KUCHING: Eighteen international media representatives from 13 countries (Australia, Austria, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan, United States of America, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Singapore) are here to experience the richness of Sarawak’s culture and adventure from July 15 to 20.
The aim of Mega Familiarisation Programme, themed “Let’s Do Something Different”, is to provide participants with first-hand information and experience on Sarawak tourism products and ultimately distribute the information accordingly with their respective readers and viewers.
The group, invited here by Tourism Malaysia, get to learn and enjoy Malaysia’s experiential tours of Kuching, Sarawak.
The programme started with the Sarawak Sunset River Cruise and continued with a welcome dinner on July 15 at Riverside Majestic Hotel where they were briefed by Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) about the Visit Sarawak Campaign.
The participants later joined in a Mini Frog Race which took a unique look at Malaysia’s anurans (frogs and toads).
The event was re-created on a smaller scale especially for the group to give them a taste of the popular international-level Bornean Frog Race which takes place annually here in April.
The event aims to draw public attention to the frogs of Borneo and brings awareness on the importance of education and amphibian conservation.
The event was won by Ilya Shtaev of Russia, with Pham Thuy Huyen of Vietnam and Weng Ding Shiang of Taiwan finishing second and third, respectively. Tuy Engly of Cambodia also received a special prize for finding the most different species in the event with a total of nine.
Besides, the group also had a chance to engage in outdoor and cultural activities such as visit the Semenggoh Nature Reserve, kayaking at Kampung Danu, visit Mengkak longhouse at Batang Ai and participating in Tourism Malaysia’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activity which was a special project to set up a mini library or reading corner for the longhouse residents with the books contributed by the international media and officers as well as families of Tourism Malaysia.
The programme is supported by partnerships with Malaysia Airlines and Sarawak Tourism Board (STB).
The winners of the frog race are as below:
Photos: Nur Afifah Basyirah Musa
