Daily Express 4 Dec 09;
Kota Kinabalu: Bird-watching has the potential to be a money making activity as well as a major tourist attraction in Sabah, said Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun here on Thursday.
He said bird watching has been a popular activity in the West where the turnover from this field alone reaches US$2 billion a year.
"Over there (in the US) this activity is considered an industry. People would flock and stand in line for hours, just to get a glimpse of birds which actually are a common specie over here in Sabah," he said.
He said that currently there are 850,000 members of a bird watching group in the UK, making it among the most profitable business there, where a bird lovers guide earns a steady income of US$100 per day.
Resorts and other tourism operators in the State should seriously look into bird watching as Sabah is one of the few places that is rich with diverse species of birds that are not found anywhere else in the world, he said.
Approximately, 300 species of birds have been documented within the Kinabalu National Park, which is more than half the total bird species in Sabah (514) and roughly half the entire number of bird species present in the island of Borneo, he said.
"Operators should take this opportunity as it doesn't involve a high budget to run a bird watching activity. All you need is a few tents and a guide who knows a lot about birds," he said.
Apart from giving more profit to the operators, the bird watching business would also boost tourism in the State, as well as in Malaysia as a whole, said Masidi.
He was speaking at the closing of a 'Hotel Management, Hotel Operation and Internet Marketing' course organised by the Malaysian Budget Hotel Association (MBHA) here.
He urged the operators of budget hotels, which are rated as 2 star and below, to buff up on certain aspects of their services and facilities.
Masidi said the number one complaint of foreign guests who stayed at budget hotels here in Sabah is that the toilets and bathrooms are filthy.
"Foreigners are very particular about toilets. Unlike the locals, foreigners prefer to have a sitting toilet and dry washing area. That is why the operators should identify which type of guests they have the most and build facilities that suit their majority guests.
"People staying in a one or two star hotels are usually those travelling light and mostly backpackers. Make all the facilities simple, to be enjoyed by simple people," he said.
According to Masidi, another aspect that should be improved on is the cleanliness of towels and bed sheets in the rooms.
"There is no excuse for operators not to wash the towels and bedsheets once they have been used," he said, adding that another complaint he gets is that towels and sheets provided by budget hotels are smelly and stained.
Apart from this, he said the management of the hotel should remind their staff to be passionate about their jobs, and to achieve this, the workers should be paid a salary worthy of their services to the company.
"It is sad to know that there are hotels in the State that pay their staff only RM180 per month. This is against humanitarian values.
"If you pay your employees well, they will take care of your business well and give you twice the level of service you require of them. This is a simple arithmetic," he said.
He told the operators to employ people who are friendly and chatty as front office personnel and not to employ those who are not well versed in Bahasa Malaysia and English, as this could convey a negative perception on the whole hotel organisation.
He also told the operators to train their staff to multi-task as this step could reduce the cost of operation for hotels that have one staff performing only one job.
"Multi-tasking should not be too complicated. A simple task like changing the light bulb or making a cup of coffee could be considered as a multi-task skill for a hotel employee," he said.
Apart from this, Masidi urged the hotel operators to start setting up web sites to promote their hotels as what has long been practised in the developed countries.
"Foreign tourists prefer to book online rather than walk in, as online bookings are commonly cheaper and involves discounts and rebates which are not offered off the reception counter," he said.
Masidi also encouraged the MBHA to liaise with the Minister of Tourism to provide for certification for all its members in order to give more confidence for tourists to patronise their hotels.
"In the future, the Sabah Tourism Board would only promote those hotels under the membership, and those who refuse to join and comply to the standard and regulations of the certification would walk on their own," he said. Also present at the ceremony were the President of MBHA, Datuk Dr Hj Muhamad Nasir Hj Hamzah, Vice Presidents of MBHA, Datuk Verus Aman and Mohd Hasan Hamzah, and Chairman of MBHA Sabah Chapter, Albert Shim.
