NEGERI SEMBILAN folk who have homes in suburban and rural areas and have since moved to cities, have been told to take part in the thriving homestay programmer in the state.
Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan has asked these owners to form partnerships with the state tourism authorities and homestay operators to promote tourism.
He said owners could lease their homes to these parties and allow them to be leased to tourists rather than letting them remain vacant.
“You can lease your homes on a time-sharing basis. You can also talk to village cooperatives and earn some income through homestay programmes,” he said.
Mohamad said this after launching the Kg Pachitan Homestay programme in Port Dickson recently.
Kg Pachitan is the only village where the villagers are all Javanese and still practise age-old traditions.
The homestay programme was introduced by the Tourism and Rural and Regional Development ministries in 2000 to allow rural folk to earn some form of income from homestay programmes.
Under the programme, visitors will be able to experience the full spectrum of village life as living with their hosts.
They would have a taste of the laid-back kampung lifestyle, learn how to prepare kampung dishes, play traditional games such as kite-flying, top-spinning and congkak and enjoy the fruit season.
Mohamad also advised homestay operators to treat tourists well. “Make sure that they feel welcome and that your homes are clean. If these people go back happy, they would definitely promote your homestay programme to their friends,” he said.
Earlier, Kampung Pachitan Homestay chairman Bunandar Bakat said the villagers earned RM330,440 in the first nine months of this year from the various tourism products.
“We do not have forests, rivers or the sea but we have good products and human capital and that is why tourists keep coming back here,” he said.
Bunandar said the villagers made RM185,000 in 2007 and this increased to RM205,000 the following year.
The number of tourists also increased from 1,250 to 2,319 during the corresponding period. The number of tourists arrivals registered in the first 10 months of this year was 3,503 with 476 being foreigners. Most of the tourists were from Singaporee and parts of Europe.
“We are confident that we will be able to earn RM400,000 by the end of this year,” he said.
At the launch, the Negri Sembilan Tourism Action Council signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Indonesia’s PT Sementa Primindo Asia Wisata to promote the homestay programme in Indonesia.
The programme would be promoted in schools and the republic’s institutions of higher learning.
The council was represented by its general manager Badrulhisham Abd Rahman while Zul Herman signed on behalf of PT Sementa Primindo Asia Wisata.
