Tourism industry in Bintulu should start off immediately, said Tanjong Batu state assemblyman Chiew Chiu Sing.
“I strongly believe that we have to start off the tourism industry in Bintulu immediately to bring in people to see our way of living, culture, geography, historical facts and others, while they pay to stay at the inns and hotels, to eat, shop and benefit from other travel accessories,” he added.
He also said that while much of Bintulu’s success has been relying on the trickling down effect of petro-chemical and energy intensive industries, a certain specific sector of the economy could at times malfunction and affect the process.
“For example, in Bintulu, many new shoplots have been constructed and remain vacant. Businesses these day are slow and sales have fallen.
“They have been depending on the big industries all the while but at this juncture in time, it has become stagnant,” said Chiew while debating on the State Budget 2019 at the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) here yesterday.
He also said that there were many things that could be done.
“One of these is making money through tourism.
“We need to start somewhere but we must jump-start it immediately or it will not happen,” stressed Chiew.
He pointed out that the state could start with what Bintulu has to offer such as jungle tracks, bird park and Tanjong Batu beach which could become a great attraction when rightly and vigorously promoted.
“We can have deep sea fishing at Beting Liku Selatan which is only 38 nautical miles from Bintulu.
“The Similajau National Park can also be promoted as a tourist hotspot. Recently, a friend brought Chinese tourists to visit the virgin jungle at the national park and they were fascinated by the thickness of the forest and size of the trees,” said Chiew.
He added that the other tourist spot was Niah Cave.
“There is so much exciting things that we can do in Bintulu. But we are doing so little, so slowly and there’s not even a tourist map. Let us start now and carry out basic development to these tourist spots and later on, we can further develop our scenic areas in phases.
“I therefore urge the government to take up the challenge for the sake of the people and collaborate with private sectors to make tourism another successful industry in Bintulu,” said Chiew.
