they would have left the industry.

To lift the spirits of tourism players, he said the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry has provided incentives and financial assistance to travel agents, hotels, tourist guides and destination operators last year.

On the part of Tourism Malaysia, he said it was in the process of developing 70 new tour packages including nature tours and diving activities in the east coast of Sabah with attractive new deals.

"When the packages are ready, we will do the promotion and marketing to enable holidaymakers to make their plans in advance. So when interstate travels resume, they can just inform the travel agents to confirm the bookings," he said.

Meanwhile, Trek Finder Tours operator, Arthur Kimon said the continued interest towards cycling activities has kept the people in his company going despite the absence of tourists.

Trek Finder Tours specialises in cycling tour packages, including city and countryside rides.

"Our 'market' is mostly European (riders) and since (many of them) are not around, we are trying to woo the locals, but there are not many (locals) because most of them already know the routes," he said.

In order to generate a small income, he said they would rent out the bikes to the local riders at RM10 a session and reduced the tour packages to RM75 from RM350, but response was not encouraging.

"We hope the state tourism industry will gradually reopen as many people have completed their vaccines, otherwise we won't be able to stay alive," he said.

-nst online.