KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is pushing for its rural tourism destinations to be recognised as world-class products by 2025.

       State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Jafry Ariffin pointed out that some of the products are well on their way to becoming internationally known, but his ministry will give the extra push needed for them to become major revenue earners for Sabah.

       He said the state government always prioritised rural tourism as the sector has the potential to be a new income source and help lift communities out of poverty.

       "The Sabah government, through my ministry, already has a target to make rural tourism in the state more competitive and have world-class status by 2025," he said here on Monday (May 23).

       "In our efforts to empower the role of rural people in tourism activities, we view community-based tourism as having huge potential in not only developing village communities but also the respective districts.

       ALSO READ: Think about rural tourism operators too

       "(The concept) can also improve harmony within the communities as well as elevate the level of awareness on looking after the environment," he added in his speech during a briefing session with district officers and district council executive officers at a hotel here.

       He said more community-based tourism products had emerged since rural tourism was given more emphasis in 2014.

       "Now, we have more than 500 community-based tourism operators throughout Sabah and some have also received international recognition," he said.

       Among these honours, he said, the Walai Penyu Conservation Park on Sabah's Libaran east coast won the Asean Sustainable Tourism Award for 2022-23.

       ALSO READ: Walai Penyu's Asean award testament of Sabah's rural tourism products, says state minister

       The community-based tourism product at Kampung Batu Puteh in Kinabatangan was also named as Best Tourism Village by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation in Madrid, Spain, he said.

       Besides that, a site in Kadamaian, Kota Belud received the Asean Community-Based Tourism Standard award in Hanoi in 2020.

       "After looking at this, we definitely want to see more of our community-based tourism operators receiving similar recognition," Jafry said.

       ALSO READ: Sabah Tourism now pushing central Telupid district for community-based tourism

       Therefore, he said, his ministry was committed to working with the various district tourism committees to identify more products in rural areas as well as support communities in far-flung locations to develop their products.

       "As we are all aware, tourism is one of the three cores of the Sabah Maju Jaya development plan.

       "As such, the effort must not rest on the ministry's shoulders alone but also the local authorities too because you are the ones who know best the potential of your respective districts," he said.