Monday October 4, 2010

Malaysia to sell flora trails

KOTA KINABALU: Malaysia is set to market trails for its flora as another tourism product.

Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said such trails would bring high yields as tourists who were passionate about flowers were likely to spend more time and return for other trails offered in the country.

Sabah would be the pioneer state to market such packages.

Flower power: Dr Ng receiving a memento from Borneo Orchid Society president Datuk Seri Tengku Zainal Adlin after opening the seminar in Kota Kinabalu yesterday. — Bernama

“This is part of our strategy to develop packages to bring in more longer-staying tourists,” she told reporters after opening an orchid seminar held in conjunction with the Borneo Orchid Show 2010 here yesterday.

Dr Ng said the Sabah Tourism Board had been tasked with pioneering the development of floral trail packages as the state had iconic flowers ranging from orchids to the Rafflesia.

The board, she added, was currently training tour guides for such packages.

Dr Ng said Tourism Malaysia would be presenting the floral trail as a new product at the International Tourism Bourse in Berlin next March.

She said her ministry was also encouraging the Sabah Tourism Board to consider bidding to host the World Conference of Orchids in 2012.

“Sabah is the best place to host it with its natural forest cover, the attraction is for conference participants to go and see the plants in their natural surroundings,” she said, adding that tourism played an important role in preserving the biodiversity of a country where over 54% of the land area was under natural forest management.

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