Call For Systematic Approach To Community-based Tourism

April 20, 2009 13:25 PM

Call For Systematic Approach To Community-based Tourism

SANDAKAN, April 20 (Bernama) -- Community-based tourism, said to be an effective poverty reduction and wealth distribution tool, requires systematic and sustainable approaches instead of ad hoc methods, Tourism Ministry secretary-general Datuk Dr Ong Hong Peng said today.

He said the long-term viability of community-based tourism projects, which required careful planning, commitment and perseverance, was a prime concern.

"Appropriate policy interventions and physical infrastructure should be in place to ensure community-based tourism is developed in a sustainable manner.

"Community capacity building should also be initiated and a collective vision of what the community aspires to be and how it will progress and supports itself are some of the issues that need to be resolved," he said when opening the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Conference on Community-based Tourism, here.

The four-day conference is being attended by 65 delegates, 12 of them from Indonesia, Peru, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Dr Ong said community-based tourism was gradually becoming a mainstream development tool and was extensively being used in the planning and development of Malaysia's new economic corridors such as the East Coast Economic Region (ECER), Iskandar Malaysia and the Sabah Development Corridor (SDC).

He said community-based tourism brought direct economic benefits to local communities and helped in poverty reduction, apart from empowering local women and youths.

"Moreover, the experiential nature of community-based tourism, which contains a high level of educational elements, is becoming increasingly popular with both foreign and domestic tourists," he added.

Dr Ong said the homestay programme in Malaysia was a form of community-based tourism which aimed to encourage tourists to experience the village way of life.

He said that due to the potential of homestay programmes in providing additional income and employment, the number of providers in Malaysia had increased and, up to 2008, there were 138 homestay facilities nationwide involving 3,183 participants since the programme was launched in 1995.

"This programme has lately been given special emphasis by the Ministry of Tourism and, under the Ninth Malaysia Plan, a total of RM40 million has been allocated to the ministry for upgrading infrastructure and facilities in participating villages," he added.

-- BERNAMA