Association wants Kiulu to become ‘must visit’ place

The Kiulu Tourism Association (KTA) has set a vision to turn this sub district into a “must visit” destination in Sabah with a target of one million visitors annually by 2025.

Its president Dr Edmon Guntis said KTA was confident that the effort could be achieved with the cooperation, commitment and team work of all stakeholders at all levels apart from the current political stability.

The tourism development in Kiulu is at present influenced by several factors including the encouraging participation of the local residents in the rural tourism sector.

“Hence the association is very much encouraging more people in the more than 100 villages in Kiulu to come together and become part of this industry which can definitely benefit them, especially in economic prosperity,” he told Bernama here yesterday.

Kiulu, located near the foot of the Crocker Range, is increasingly popular as a rural ecotourism centre in Sabah, particularly river rafting.

Edmon said the tourism industry in Kiulu commenced on a small scale since 20 years ago and has grown today with the participation of more rural tour operators, comprising local residents.

He said the significant increase in the number of visitors to several tourism centres in the district since early this year showed that the tourism sector in Kiulu was expanding.

“In the first three months of this year, some 22,109 visitors came to Kiulu, a growth of 66 per cent from the corresponding period last year.

In 2016 some 27,000 people visited Kiulu with the number increasing to about 53,000 visitors last year while the projection this year was expected to continue growing based on the current industry development, he said.

He added that the rural tourism industry in Kiulu had also provided permanent jobs to about 350 residents there.