BREAKING NEWS Visit Malaysia Year 2007 Kicks Off January 2007 marks the official launching of Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) 2007. Themed ‘Celebrating 50 Years of Nationhood’, the VMY objectives are focused on promoting Malaysia as a leading holiday destinations in the region. An assortment of events and activities was planned by Tourism Malaysia and Sabah Tourism Board for all year round. In view of the special year, we append the highlights of the 2007 Sabah Calendar for your reference: Event/ Activities Date Chinese New Year 18 th – 19 th February Sabah Agriculture Park Anniversary Day 17 th – 18 th Mar 14 th Regatta Lepa Semporna – Water Festival 21 st – 22 nd Apr Anzac Day (World War II Memorial Day for 25 th Apr Australians & New Zealand Army Servicemen) Tadau Kaamatan (Harvest Festival) 30 th – 31 st May Sabah Fest 2007 – Cultural Extravaganza 4th May Sabah World Museum Day 2007 18 th – 23 rd May 22 nd Sabah Dragon Boat Race 17 th June Sandakan Memorial Day 15 th Aug. Merdeka Day (Independent’s Day) 31 st Aug. Ramadhan 21 st Sep Hari Raya Aidilfitri 13 th – 14 th Oct Christmas Day 25 th Dec Sandakan Memorial Day For more details on the events, please click www.visitmalaysia.ws and www.sabahtourism.com . New Terminal Two Airport (Adapted( from Daily Express, 29 th Dec 2006) The new RM60 million Terminal Two of the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) is being hailed as a gift for Sabah in conjunction with the Visit Malaysia Year 2007. It will begin full operations Jan 1 and is ready to accommodate up to 1.8 million passengers a year. Malaysia Airports Berhad (MAB) Senior General Manager of Operations Dato' Azmi Murad said the number of passengers would be an increase from one million this year. "This terminal can accommodate 2.5 million passengers a year. As of December this year, we expect one million passengers to be using the Terminal Two compared to 800,000 in 2005. "For 2007, we expect 1.6 million or 1.8 million passengers to use the terminal 2. The opening will be a gift to Sabah in conjunction with VMY 2007," he said," he told reporters during a visit to the airport here, Thursday. He said the terminal, completed in a record seven months - or 29 months earlier than scheduled - will have 26 registration counters for domestic and international passengers and six aircraft parking areas for Boeing 737 and Airbus 320 aircraft. The terminal, equipped with seven scanners, VIP lounge and 13 immigration counters, can handle up to 1,200 passengers during the peak period. The terminal also provides 750 seats, 500 trolleys and 176 parking bays for vehicles. According to Azmi, the terminal is part of MAB's commitment to provide comfortable service to users of the KKIA. "We believe passengers and the public who use the KKIA will be comfortable. We will keep monitoring our service to make sure it is always at the best level. He also said the main terminal is still being expanded with completion expected in 2009. 1 PRODUCT UPDATE New Package BB15 Explore Sabah One of the latest addition to our new tour packages, the 8 days itinerary offers our clients the best experience ofexploring the fascinating north Borneo. Our guests will enjoy the best mixture of city, culture, beach, nature and wildlife programme as they come along to discover the wonderment of Borneo with us. Please click www.borneoecotours.com/tours_view.cfm?THE_ID=50 for further details. New Postcards Launched Sabah Handicraft recently launched 12 new designs of postcards featuring images of Brunei and Sarawak. To date, there are almost 200 types of postcards available for sale at Sabah Handicraft. Purchase can also be made online. For more details on the postcards and our other merchandise, please send an email to [email protected] . Osman ~ Senior Tourist Guide This month we feature Awang Saman Majingah or ‘Osman’, our longest serving tour guide based in Kota Kinabalu. Having been attached with the company for 13 years, Osman is undoubtedly the most experienced guide we currently have. Holding a blue badge, Osman’s main interest is bird-watching but he too conducts a lot of guiding for nature, culture and other tour categories. Despite his long working hours, Osman is a happy family man. He is married with six children still schooling. Osman’s motto is ‘work hard and stay healthy’. “I see that we need to have these two facets of life to be balanced. Good health is essentially an asset for one to do well in his job”, said Osman. In response to the company’s quest to reach world-class status, Osman said “We must work with the right attitude. Only with such trait we could render extra mile service to our guests. On top of that, we must be knowledgeable and flexible with change. If it is our intention to