Mulu National Park attracting attention in China

KUCHING: UNESCO World Heritage site Mulu National Park is getting a lot of attention via tourism campaigns and documentaries aired in China and other countries.

Assistant Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth Datuk Lee Kim Shin said the strategies included a tactical campaign to put Miri as a preferred destination to visit, positioning Miri and Mulu as a twin destination.

"This ongoing campaign was launched in June last year together with MASWings and Tropical Adventure Tours Sdn Bhd in Miri," he said in reply to a question from Datuk Sebastian Ting (BN-Piasau).

Film and movie promotions such as the Chinese 'Blue Tears' movie highlighting attractions around Miri and Mulu will be seen by millions in China and other parts of the world.

Meanwhile, Food Trail of Miri was also shown in local TV channel targeting domestic and Brunei markets.

“China Central Television 4 (CCTV4) made a documentary on Mulu in July 2016 and was shown in November and December the same year, giving Mulu wide publicity in China,” said Lee, adding that the ministry also promoted Mulu at the Brunei Travel Fair in September 2017, MATTA KL and Kuching.

There were also familiarisation trips to Miri and Mulu with agents from KL, Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Australia, as well as a visit from the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) honorary secretary-general last year.

Mulu National Park was also presented as a paper at the Hebei International Tourism Conference in Baoding, Hebei Province, China last year.

Currently, Mulu is accessible by air via MasWing twice daily from Miri, four times weekly from Kuching and four times weekly from Kota Kinabalu.

Lee added the more adventurous ones could take 4WD drive from Miri through Long Bedian to Long Terawan, followed by a two-hour longboat ride to Mulu.