KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Parks plans to diversify tourism products to mitigate the impact of mass tourism on Tunku Abdul Rahman Park (TARP).
Its director Dr Maklarin Lakim said they are continuously striving to create new tourism products and diversify attractions to meet the increasing demands of tourists.
He added that TARP, the first marine park gazetted in the country 50 years ago, is the second smallest in Sabah after the Turtle Islands Park in Sandakan.
Despite its size, its proximity to the city results in a high influx of tourists due to the low cost of visiting.
Last year, the park, which is a stone's throw from the state capital, recorded 389,205 visitors.
Maklarin said Sabah Parks has been collecting scientific data to understand the inventory of marine biological species present at the park.
"We will then look for ways to create unique tourism products that fit the conditions of TARP. For example, in the past, we developed a tourism product based on turtles by introducing turtle nest adoption programmes.
"There are many various coral reef species and rare fish species that are still preserved in the park. We find ways to highlight and turn these into tourism products.
"There are also beautiful hills on Gaya Island (in the park), which have high peaks and potential for development into hiking or hill climbing attractions," he said to the media after TARP's 50th anniversary at Manukan Island yesterday.
The park is home to more than 200 species of hard coral and over 500 species of reef fish.
Each year, female turtles come to the park's beaches to lay their eggs, which are then hatched at the nesting sites.
Every year, the park is visited by whale sharks, especially from February to April. It also hosts unique and important mangrove forests, which are home to Sabah's iconic species, such as the Proboscis Monkey.
Meanwhile, Maklarin also said that Sabah Parks is planning to upgrade some of its infrastructure within the park, which is more than 30 years old.