THE beach at the Berakas Forest Recreational Park has received a $2M facelift as the country is gearing up to host the Asean Tourism Forum (ATF) 2010, forestry officials told the Bulletin yesterday.
This gives a clearer picture of the scale of the upcoming event hosted this year by the country, which many observers say could somewhat mirror the grandeur of APEC 2000, which Brunei Darussalam hosted.
The $2 million budget includes an area where ministerial delegates are scheduled to carry out a symbolic planting of trees signalling a “united movement” amongst member countries in conservation effort, which also goes in tandem with the theme of this year’s ATF — “Heart of Green, 10 Destinations and One Conservation Vision”.
The theme has been chosen by Brunei to reflect the ever-increasing importance of the eco-tourism industry.
During a brief conversation with the Bulletin, Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Utama Dato Seri SetiaAwang Haji Yahya bin Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Haji Bakar, Minister of Industry and Primary Resources, said the development of the beach as a recreational area also goes well with the “Kenali Negara Kitani” efforts.
A big chunk of the budget has been used for the structural foundation. He hoped more Bruneians would come to terms in appreciating the beauty of the nation’s pristine beaches and forest, which could fuel greater awareness towards the need for conservation.
According to him, in this year’s ATF, which Brunei is hosting for the second time, the Sultanate is advocating eco-tourism, and this relates very close to the country’s pristine natural environment.
The minister said the country is highly committed towards conserving and preserving the environment and
thus making sure that the nation’s development policy takes into account nature-friendly development and sustainability.
The Sultanate’s tourism industry mostly relies on eco-tourism and this makes it even more important to show over 1,500 delegates that are coming for the ATF 2010 what Brunei has to offer for travellers and nature lovers around the world and its eco-tourism potential.
With an increasingly sophisticated market of travellers, – the aptly themed event is poised to meet the demand for green facilities and fuel greater awareness of socially responsible tourism.
Some 1,500 trees will be planted at the Berakas Forest Recreational Park, the Bulletin learnt, in order to promote the area as one of the eco-tourism destinations in conjunction with ATF 2010 to support its green initiative and encourage ATF delegates to invest in eco-tourism.
Speaking to the Bulletin, the country’s chief tourism official, Sheikh Jamaluddin Sheikh Mohamed, CEO of Brunei Tourism, explained, “Our tagline is the Heart of Green and we want to take this opportunity to show our guests how much we care about our environment.”
He said Brunei must live to the expectations of the ATF theme.
The 29th ATF, to be held here from January 21 to 28, has also seen an overwhelming response, according to officials.
All 373 exhibiting booths have been snapped up at TRAVEX (Travel Exchange) and the 10-member nations are well represented at the annual event, which showcases the best of travel products and services in Asean.
Thailand and Malaysia lead the pack with the largest number of participating organisations.
Some 400 buyers from the Asia-Pacific, Europe and the rest of the world are also expected to congregate at the three-day TRAVEX event from January 26 to 28 at the new BRIDEX (Brunei International Defence Exhibition) Centre in Jerudong.
Another highlight of ATF 2010 is the Asean Tourism Conference (ATC), which will feature a keynote address by an acclaimed authority on eco-tourism — Hitesh Mehta — on how the region can embrace sustainable development principles and encourage responsible travel behaviour that will help conserve the environment and bio-diversity, as well as sustain the well-being of the local people.
In addition, a panel discussion will be chaired by leading industry professionals, who include Tony Charters, Principal of Tony Charters and Associates, and Anthony Wong, Group Managing Director ofAsian Overland Services Tours & Travel Sdn Bhd.
They will share their experiences on developing eco-tourism projects and working in conservation areas.
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This article mentions fixing up berakas beach in preparation for the ATF this month. I’m curious about what (if anything) is being done to fix up the other beaches such as Muara beach? After a while of not going to Muara Beach I have noticed the facilities at Muara beach have been fixed up such as the barbeque areas and the recreational facilites and a lot of people have come to the beach with friends and relatives to enjoy a day out. I was pleased to see the improvements at Muara beach but was very disappointed at the mess still on the sands, especially the random branches and logs lying around the beach and the rubbish lying around. Having clean beaches is definately something people love about beaches so is there anything to be done about cleaning up the beach as in cleaning up the random logs, branches and rubbish lying around and keeping the beaches clean? Some broken tree stumps and logs lying around randomly on the beach have very sharp edges and are very dangerous to the public. My friends, relatives and I would personally enjoy the beach a lot more and come more often if the sands were clear of logs and rubbish. I’m sure keeping the beaches clean would boost the attractiveness of Brunei beaches let alone Muara beach.