Sabah tourism

Sabah Tea Garden plans to attract visitors to its resort.

Sabah Tea Garden which began as an organic tea plantation in Ranau district has now expanded to become a popular holiday destination for both local and foreign tourists.Located in one the oldest rainforests in the world, with the picturesque Mt Kinabalu as its background, Sabah Tea Garden is known for its 100% organic tea.

Managed by Sabah Tea Sdn Bhd's Ipoh-based unit, Yee Lee Corp Bhd, Sabah Tea Garden is an ideal place for nature lovers and those wanting to relax away from the busy city life. It offers various holiday and tour packages tailored for its visitors.The “tea garden” encompasses an area measuring 2,509ha and is 2,272 ft above sea level. From the total area, only 485.6ha are used for the cultivation of tea and tourism activities while the rest remains a tropical forest rich with flora and fauna.

The Rungus-style longhouse at Sabah Tea Garden.

With the Sabah state government projecting a tourist arrival of about 2.4 million to the state this year, Sabah Tea Garden is taking advantage of this to promote its tourism and holiday packages, general manager Ismail Martin Kong Abdullah tells a group of journalists on a familiarisation programme to Sabah.The programme is organised by Firefly and Sabah Tourism.“We receive an average of 15,000 tourists a year and we are aiming for 16,000 visitors this year,” Ismail says, adding that 60% of the visitors are locals and the rest are foreigners with the majority of them coming from Australia and Europe.

Among the attractive tour and holiday packages that Sabah Tea Garden offers are a two-day one- night stay, a three-day two-nights package as well as day trips, team building programmes, company meetings and rainforest camping.There are several types of accommodation facilities at the resort including longhouses, cottages and camp sites.The company had also invested RM1mil to build several new English-style cottages equipped with beds, sofas as well as LCD TVs. The rate for the cottage stay is RM240 per night.

There are two longhouses designed to resemble the Rungus longhouse. Rungus is one of Sabah's many ethnic bumiputra groups.The floors and walls of the longhouse are built from bamboo and woodskin such as kayu bakau, belian and nibong.The longhouse is divided into several rooms with each room costing RM120 for a night's stay.Ismail says they are built with the idea of giving the tourists a taste of the local culture and an opportunity to experience living in a longhouse.Each of the rooms in the longhouse has a bed and a mosquito net while the bathrooms are located outside the longhouse.

There are also other facilities including halls for meetings as well as restaurants and souvenir shops besides Internet connection for the guests.“Many of the foreign tourists opt for the longhouse as they want to experience living like the locals while the local tourists will go for the cottages.“We also get bookings from many large corporations, government agencies, universities, and schools that want to hold their meetings, family day and team activities here,” Ismail says.Sabah Tea Garden provides river trekking, jungle trekking, batik painting, fish massage, visits to the tea plantations and factories as well as cultural shows.

On the production of its tea, Ismail says Sabah Tea Garden is the sole producer of organic tea in Borneo.The company exports 15% of its products to Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Britain and Singapore while the remaining is for domestic consumption.Exports contribute about 10% to the company's income, Ismail says.The trip to Sabah Tea Garden from Kota Kinabalu takes about a two-and-a-half hours on land.For foreign tourists wishing to visit the state, travel has now become easier as there are many airlines offering their services to the state including Firefly, a unit of Malaysia Airlines.The state government is trying to increase the number of tourists to the state and further develop its tourism industry.Alone21Sabah Tea Garden in Ranau is an ideal destination for a retreat and for those wishing to see the splendour of nature