Levelling up, responsibly

Natural wonder: The Niah Caves house ancient cave paintings and burial sites, where some of the oldest human remains in South-East Asia were discovered. — Tourism Malaysia

With its responsible tourism policy, Sarawak is on the right track to become a sustainable tourism leader in the South-East Asian region.

“WE see the beautiful chambers of Gua Niah and they are just amazing ... majestic!

“Even though I’m not an outdoor person, looking at them made me feel ‘wow’,” says Sharzede Datu Hj Salleh Askor, Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) chief executive officer as she reminisces about visiting the natural heritage site in Miri, Sarawak.

“They’re a gift from God. They are not something that someone can build. So we must know how to leverage them.”

Sharzede was at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre recently for the Travel Meet Asia trade show to talk about Sarawak’s Responsible Tourism initiative.

The Niah Caves, located within the Niah National Park in Miri, are an important tourism destination for the state, so it is important to ensure that they are preserved, she stresses.

“Sarawak is well known for its many national parks as well as a diverse selection of flora and fauna. We must make sure we preserve our natural heritage, not spoil our natural beauty and resources.

“Responsible tourism can help safeguard these natural ecosystems and ensure the preservation of Sarawak as a beautiful destination to live in and visit. It is our promise and pledge of their protection and survival for future generations,” says Sharzede.

To ensure the sustainability of its natural resources, one of the measures the state has taken is to introduce carrying capacity limits for its national parks and total protection areas.

Of course, nature and adventure are only two of Sarawak’s rich tourism attractions. With 31 ethnic groups, Sarawak also offers a kaleidoscope of cultures, festivals, and food.

The Niah Caves, for instance, are not only known for their natural heritage but also for their cultural and archaeological heritage. The site features ancient cave paintings and burial sites, and are where some of the oldest human remains in South-East Asia were discovered.

“Our nature and culture are assets that the people here can be involved in so that they can go further, while food and festivals bring people together. That’s why we added food and festivals as new focus in 2018, they bind people in a stronger way, inclusively,” she says.

Sustainable tourism leader

The Sarawak government has taken various steps to create a sustainable tourism industry in the state since 2011 with a focus on “3Es: Environment, Empowerment & Economic Impact.”

Sharzede: The sustainable tourism industry is not only related to the environment but also includes heritage, culture and food and this will benefit future generations. — MUHAMAD SHAHRIL ROSLI/The Star

Based on the latest visitor numbers, Sharzede believes Sarawak is on track to becoming a sustainable tourism leader and ecotourism destination in the South-East Asian region.

As of June this year, Sarawak had received more than 1.9 million tourists. Before the pandemic, Sarawak welcomed 4.66 million visitors from key tourist markets such as Europe, Scandinavia, India, China, North Asia, Oceania and the Middle East. Post-pandemic lockdowns, the first half of 2023 saw total visitor count reaching 1.6 million by May.

Sarawak’s tourism recovery is only just beginning, Sharzede notes.

“In 2022, we aimed only for 1.2 million, so we’re happy we got 2.2 million tourists last year.

“This year, we are aiming for three million tourist arrivals, both domestic and international. We have already achieved about 1.9 million though, so we believe if we go on with this kind of trajectory, we may even surpass that three million this year,” she says.

It was also helpful that Sarawak did not rely solely on Chinese tourists before the pandemic started, she adds.

“Our domestic to international arrivals was at about 52% to 48% – 52% domestic and 48% international – so while our doors were closed, we still had a majority of tourists with the 52% of domestic tourists.”

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Sharzede believes the statistics clearly show that STB’s sustainable tourism initiatives have been successful in attracting tourists to Sarawak, thus ensuring the country’s tourism industry will quickly recover from the hit it took during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The sustainable tourism industry is not only related to the environment but also includes heritage, culture and food, and this will benefit future generations.

“So we are confident about the strategies taken because globally, people are going in that direction [sustainable tourism].

“And as for stakeholders, they are very positive and support us, as they have seen the progress in tourism in line with the state government’s vision,” she says.

Surviving Covid-19

Responsible tourism also helped them through the difficult times during the height of the pandemic, says Sharzede.

“We were fortunate during the Covid-19 global public health emergency. As we focused on niche tourism, not mass tourism, we held on.

“With [domestic tourism] packages to encourage fellow Malaysians to travel to Sarawak during the pandemic, we were able to help our stakeholders such as travel operators, hoteliers and local communities not only survive but even expand and improve.”

The focus on sustainable tourism also enabled the state to use the time during the Covid-19 lockdowns to re-plan and rebuild for when the industry restarted, she adds.

“We also provided them [stakeholders] with seed funds to develop their tourism endeavours and products, for example, to start digitalising their operations, because we wanted to keep Sarawak on tourists’ minds even if they couldn’t travel here.

“We didn’t wait until we opened again, we started preparing in those two to three years, so by the time the doors were open, we were all set and ready.”

STB also reached out to 48 local homestay operators across Sarawak through capacity-building workshops.

“We collaborated with private sector players who have the expertise to give the homestay community training and exposure to sustainable tourism.

“From 2019 to 2022 we managed to reach out to 11,000 households and over 80,000 beneficiaries. But this needs to be consistent. Now we want to do the next phase, Phase Two, to see whether they implemented what they learnt.”

Women are another stakeholder group that the STB is empowering, especially in community-based tourism (CBT).

CBT can generate an income for locals, especially the various tribes of Sarawak.

“But as you know when it comes to CBT, it’s always the women who are more excited and want to be exposed to it,” says Sharzede.

“So we empower them to be more environmentally-friendly and enterprising. And so economically they benefit more.”

Some of the things the women are taught are basic waste management and recycling.

“We also taught them soap-making to give the women an opportunity to improve their livelihoods.

“On top of running their homestays and local tourist activities in their villages or areas, women from the community can produce their own soaps and sell them as an additional side income,” she says.

Circular economy

The flagship of Sarawak’s responsible tourism is none other than the world-renowned annual Rainforest World Music Festival, which integrates sustainability practices throughout the event.

“The festival is not only about music; sure it started as a way to preserve our indigenous musical instruments and music. It has succeeded, so we are now using this platform to educate people about sustainability and responsible tourism.”

According to Sharzede, some of the green practices promoted during the recent festival included electric shuttle buses to the venue, drinking water stations, recyclable containers and seed paper tags (compostable paper embedded with seeds that will grow into plants if sown or thrown on the ground).

The proceeds of the festival’s ticket sales also went to replant trees across the state.

“Everything is about giving back. It’s also a circular economy, right. So for me, the rainforest is more than just a music festival. It is it is the way forward, where the younger generation will benefit.”

“In 2011, we started the greening initiative through our Rain Forests World Music Festival, but it was just ordinary, normal, for example, just planting trees, cleaning the beach.

“Now with all the sustainability trends in international tourism, we want to make it a structured commitment. Not just one-off or as of when you want.”

This is the vision of the state when it comes to responsible tourism, she says.

“Now we have a framework, a blueprint, we have a master plan and it’s all part of our policy in the state.

“We are taking small steps but we are making structured initiatives to show to people the future direction of tourism in the state.

“We want to develop the new generation to take over Sarawak tourism, to contemporise it and make it marketable for the future, to take it to the next level.”