KOTA BELUD: Tourism activities have been gradually picking up for community-based tourism (CBT) in Kadamaian after struggling to survive in the past two years due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
The rural community who spent the two quiet years improving their facilities are also now feeling relieved following several measures taken by the Sabah government to relax travel restrictions.
Among the decisions taken was to allow interstate travel in October last year and the repeal of the Covid-19 swab test last month.
The rural tourism operators were still in high spirits and despite being badly hit by the pandemic, they showed confidence that the tourism sector would slowly recover as the government put in efforts to rejuvenate the ailing industry.
And to support the recovery process, Sabah Tourism Board (STB) chief executive officer Noredah Othman and her team have embarked on a working visit to check out attractions and for product update as well as engagement with the community.
During the sojourn, the STB team visited Porohon Garden, Eco-Tourism Tagal Kampung Talungan, Eco-Tourism Kampung Tambulion, Eco-Tourism Kalangadanku, and Karanahan View.
Porohon Garden and Karanahan View are privately owned attractions, while the others are managed by the local community.
"Kadamaian has the potential to develop into a world-class tourist destination. It has a wealth of natural charms, making it a great place for tourists from all over the world to come and see.
"We admire the spirit of Kadamaian people in their effort to empower themselves through rural tourism activities," said Noredah.
Kadamaian is one of Sabah's fastest developing rural tourism attractions, intending to become a world-class rural tourism destination by 2025.
In January 2019, Kadamaian received the ASEAN Community Based Tourism Standard 2019-2021 award at the Asean Tourism Ministers' Conference in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Noredah also applauded the rural community for their grit and determination in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic and the obstacles they faced in recent years.
"At STB, we will continue to engage with the community to ensure they have the skills and abilities needed to reach the world-class status as well as to assist them in obtaining necessary funds to enable them to improve their facilities," she added.
During the visit, the STB team also inspected upgraded facilities funded by Sabah New Deal grants at Porohon Garden, Eco-Tourism Tagal Kampung Talungan, and Karanahan View.