Tourism package to promote all diving sites in Sabah
KOTA KINABALU: In an effort to promote Sabah as a scuba diving haven, the Ministry of Tourism and Culture (MOTAC) has been actively organising numerous programmes, such as the End in Sipadan campaign.
MOTAC Sabah director Ag Ahmad Zaki Abu Bakar said the End in Sipadan campaign was an underwater volunteer tourism package that connects all scuba diving sites in Sabah.
“Sipadan is one of the most beautiful diving sites in the world and it will be a shame if we start this campaign in Sipadan.
“The campaign is also an effort to connect other diving sites in Sabah by using Sipadan as an anchor point.
“This is because Sipadan is such a well-known dive site, people will first search for Sipadan in the Internet.
“But by using Sipadan as our anchor, we are able to connect other dive sites and provide foreign and local tourists choices.
“This will also directly help to promote other diving sites in Sabah,” he said during the MOTAC Media Dive Team programme at the Borneo Reef World recently.
The three-day programme was jointly organised by Sabah Tourism Board (STB), Sabah Backpackers Operators Association (SBOA), Mari-Mari Sepanggar, Borneo Reef World and N D Divers.
Ahmad Zaki said the ‘End in Sipadan’ campaign would see SBOA members, who are also dive operators, offering diving packages, including planting and building artificial reefs.
“What this means is that divers can help give back to the marine life by building artificial reefs to help our marine ecosystem,” he said, adding that artificial reefs had been planted in MariMari Sepanggar and Pulau Bumbung.
Meanwhile, SBOA president Richie Lee said the programme had not only helped the Sabah tourism industry but also local divers to promote their services.
“Both MOTAC and SBOA will identify local and SBOA members, who are dive operators, to help them to promote their products and services.
“Besides identifying dive operators through the End in Sipadan campaign, we want to send messages to our dive operators that your income comes from the ocean and therefore it is only fair that you give it back (through conservation) to the ocean by protecting our coral and marine life,” said Lee.
The MOTAC Media Dive Team program, which began on September 5, saw 10 local and Peninsular Malaysia media members, Sabah Tourism Board representatives and students from AlmaCrest International College taking part in the three-day program where participants were taught skills and safety features while diving between 10 and 18 feet underwater.
According to Lee, the MOTAC Media Dive Team program was created to allow media representatives and those involved in the End in Sipadan campaign to better understand their efforts in building artificial reefs at several dive sites in Sabah while at the same time to educate the public in preserving the marine ecosystem.
The campaign began in Mantanani Island in April this year and will end in Sipadan in October this year.
Sipadan Island, which is said to be one of the beautiful scuba diving sites in the world, is located in the Celebes Sea of the east coast of Sabah.
The island has been voted as “The Top Dive Destination in the World” by Rodale’s Scuba Diving Magazine, sharing its top spot with two other destinations known for the diversity of their marine life - the Galapagos Island and Truk in Micronesia.