Historic launching seen as another milestone for state's tourism development

The first ever river cruise in Borneo, RV Orient Pandaw Cruise, officially starts today.

MIRING CEREMONY: Manyin (second left), Wong (left) and Paul performing the miring ceremony on board MV Orient Pandaw.

Minister of Environment and Public Health Datuk Michael Manyin Jawong described the launching of the river cruise as historic and another milestone for the development of tourism in Sarawak.

"As such, the onus now is on the people of Sarawak, particularly those staying in Sibu, Kanowit, Kapit, Sarikei, Song and Tanjong Manis, to be creative and ensure that the cruise will sustain," he said at the official launching of the river cruise held at Burung Apu Wharf yesterday afternoon.

Second Finance Minister Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh, Paul Strachan, founder of Irrawaddy Flotilla Company, which manages Pandaw Cruise, and Datuk Tiong Thai King, chairman of Sibu Municipal Council Chairman were among those present at the launching.

Manyin went on to describe that it was easy to build or start a tourism product but to sustain it was another totally different story. He said it really needed concert efforts, from the taxi drivers to the shopkeepers, who must play their role to ensure that the cruise would be sustained for generations to come.

"We do not want the cruise to last for just one year only. We want it to last for generations to come, and believe me that is the difficult part."

Manyin appealed to all tour operators, councils and the local business community to be creative.

"Come out with something new to sell or entertain these foreigners," he said, adding hospitality alone was not enough.

Manyin said the cruise, if run properly with a lot of enthusiasm and creativity was expected to make lots of money for the people and the state.

"Assuming that each tourist spends about RM13,000 per trip, this money is meant for everybody to benefit, from the taxi drivers right down to the handicraft makers," he said.

Moreover, the Pandaw Cruise would also help put Sarawak on the world map and in cities like London, Sydney, Melbourne, Tokyo, Berlin, New York and Paris where tourism packages are strongly promoted.

"This is a real gift for Sarawak and in the next few years to come, millions of ringgit will benefit Sarawak tourism and thousands of Europeans will know about Sarawak, all because of the Pandaw Cruise."

On his part, Manyin assured that his ministry would continue to work closely with Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) and the respective councils to ensure that the Pandaw Cruise will still be around in generations to come.

--TheBorneoPost