During the late 18th and 19th centuries, Great Britain established colonies in the area of current Malaysia. Sabah was declared a British protectorate in 1882，and Sarawak in 1888. North Borneo, because of the Chinese policy to prevent further emigration and because of a sluggish world economy after World War I, saw a rather quiet development compared to the prewar decades.
In 1942, Sabah was occupied by the Japanese. British soldiers were interned and badly treated; in 1943 a group of them revolted. They managed to occupy Jesselton and hold it for a day against the Japanese forces. Late in World War II, both Sandakan and Jesselton were bombed by the US Airforce. The capital Sandakan was liberated by Australian forces on October 19th 1945. In 1948, the British-ruled territories on the Malay Peninsula formed the Federation of Malaya, which became independent in 1957. Malaysia was formed in 1963. Sabah and Sarawak on the northern coast of Borneo joined the Federation of Malaysia. The first several years after the country formed, Indonesian tried to control Malaysia. The Philippines made claims to Sabah.
Society
Malaysian Borneo is a multicultural and multiracial population region. There are 2 million populations in this land. They speak over 55 languages and 100 dialects. In Borneo, there are also 140 traditional dances and a host of traditions, beliefs, religions and cultures.
According to the Sabah Tourism Board (2004) before contact was made with the West, Borneo's tribes often engaged in wars with each others. Malaysia has traditionally been a meeting point for traders and travelers from both the East and West. As a result, immigration from the southern Philippines, Indonesia and China has added to this cultural over the last two centuries. They brought their own culture, language and arts when they came here. In Borneo Malaysia, people speak Malay, Chinese dialects, Mandarin, Hakka dialects, Cantonese, Tamil and numerous tribal languages. English is also widely used in business and legal system.
With such a varying ethnic composition, there is no surprise that a great diversity of religions in Malaysia Borneo. The official religion is Islam. Almost all of the Malays are Muslims (explorationborneo.com). However, people still have freedom of worship. The majority of Chinese are Buddhists, and the majority of Indians are Hindu. As a result, it is common to see temples, mosques and churches in Malaysian Borneo. In recent decades, conflict between the ethnic groups has happened, particularly between Malays and Chinese.
Logging and petroleum production are the main industries in Sabah. People in Sarawak are mainly engaged in agriculture processing, petroleum production, refining and logging. The local customs in Borneo are quite different from western customs. For example, shoes must be removed when entering a Malaysian home. It is also customary to do so when entering a mosque or an Indian temple. There are many celebrated festivals. For example, Chinese New Year is widely celebrated as Chinese immigrations influenced.
Pull factors
Pull factors are forces that help stimulate a tourism product by pulling consumers towards particular destinations. These forces include attractions, proximity, accessibility, services, stability, affordability, and image.
Scenic grandeur is the main attraction in Borneo. Borneo is one of exotic and fascinating tourism destinations in the world. Sarawak has the world’s richest and most diverse rainforests. Tourists can view tropical rainforest from a canopy walkway. Mt Kinabalu is the highest peak in South East Asia, which is outside the capital of Sabah. In Sarawak, Gunung Mulu National Park has a number of spectacular caves, including the 51km long Clearwater Cave, one of the longest in the world (Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board, 2004). Moveover, in Borneo, tourists also can relax and tan on the beautiful white beaches or swim and snorkelin the clear water (sabahtravelguide.com).
Another an attraction is Borneo’s biological diversity. Borneo has fifty percent of the planet’s plant species. Tourists can see Borneo’s nature and wildlife which includes seeing Orang Utans being fed in the forest, unique proboscis monkeys, and green turtles in many places between July and October, when they come ashore to lay their eggs (borneo.com.au).
Adventure and sports is one of the pull factors as well. In Sabah, Pulau Tiga National Park off Kuala Penyuh has good walking trails across the volcanic island and also several snorkeling spots. One of the islands of Pulau Tiga is the site of the first reality TV series 'Survivor' (sabahtourism.com). The adrenalin-pumping expeditions also attract many young people to visit Borneo. Borneo offer tourists white water rafting along the rivers of Borneo or scuba diving around Sipadan Island. For sport, the Park also has good trekking, especially the hike to the peak of Gunung Mulu. Mountain biking trails passing through local villages are also available in Borneo.
