KUCHING: A seminar to foster capacity building for owners of rural homestay in Sarawak was held here recently.
Organised by the Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts and Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak, the seminar drew participants from rural homestays of Kampung Telaga Air, Kampung Benuk and Kampung Po Ai Melugu Sri Aman as well as the Sarawak Tourist Guide Association and the Sarawak Homestay Association.
“The event featured an engagement session where participants were able to brainstorm solutions and ideas to address various issues from the research project.
“Topics discussed included the development of new tourism attractions and products, improvement of rural homestay household incomes, environmental sustainability, preservation of culture and heritage, coordination of marketing programmes and branding of local communities.
“At the same time, the Swinburne team conducted a digital marketing training workshop for the participants to adopt social media tools to increase the visibility of their homestay,” Swinburne said in a press release.
The university added that the hands-on session helped participants to use Facebook advertisements to reach specific audiences and to track advertising results in real time. Participants also learned how to use hashtags and link their social media to other community websites to create more impact.
“As a part of the community-based tourism (CBT) concept, rural homestay is a core component of the state ecotourism masterplan, as it emphasises tourism development in tandem with the well-being of the local communities, cultures and the environment.
“In addition, the ministry is pleased to join hands with Swinburne University for this seminar, as it exemplifies our commitment to empowering rural homestay owners with knowledge and skills, further enhancing their contribution to rural tourism, it added.
