Monday 14 November 2011
Wednesday 9 November 2011
Malaysia Sees Homestay Growth In Australia
Malaysia Sees Homestay Growth In Australia
By Neville D'CruzMELBOURNE, Nov 9 (Bernama) -- Deputy Tourism Minister Datuk Dr James Dawos Mamit says the Malaysian homestay market has not reached its potential among Australians and there is significant opportunity for growth with more promotion and product development.
"Australians are showing increasing interest in immersive tourism experiences that allow for an authentic cultural interaction and our homestay products in Malaysia offer this," he said at the four-day 2011 Global Eco Conference which began in Sydney on Monday.
"We have also noticed that homestay products which are near a national park and include nature-based experiences are proving most popular, particularly with Australians," Dr Mamit said, adding: "We want to facilitate the development of these types of products to create a `community-based ecotourism' offering."
Of the 2,000 Australians who tried the homestay programme last year, 50 per cent went to Sabah.
Dr Mamit said to increase homestays' appeal, Tourism Malaysia plans to forge strategic alliances between homestay providers and reputable ecotourism operators so that more homestays include nature-based activities and ecotourism experiences.
The Deputy Minister said Tourism Malayia is also developing stand-alone community-based ecotourism destinations to help local communities create tourism products showcasing the local environment.
Three such products have been created recently in partnership with communities in Sarawak, he said.
"Some mass tourism operators lay claim to the ecotourism label but do not necessarily ensure that the environment is protected.
"By encouraging ecotourism activities that are community run we can ensure that local communities directly benefit from the environment and are therefore stimulated to protect it," Dr Mamit said.
He said last year the homestay programme attracted more than 45,000 foreigners, and has been popular with Japanese, Koreans and Singaporeans.
-- BERNAMA
Tuesday 8 November 2011
Homestay programme at Bidayuh Muslim village a big hit
by Johnson K Saai. Posted on November 8, 2011, Tuesday
FOR THE ALBUM: Aaron (standing sixth left) in a group photograph with the longhouse folk.
KUCHING: The Kampung Darul Islam Belimbing homestay programme received around 3,000 visitors so far and this was a good sign, the village homestay project secretary Musa Mohd Syaid revealed yesterday.
Without providing statistics, he said the volume of visitors had been growing annually since it was launched in 2008.
“One interesting thing is when those who come to experience our homestay programme are not only locals but also foreigners, including those from European countries,” he said.
Met during the slaughtering and distribution of sacrificial cows at Kampung Darul Islam Belimbing, one of the few Bidayuh Muslim settlements in Padawan, Musa told The Borneo Post that as of now 22 families in the village were participating in the homestay programme.
“This homestay programme is one of the socio-economic activities introduced by Felcra Bhd to participants of its oil palm plantation project within the Belimbing area.
“In fact, Felcra is not just bringing in oil palm but many other socio-economic activities as well, and homestay is just part of it,” he added.
Meanwhile, Felcra Belimbing oil palm area manager Mohd Yusof Mansor said the acreage of the plantation under Belimbing still remained at 2,300 hectares.
He said the there was no way to expand the acreage due to an unsuitable geographical factor.
“Expansion is impossible in view of the land condition, where most of the areas are very steep and to develop such areas requires very big cost. The land is just not suitable,” he pointed out.
He said that Felcra Belimbing was developed since 1996 with nine projects and began production four years later.
It involves 1,031 participants from six villages namely Kampung Gayu, Subang, Timurang, Belimbing (three projects), Semeru and Anah Rayang.
According to Felcra Sarawak Region social executive Mohd Anuar Hanip, the main objective of Felcra was to uplift the living standard of the society, especially those participating in its projects.
“Among them is providing easy loan to interested participants for them to venture in other small scale businesses such as poultry breeding and farming which is interest free,” he explained.
Resource: Borneo Post Online.
Thursday 3 November 2011
Exchange opportunity
03 Nov, 2011 04:53 PM
A group of 18 young Indonesians will visit Kangaroo Island from Saturday November 19 to Wednesday 14 December to experience Australia’s culture and way of life.They’ll spend three and a half weeks in homestay, work placements and a range of cultural performance activities as part of the Australia-Indonesia Youth Exchange Program.
Kangaroo Island Community Education is co-ordinating the exchange, supported by the local office of Regional Development Australia and Kangaroo Island Council.
“The visiting group of nine women and nine men, mainly university students, aged 21 to 25, has been selected from across Indonesia. They have beckoning futures in the arts and media, industry, business, agriculture and government and in other fields such as education, health and medicine, the environment, and social and community development,” KICE co-ordinator Kris Hondow said.
