KUCHING: The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture is aiming to identify more longhouses in Sarawak that can be turned into homestays, hence making it a more competitive tourism product.
Its Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing said this is one of the ministry’s goals and it is to maintain the authenticity and culture of the longhouses in Sarawak.
“Therefore, the homestays need to be upgraded in order to be able to provide quality services and then be able to provide uniqueness and a valuable experience for tourists who stay there.
“At the same time, we need to ensure a maximum level of cleanliness, safety, facilities, and so forth so that tourists can have a great and enjoyable and memorable experience,” he said in his social media post yesterday (Dec 31) after attending a thanksgiving ceremony held at Rumah Lidam, Masjaya Jalan Bintulu/Tatau.
In addition to providing accommodation, he stressed that the longhouses should also organise cultural programmes during the tourists’ duration of stay.
“The longhouses can organise folk dance, cooking, traditional ceremonies and many others,” he pointed out.
The Bintulu MP also said the field of tourism is becoming more challenging now, thus there must be something unique that can be offered for the tourists.
“This is important, because we don’t want the tourists to feel like they’re just ‘stopping over’ at a tourist location, rather we want them to really integrate into the life of the local community,” he said.
On another note, Tiong also said that he was very honoured to be given the opportunity and to be able to serve as the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture.
