S’wak, Australia can learn from each other in croc management, says High Commissioner

KUCHING (July 17): Sarawak and Australia can learn a lot from one another in regard to crocodile management, said Australian High Commissioner to Malaysia Danielle Heinecke.

She said in addition to the tourism value of crocodiles, the management of these reptiles also generate economic activities through the production of crocodile products.

“Sarawak is looking to Australia to learn from that but there’s also a lot that Australia can learn from Sarawak. It’s a two-way street,” she told The Borneo Post in a special interview here today.

Heinecke, who is in Kuching on a two-day official visit, said she had a meeting with the Sarawak Australia Business Chamber (SABC) yesterday where she was informed of the organisation’s plan to visit Australia to learn more about crocodile management.

“They’re about to send a delegation to Australia and they’re looking at biodiversity, forestry management and more importantly, crocodile management and how you can actually turn that into an industry,” she said.

On tourism, she said the availability of direct flights from Australia to Sarawak would create plenty of opportunities in this industry.

“I think that for Australians, they would like to be able to take a direct flight to their destination of choice and if there are direct flights to Sarawak, this will give them lots of opportunities to come here.”

She said it is important that travel companies are able to market their travel packages.

“I think that the Sarawak Tourism Board can work with travel agents to create a package where Australian tourists can come to Kuching for a day or two to visit the museum and go for a hike in the forest and enjoy the natural surroundings.

“It’s got to be easy for them to do it and they’ve got to be able to organise it before they travel. If that can be packaged, I think it’s a lot easier,” she said.