MIRI: The government is urged to help reinstate the Miri-Ulu Niah bus service, which was scrapped five years ago, to ensure that tourists, particularly backpackers, do not feel the need to shorten their stay here.

The service would provide accessibility to Lambir Hills National Park, Niah National Park and private-owned Borneo TropicalRainforest Resort, which is strategically located as a stopover for tourists to the two parks.

Miri Transport Company that previously operated the service pulled out as the route was not viable.

Tourists can still get to the parks today but it is costly because they have to use taxis or arrange for their own transportation.

Now, however, businesses are beginning to see the potential of the route again, especially its benefits for the tourism industry.

Miri Chinese Chamber of Commerce, industry players and bus operators are working on a proposal for the route, which they hope to submit to the Tourism Ministry as well as the Ministry of Urban Development and Tourism this month.

They have had several meetings and were now in the midst of drawing up the proposal, said MCCC chairman Datuk Sim Hock Guan.

He said they hoped the ministries could provide assistance in the form of incentives or allowances to encourage bus operators to take up the route.

“This bus service is very important for tourism in Miri and we hope the state and the federal tourism ministries would look into ways to encourage bus operators to be involved,” he said.

He said the bus service would certainly benefit the national parks and also Borneo Tropical Rainforest Resort which had the potential to become the latest tourism product here.

Sarawak Tourism Board CEO Gracie Geikie concurred with Sim, saying she was confident that the bus service would help a lot in facilitating tourists to visit Niah and Lambir, which would also ensure that they stay longer in Miri.

“While we have the taxi services there are those who want to travel cheap. It would be great if the authorities concerned could consider reinstating the Miri-Batu Niah bus route,” she said when interviewed after the launching of the Miri City Tram service.

Geikie pointed out that many tourists who visited the state including Miri were backpackers, travelers not on tour packages who could spend up to two months in Sarawak.

Although the national parks are featured in major guidebooks such as ‘Lonely Planet’ which backpackers often travel with, she was concerned that they might forego visits to the parks because it was too costly or inconvenient.

“It (the lack of a bus service) will definitely deter tourists. You will have people, especially backpackers, who opt to go to other places or shorten their stay in Miri. They may head to Sabah where they have all the services,” she said.

Apart from the two national parks, she said the Borneo Tropical Rainforest Resort was a must-see destination but because of the lack of accessibility not many tourists could get to enjoy it.

“The resort is located right in between the two parks. It is very beautiful but it is just that it is out of reach,” she said.

It is understood that the Tourism Ministry had recently completed the construction of new walkways at Niah Caves.

It is quite an irony that the ministry has spent millions of ringgit to improve the walkway when travel there is restricted.