Sarawak offers tourists the chance to visit longhouses which are the dwelling of Dayak tribes. The area around Kuching also has remote coastal villages. ‘To visit a longhouse is likely visiting an art gallery with exhibits of antique brass work, exquisite woven fabrics, carving of tropical hardwoods, beadwork, ceramics, rattan weaving and basketry’ (explorationborneo).
Motivation factors
Travel motivation indicates the intrinsic reasons why the individual is embarking on a particular trip (Weaver & Lawton，2002). The motivation to travel may be different from person to person.
For those people who are stressed and for couples on their honeymoon, Borneo is the place to be restored physically and emotionally. Those people need recreational trips which move away from the centre, and having relaxed, they can be satisfied to return to everyday life after enjoying the beautiful nature environment (Cohen, 1979).
Playing may be the main reason for young tourists to visit Borneo. The need to play may be linked with the need for recreation and relaxation. Anthropologist James Lett (1983) identified the human need to play as an explanation of the kinds of activities in which tourists engage. These tourists mainly do some adventures activities, such as diving, hike and so on.
People are also motivated by their curiosity about the unfamiliar and the extraordinary. Ryab (1977:28) referred to an intellectual theme in motivation literature that involves learning, exploring, discovery, thought and imaging. The motivations for these tourists traveling to Borneo are experiencing the different cultures, and learning the knowledge about the nature environment and biology
History of tourism industry in Borneo
Borneo has changed into a world-class tourism destination from British colony in recent 3 decades. On 20 May 1987, the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Tourism was incepted and the Corporation was moved from the Ministry of Trade and Industry and placed under this new ministry (tourism.gov.my).
As the tourism developing, many tourism facilities were built up, such as golf courses, hotels, travel agents, and so on. By 1990, the tourism sector became the third largest income industry in Malysia. Since 1990, Malaysia Government started some welcome tourists programs, such as ‘Visit Malaysia Year’ (Basiron, 1994). Tourism is a growing sector and gaining importance in the Malaysian economy. The majority of the revenue is generated from Sabah. The majority of the foreign tourists were from neighboring Asian and Pacific countries.
Impact of tourism industry in Borneo
In a recent article, the secretary general of the Malaysian Commonwealth has referred to the impact of tourism on tourist destination in developing countries.
Positive
The interactions between visitors and locals alike are very important. Two generations ago, local people might not understand the differences between local and other part of the world. They had little knowledge about how other people lived. Today, locals influenced by the diffused and cross-pollinated ideas, resulting in increasing the knowledge about the world, and become confidence to be open to the world. As Malaysia open to the world, Malaysian people are influenced by foreign fashion. Western music, Japanese cartoons and many modernity products become popular in the practical world.
Travel is one of the key to welfare and prosperity. Tourism is an important sector in the Malaysian economy. In 1999, tourism generated RM13.4 billion income for Malaysia. In Borneo, tourism brings lots of work opportunities for local people. For example, a number of longhouses and Iban villages are visited by tourists each day. Thus, tourism is an essential role of lifting themselves out of poverty.
Tourism induces local government to make infrastructure improvements, which can improve the quality of life for residents as well as facilitate tourism. In Sabah, many things have been changed, due to tourism influences. In the early days most of towns in Sabah were seaports. As the development of tourism in Sabah, hotels, resorts and restaurants have been built. The social balance of towns in Sabah has change from seaport towns to a tourist’s seaside resorts.
Negative
Mass tourism makes Borneo loss of the natural landscape. Mt Kinabalu, Pulau Tiga Island and many national parks have been paved with asphalt, and a number of cars travel through each day. Also, four-wheel-vehicles threaten life even off the beaten track.
Development of tourism industry requires the construction of housing, facilities. These infrastructures for tourists inevitably encroach on previously open spaces (Nelson, 1993). These landscapes are lost forever, for hotels, restaurants, and tourist attractions have taken the place.