“Their host families on KI will gain an insight into the culture, customs and attitudes of our nearest neighbour while helping to promote the bilateral relationship on a personal level.”
Each host family will be paid a weekly subsidy of $200, additional to the Indonesian participants receiving a basic living allowance.
In line with their professional and vocational interests, the young Indonesians, who have basic or good English competency, will undertake work experience placements from Tuesday to Friday each week of their homestay. “They’ll also give highly entertaining weekly cultural performances to schools, universities and interested community bodies during their time on the island,” Ms Hondow said.
The participants have health and police clearances, and are fully insured for the exchange.
Founded in 1981, the exchange rotates annually between Australian States and Territories and different provinces of Indonesia, and was last held in SA in 2004. It’s lauded for enabling young people to appreciate the culture as well as the development and aspirations of each other’s country.
If you are interested in having a student for the Homestay experience please contact Kingscote Campus, Ian Kent or Kris Hondow.
Source: The Islander
Kangaroo Island Community Education is co-ordinating the exchange, supported by the local office of Regional Development Australia and Kangaroo Island Council.
“The visiting group of nine women and nine men, mainly university students, aged 21 to 25, has been selected from across Indonesia. They have beckoning futures in the arts and media, industry, business, agriculture and government and in other fields such as education, health and medicine, the environment, and social and community development,” KICE co-ordinator Kris Hondow said.
“Their host families on KI will gain an insight into the culture, customs and attitudes of our nearest neighbour while helping to promote the bilateral relationship on a personal level.”
Each host family will be paid a weekly subsidy of $200, additional to the Indonesian participants receiving a basic living allowance.
In line with their professional and vocational interests, the young Indonesians, who have basic or good English competency, will undertake work experience placements from Tuesday to Friday each week of their homestay. “They’ll also give highly entertaining weekly cultural performances to schools, universities and interested community bodies during their time on the island,” Ms Hondow said.
The participants have health and police clearances, and are fully insured for the exchange.
Founded in 1981, the exchange rotates annually between Australian States and Territories and different provinces of Indonesia, and was last held in SA in 2004. It’s lauded for enabling young people to appreciate the culture as well as the development and aspirations of each other’s country.
If you are interested in having a student for the Homestay experience please contact Kingscote Campus, Ian Kent or Kris Hondow.
Source: The Islander
Wednesday 2 November 2011
New travellers, new expectations
Wednesday, 2 November 2011
Speaking at the Tourism Malaysia Adventure Backpacker cocktail seminar this week marketing manager Alastair Manihera explained that travellers are now looking for the “next avenue, that next aspect to capture their imagination”. Talking to a room of travel agents Mr Manihera introduced the travel industry to various offerings Malaysia has on hand that cater to the new traveller and suggested agents look to modern and adventurous companies including Fieldskills Adventure and Sabah Homestay Association when booking trips for their clients. “We have brought these two companies as they offer experiences that take you out of your comfort zones and allow you to experience something you can take with you for the rest of your life,” Mr Manihera said. Fieldskills Adventure offers thrill seeker travellers, families, school groups and team building groups an opportunity for adventure travel in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Fieldskills Adventure director Simon Amos and his team specialise in mountain biking, jungle trekking, camping, kayaking, white water rafting, to name a few, the adventure company also offers low impact activities and caters for both large and small tour groups. “It’s a great experience for everyone, we take a lot of families we even had a three year old, we set up a tent for the child as most people stay in hammocks,” Mr Amos said. “It’s a popular place for team building activities and school groups.” Mr Amos added Sabah is a fantastic rock climbing destination everything from simple children’s climbs to the more adventurous 150 meters high climbs, which he added, has sparked a lot of interest as it has not yet been climbed. “Rock climbing is the new thing to do in Sabah,” he explained. While, Sabah Homestay Association president Mr Jeffry Cobra, offers travellers a unique chance to stay among local families and be a part of their culture and daily routine in clean, modest accommodations. “From Mt Kinabalu to the depths of its oceans, travellers get to experience many of the different lifestyles and culture of the local communities,” Mr Cobra said. Mr Cobra explained how each one of the many different ethnic groups offers its own specialty including wildlife, jungles, historical sites, native festivals and cultural traditions to name a few. Tourism Malaysia, Director Mr. Shahrin Mokhtar added no trip to Malaysia is complete without experiencing six unique activities to the country; tasting rice wine while visiting a longhouse, joining a head hunter trail, a trip to the Pinnacles and bat watching in the Mulu National park, visiting the orang-utans and enjoying live music at the annual Rainforest World Music Festival all made the list. The cocktail party was on the back of Tourism Malaysia’s successful Adventure Travel and Backpacker Expo. | ||||||
Source = e-Travel Blackboard: S.P
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