Date: 11 December 2012
Agrotourism can generate lucrative income to Sabah.
KOTA KINABALU: The recently concluded Malaysia International
Agriculture, Horticulture and Agro Tourism Exhibition (MAHA) 2012, which
recorded 3.2 million visitors, showed that this industry has a huge potential
to grow. Malaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC) director Burhanuddin Saidin
said the tourism industry had also contributed to the national productivity
growth.
“With the higher number of tourist arrivals, it will also
increase domestic consumption, such as accommodation, food and beverage. It
recorded a 4.1 per cent increase in 2011. Talking about agrotourism, it has a
great potential to generate lucrative income to Sabah and continuous effort is
being undertaken by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry to further
enhance the state’s agrotourism, which would benefit the tourism sector in
general,” he said at the launching of a six-day seminar on Innovative
Strategies in Promoting Agrtotourism at Promenade Hotel here yesterday.
He added among the various agrotourism products that have
been developed by the ministry through its departments and agencies include the
Sabah Agriculture Park, the Tagal System, Weston Wetlands Park, Keningau
Livestock Farm and various other agricultural activities like the mushroom
industry in Mesilau, goat rearing in Papar and bee farming in Matunggong which
have already been developed as part of the agro-tourism packages.
He believed the corporation has managed to change the
people’s perception that agriculture is no longer a sector for the poor or
uneducated, but open to all with the promise of lucrative profits. “Therefore,
today’s programme is a perfect platform for us in Malaysia to learn and
understand how other countries such as Japan, Taiwan, Holland and our
neighbour, Thailand, craft their strategies in developing and promoting agro
tourism,” he added.
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