In Borneo, it has had aversive effects on the traditional ways of life, and the distinctiveness of local cultures. Tourists disturb the quiet Iban villages. Many people benefit of the tourist trade, thus they lost their traditional skills instead by simply work (Croall, 1995), such as beadwork and ceramics.
Hospitality in Borneo
Accommodation
In Borneo, tourists can find a variety of styles of accommodation for them to enjoy luxury, meet the requirements of their budget or experience the local ambience. As the same as other tourism destination, there are many five star hotels and resorts built by investors provide tourists with luxury accommodation experience in Borneo.
In Sabah, the government responded to the demand for infrastructure, has built the Borneo Rainforest Lodge which currently accommodates up to 20 people (Travel in Borneo with Arc Journeys, 2004). There are also some rainforest lodges in other towns in Borneo. Many of them are built by local material. It is suitable for the purpose of seeing nature and relaxing. Cook facilities are available for some of them.
There are some family-run longhouse and village huts available in Borneo as well. Those accommodations are usually great value, but basic. It provide opportunities for tourists to interact with local people. It is customary to be greeted by the longhouse maidens and young men by performing traditional dances and playing ceremonial gongs as tourists arrive at the longhouse (Asia travel Guide, 2004).
Hospitality
Besides needing food and drink for nutrition and survival, tourists in Borneo can also engage in cultural tourism through their gastronomic experiences on the island. The food of Malaysia is varied. In Borneo, seafood is very fresh, and chefs can cook them in many cooking styles. Exotic foods of Borneo are influence by Indian cuisine, Borneo's tribes’ cuisines and modern "fusion" cuisines (Malaysia travel guide, 2004). Also, Borneo has restaurants that provide a variety of international food styles. However, toasting is not a common practice in Malaysia Borneo. The Muslim population does not drink alcoholic beverages.
Transportation
International
Malaysia has own international carrier which is Malaysia Airlines. It flies to over 100 destinations across six continents. In order to get to Borneo, tourists need to take flight to Kuala Lumpur firstly. And then take Malaysia Airlines flight to Sabah or Sarawak in Borneo.
Local
Sea
Ferries can take travelers from Port Klang and Kuantan to Borneo. Many ferries is equipped with air-conditioned cabins and suites, restaurants, a cinema, a disco, a gym and a swimming pool. Fast boats and small river crafts are also popular transports to get Sabah and Sarawak.
Air
Air travel is popular in Borneo. It is because of the mountainous and lush terrain. It is quite normal to catch a flight from Sabah to Sarawak, as well as to hire helicopters to get around within either state.
Road
Buses are a cheap transportation to travel in major cities in Borneo. Most of the buses are air-conditioned but there are still non-air-conditioned buses in smaller towns. Buses plying routes within towns and cities typically charge fares according to the distance covered while interstate buses have fixed rates. Local buses are often slow, noisy and full.
Hire vehicles are available in all of the major cities. International driving license is available to use in Malaysia Borneo. Driving is on the left side of the road. There are many beaches and mountains in Borneo. Therefore, 4-wheels drives are needed to travel along the wide beach and maintains.
Rail
There is only one railway connecting Kota Kinabalu to Tenom on the west coast of Sabah. There are no rail services in Sarawak. However, there are some colonial that trains travel through local villages, paddy fields and mangrove jungles.
Transport to cross river
In some national parks, tourists need to take boat or canoe to cross rives. Also, there are no roads in some national park, so the only form of transport is chartered longboats which are provided by some travel agents. When water is below a certain level, the boats have to be dragged across the shallows. On and around the Sarawak River, there are cruises that take tourists past the host of sights to get a close-up view of traditional life.
Conclusion
Borneo provides an exotic destination for nature-based tourism. It attracts many tourists by its unique beautiful natural environment and blends of cultures. Borneo offers a convenient and comfortable hospitality and transportations. Thus, tourists can enjoy their relaxing and adventure holidays there. Tourism plays an important roll in Borneo, but it also associated with many problems.
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