Kota Kinabalu City Hall (KKCH) on Tuesday unveiled its five-year strategic tourism plan for the city.

Launched by Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister Datuk Abidin Madingkir, the plan will run from 2022 to 2026.

Abidin when speaking to the media after the launching ceremony, described the strategic plan as timely as the state’s tourism sector recovers from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“This strategic plan which is for five years, will be used by KKCH as a roadmap and guide whether in restoring and planning its assets or tourism products and also to revive the tourism sector,” he said.

Abidin pointed out that Kota Kinabalu city is the gateway to the state and therefore its infrastructure and landscape must be looked after.

“Although the Covid-19 pandemic is not over yet, we need to be prepared for the influx of tourists once traveling restrictions are eased. We cannot wait until the pandemic is over to start as it will be too late by then.

“We can start planning and implementing whatever is necessary from now,” he said and opined that as developments require huge funding, the private sector should come in and assist the government in reviving the tourism sector.

Abidin pointed out that the tourism sector is a major contributor to the state’s revenue but the sector was severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“This strategic development plan can be used to revive the sector as what is important to me is that as it is a five-year plan, we can use it to plan on getting funding from the state or federal government so it can be implemented,” he said.

He also stressed that no matter how good a plan is, it will not amount to anything if it is not implemented.

When asked to elaborate, Abidin said that as someone who served in the civil service for a long time, he had seen many government strategies ending up on the shelves gathering dust.

“To me what is important is whatever the master plan is, it must be implemented and after that, ensure that follow up is done. I know that implementation of plans requires a lot of funding and therefore we hope the state and federal governments as well as the private sector can assist,” he said.

Abidin pointed out that the tourism sector should be private driven and the stakeholders have an important role to play to ensure that whatever is planned by the government and in this matter, KKCH, will be realized.

The minister in charge of KKCH also said that he will find out from KKCH how much is needed to implement the five-year plan and will bring it to the attention of the state government for consideration.

Meanwhile Mayor Datuk Noorliza Awang Alip said that part of the plan included maintaining Australia Place and the colonial era buildings along Gaya Street.

“Actually we need to have an identity for Kota Kinabalu and we are looking into the history for this. If we do not preserve them, we will lose our historical elements,” she said.

She added that KKCH will start engaging with the community in January next year and bring to them the plans that they have for the city.

“We are also working with some professional associations like PAM and have conducted an engagement with the public on Jalan Jati which is part of Gaya Street. The feedback from the public was that they wanted it to remain as a public space even though it is a road reserve.

“This we will look into with proper and more detailed planning,” she said.

In his speech earlier, Abidin said the strategic plan will not only beautify the city with the planting of shady and flowering trees, conservation of hills, rivers and beaches but will also upgrade basic facilities such as walkways, rest huts, leisure equipment, business spaces and so on to support urban tourism development.

Thus, Kota Kinabalu has the ability to shape and encourage Sabah to attract foreign investment to the state.

And most importantly, it is able to help the people increase their income through new or improved tourism products, including those involving sub-urban areas, he said.

“This is supported by the fact that we are also rich in natural resources. These resources need to be utilized responsibly in a sustainable manner. With the right tourism development framework, good connectivity, excellent support services from housing, education, manpower, utilities, healthcare and transportation, we will be able to compete easily,” he said.

Equally important is the development of waste management, developing tourism product-based space and business opportunities and creating jobs for the younger generation workforce in the tourism industry as well as providing efficient public transport for the mobility of passengers and tourists as these are all beneficial aspects of changing the landscape of Kota Kinabalu’s tourism sector, he pointed out.

“Not to be forgotten is the importance of the involvement of the rural community in tourism development activities which can not only contribute to the development of tourist destinations but also indirectly benefit the locals with the improvement of economic, social and cultural standards.

“Therefore, the Kota Kinabalu Tourism Strategic Plan is a timely and also a tourism development map that is very important for the Sabah Government to adopt and implement in the next five years.

“We want a city that will reflect the aspirations of the 12th Malaysia Plan where there is shared prosperity in the economic, socio and environmental sectors,” he said.

Source:
courtesy of THE BORNEO POST

by NANCY LAI

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