| Azaraimy HH |
TUTONG District held a launching of eight package tours yesterday, including the ‘2 Days and 1 Night’ and ‘Day Trip’ packages, with the aim of showcasing hotspots and site attractions to draw more local and international tourists into the district.
The event was officiated by Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Ali bin Haji Apong, Minister of Primary Resources and Tourism, in a ceremony at the Pekan Tutong Jetty.
Also present at the launch were several members of the Legislative Council, permanent secretaries, foreign ambassadors and diplomatic corps, members of the Brunei Tourism Board, Tutong District Officer, penghulus and village heads as well as Tutong Tourism Service Providers.
The promotion of the ‘Tutong Destination Packages’ is a collaborative effort between the Tourism Development Department of the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism and the Tutong District Tourism Promotion and Coordination Body to step up on existing efforts to boost package tours in the country.
The eight new packages comprise the Tutong Thursday Market; Tutong Cottage Industry Tour; Experience Tutong Culture; Experience Kiudang Day Trip; Back to Nature; Tutong River Cruise; 2 Days and 1 Night package; Explore Tutong Package; and the 2 Days, 1 Night Village Package.
The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the travel agency, Hasa Incentives Sdn Bhd, with the Kampong Rambai Village Consultative Council committee and Puteri Maya Enterprise, as well as between Sinar Tour Sdn Bhd and a boat entrepreneur, Sri Melati Enterprise was also held.
According to statistics gathered by the Tutong District Tourism Promotion and Coordination Body in 2016, 1,680 people visited various places of interest in the Tutong District. From that number, 450 used tour packages while the rest were Frequent Independent Travellers (FITs).
The numbers also showed that 70 per cent were local visitors, 25 per cent were foreign tourists, while the remaining five per cent composed mainly of school visits and research students.
Up until July this year, approximately 1,085 visitors bought tour packages either through the Tutong District Tourism Promotion and Coordination Body or travel agents. From these figures, 63 per cent were locals; 25 per cent foreigners; and 12 per cent students, researchers and official visits.
According to the Tourism Development Department, among the popular packages were the Tutong City Tour, the Tutong Cottage Industry Tour, the Tutong Educational Tour and the Tutong Islamic Tour.
Currently, the most popular packages for 2017 are the Kiudang Tour and Tutong City Tour.
During yesterday’s launching ceremony, several booths were set up, showcasing tourism products under the village consultative councils in Tutong District. The product operators involved in the creation of the Tutong Destination Packages also participated in the event.
Members of the Brunei Tourism Board, along with some foreign ambassadors, were later given the opportunity to experience the Tutong River Cruise Package, which includes a scenic view of Pekan Tutong and an area called Lurah Saban, which was an early settlement of the Tutong people.
The new Tutong Destination Packages add variety to the tour packages currently offered by travel agents.
According to the Tourism Development Department, this should benefit tourists by offering them more choices, while encouraging them to extend their stay in Brunei.
The post New tour packages aim more tourists appeared first on Borneo Bulletin Online.