LETTER | Much hot air over ecotourism

LETTER | Recently, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Shamsul Anuar Nasarah said the “Perak Man”, a meteorite impact crater, and dust from Mount Toba volcano eruption in Sumatra will be highlighted as ecotourism products to promote Lenggong.

The Lenggong MP stated the geology of the area and cultural diversity of the local community would continue to be promoted as an archaeological study site, and scientific research are being conducted by the Department of Mineral and Geoscience Malaysia and Universiti Sains Malaysia.

He also disclosed that billboards and information panels are being designed and will be placed at strategic locations around the Lenggong Valley to promote and introduce it as a national geopark area. But he is aware that geoparks are not unique, particularly in the state of Perak.

In 2018, Sultan Nazrin Shah graced the declaration of Lembah Kinta as a national geopark, which covers a massive area of 1,952 sq km with 18 geo-sites and encompasses the Kinta and Kampar districts, as well as the municipalities of Ipoh, Batu Gajah and Kampar.

Shamsul claimed that all the facilities in the making at Lenggong are specifically for tourists and the aim was to ensure sustainable physical development and to generate income for local citizens via ecotourism activities.

However, all the above statements, claims and events may glorify Lenggong and its MP, but they bring no economic benefit to the local population. This was true whenever ecotourism was bandied about. Without substantiation, nothing concrete ever came out of it except hot air.

Eco means nature friendly or not harming the environment. So, ecotourism is human activity with minimal damage to natural sites. Leisure activities can be enjoyed at any natural area but tourists whose main purpose of travel is ecotourism would opt for one of our national parks.

There are 25 terrestrial national and state parks plus 40 marine parks managed by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks. The five terrestrial parks located in peninsular Malaysia are at Taman Negara, Endau-Rompin, Gunung Ledang, Penang and Roya Belum.

On ecotourism, Lenggong will not be able to compete with Royal Belum, which is less than 100kms and 90 minutes away. In any case, local residents receive no benefit if tourists proceed directly to these natural sites where they could only be accompanied by licensed nature guides.

Local authorities could not distinguish the difference between leisure and tourism activities. Access roads to mountain streams or waterfalls were built in the name of tourism but in no time, these pristine areas were quickly turned into rubbish dumps infested with flies and rats.

Sure, they are popular for leisure activities. Many would bring their own food and drinks, while others buy on-site from hawkers that would enjoy roaring sales, especially over weekends. But leftover foods, wrappings and containers would soon pile up before they are finally cleared.

While leisure activities can be enjoyed at any public space free of charge, tourism activities are businesses that involve payments by customers to suppliers. These transactions bring economic benefits to many, such as employment for the workers and sales for supporting industries.

For tourism activities, concessionaires must be appointed to manage natural sites near mountain streams or waterfalls. Apart from building restaurants and chalets to provide food, beverage and lodging, concessionaires are responsible for the maintenance and security of the vicinity,

As for the “Perak Man”, few people would be interested to view the skeletal remains of a human being that lived in the area more than 10,000 years ago, considering the fact that most Malaysians have no idea or interest on the lives or traditions of their own great grandparents.

Likewise, it would make little sense for a layman to view a depression on the ground described as meteorite impact crater or some dust blown from the Mount Toba volcano eruption in Sumatra. In any case, they are archaeotourism or archaeological tourism, not ecotourism.

It is well and good that scientific research is being conducted by experts from the Department of Mineral and Geoscience Malaysia and Universiti Sains Malaysia. They may also appeal to some students and scientists, but few mainstream excursionists or tourists would be interested.

Putting up billboards in Lenggong would be a sheer waste of funds if the aim is to attract visitors, as such displays could not be seen by people elsewhere. And if visitors are already in Lenggong, these billboards serve no purpose and using them for grandstanding could backfire.

Last year, 52.6 percent of domestic visitors’ expenditure was spent on shopping and 18.6 percent on food and beverage. At Lenggong, visitors would be delighted to buy local produce made by light or cottage industries at factory prices, or those grown or bred at farm prices.

To develop domestic tourism, it is best to start by focusing on intrastate travel by attracting large number of excursionists from within Perak to shop and dine at Lenggong by staging a fiesta every weekend and calling it Pesta Lenggong.

All local factories, farms, shops and restaurants must be invited to participate, together with hawkers and part-time stall operators. A road or area could be designated for the weekend fiesta so that all local produce and foods could easily be found without having to search for them.

Lenggong could soon become famous for some local produce or food, as competition will drive up creativity, quality and value. Concrete actions require good planning and lots of hard work. Video clips uploaded on social media, such as TikTok, will popularise the fiesta in no time.

On the other hand, talk is cheap. Sloganeering is nothing more than a "syiok sendiri” exercise. MPs or state assemblypersons that wish to bring real benefits to their constituents ought to explore and develop community-based tourism (CBT).

CBT offers huge potential and could easily transform the lives of many, particularly those in smaller towns and rural areas. This could only happen when leaders are determined to lift entire communities out of poverty and politicians are genuinely sincere in serving the people.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.