KUCHING: Facilities and services in the national parks and nature reserves in Sarawak will continue to be improved.
Sarawak Forestry Corporation Sdn Bhd (SFCSB) chief executive officer, Zolkipli Mohamad Aton, said the corporation would work hard to ensure that parks and reserves are better developed and well-maintained in order to meet the expectations of locals and tourists.
“When tourists come here they expect our national parks to have five-star ratings, but that is not the case. Most probably they have two or three-star ratings,” he said during a media appreciation lunch organised by SFCSB, yesterday.
He said there’s a need to have better facilities at the national parks so that they would attract more tourists and visitors.
“Our parks and nature reserves attract nearly 600,000 visitors every year,” he said.
However, last year there was a slight decrease in the number, probably because people were watching the 2018 Fifa World Cup.
“This year, in line with the visit Sarawak campaign called ‘More to Discover’, it is expected that we will have 600,000 or more visitors,” he said.
In line with digital technology initiatives, SFCSB is collaborating with Sarawak Multimedia Authority (SMA) to enhance the Wifi connectivity in nine national parks, namely, Bako National Park, Semenggoh Wildlife Centre, Gunung Gading National Park, Tanjung Datu National Park, Kubah National Park, Matang Wildlife Centre, Similajau National Park, Niah National Park and Lambir Hills National Park.
“With improved connectivity, I believe it would generate social media exposure and promote our parks globally. This is because the trend now is, after a photo is taken, people would want to upload it on social media or share it with their friends or families,” he stressed.
Apart from improving the quality and availability of amenities, he then said that publicity was important to convey information and generate awareness of products and services.
“Therefore, to date, we have created five dedicated websites for selected parks such as Piasau Nature Reserve, Gunung Gading National Park, Bako National Park, Semenggoh Wildlife Centre, Niah National Park for ease of enrolment in the Hornbill Adoption Programmes,” he said.
He added that SFCSB also have three state of the art interpretation centres at Similajau National Park, Niah National Park, and Piasau National Park to enhance visitors’ experience, as they are educational, informative and interactive for visitors.