expect guests’ return visit, we must do it with the right product and right information”. Osman commented that team work is important when it comes to serving guests. “It is our responsibility to cooperate well with all our team members, be it captain, Operation Manager or the Tour Consultants. We must leverage on each other as to maximize our work capacity”, added Osman. Osman is certainly the best person to reveal the secret of long service achievement. “I attribute my achievement to ‘patience’ and ‘perseverance’. To counter the ceaseless challenges through the decade, it was my patience and 2 perseverance which led me through the undulating working conditions”, said Osman. He agrees that one must have interest in his job in order to get the job well done. He sees a lot of positive change within a decade. “Nowadays, Borneo Eco Tours is expanding rapidly and our operation is getting more systematic. Cutting-edge and environmental- friendly technologies were brought in to support and facilitate our business”, he noted. In the years to come, Osman intends to focus more on bird-watching tours, but he is more than happy to guide other tours when his service is needed. He enjoys working in Borneo Eco Tours and there’s no surprise when he is getting increasing requests from repeat guests to use his service. Adapted from The Times (UK) article following Sukau Rainforest Lodge’s nomination in the First Choice Responsible Tourism Awards. My nomination is the www.sukau.com , set on the Kinabatangan River in the state of Sabah in Malaysian Borneo. In an area where many other lodges also operate, this lodge stands out in many ways that support the local community and the environment: it employs almost solely local people, who are incredibly knowledgeable and skilful guides; they attain most supplies from local people; no electric lighting is used for aesthetic purposes; the boats used for 'River Safaris' all use electric motors only, helping the environment through the obvious avoidance of oil-based fuel, but also minimising noise pollution with the additional benefit for tourists of increasing the likelihood of seeing more timid wildlife. I hope it continues to provide visitors with a great stay regardless of whether it wins an award. - Satbir Gupta, London Source - http://travel.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,26015-2443761.html Wendy Dowling Wendy Dowling has been a frequent traveller with her husband, Professor Ross Dowling to Borneo particularly Sukau in recent years. Wendy is recognized for her contribution towards the Rungus community in Kudat, where she helped the Terongkongan villagers to set up a library in September 2006. To date, she had contributed reading materials worth more than RM3000 to the library, ensuring that good learning materials are accessible to the locals. To get to know more about Wendy, this month we dedicate a special column to highlight Wendy’s profile and her insights about Borneo. Born in Timaru, South Island, New Zealand, Wendy currently resides and works as a Naturopath at a Women’s Health Clinic in Perth, Western Australia. Together with her husband Ross Dowling, Professor of Tourism at Edith Cowan University, Perth, Western Australia, Wendy undertakes lecturing on board Silverseas Cruises, a six star US cruise company. In January 2004 the ship visited Sabah whilst we were lecturing. In addition she has been a tour guide to the Antarctic and in July 2006 she conducted tour guide training in Sabah and Sarawak. Wendy is the current President, Coeliac Society of Western Australia. Back home, she is a happy mother of three adult children and grand mother of three. 3 Below is Wendy’s comment on her many visits to Sabah and Sukau: “I have visited Sabah three times and Sukau twice. Each occasion has been different. On my first visit in 2004 I was lecturing on board the Silver Shadow and spent a day in Sabah travelling to Mt Kinabalu World Heritage Region. In 2005 I visited Sabah to take part in Albert Teo’s Borneo Ecotourism Conference. Prior to the conference my husband and I visited Sukau Rainforest Lodge and were literally blown away by the lodge, its staff, and of course the five star setting. In September 2006 I once again travelled to Sabah with 20 Tourism Students from Edith Cowan University. During our stay we saw a lot of Sabah but the highlight for both me and the students was our time spent at Sukau. Sukau Rainforest Lodge is a fabulous place and one of my favourite places on the planet. The setting is one of the most pristine rainforest environments on earth and the diversity of plant and animal life is amazing. I personally like the proboscis monkeys and I could spend all day on the Kinabatangan River watching them go about their business in the trees.