SARAWAK Tourism Federation (STF) hopes to boost the Pitcher Plant and Wild Orchid Garden at Kota Padawan near Kuching as an attractive tourist destination.
Its president Wee Hong Seng recently led a 30-strong delegation of tourism industry players to the garden to explore its potential and provide feedback on how it could be improved to attract more visitors.
“Operators and tour guides should have knowledge of tourism products in Sarawak which they can package for clients,” Wee said.
Ornamental: Council worker Singah Kadir making adjustments to a miniature longhouse in the garden.
The delegation included members of the Malaysian Association of Tours and Travel Agents (Matta) Sarawak Chapter, Association of Sarawak Inbound Agencies, Sarawak Tourist Guide Association, Urban and Development Tourism Ministry and the tourist police.
He said the garden had the potential to become a niche product for visitors interested in nature and Borneo’s unique flora.
Gigantic: Pupils from Kuching's Tunku Putra International School looking at alocasia, a giant species of yam planted in the garden.
Wee said the delegation members would give feedback to the garden’s management on areas they felt needed improvement, such as maintenance and proper labelling of plants.
Set up four years ago, the garden is run by the Padawan Municipal Council.
Park officer Stephen Lim said there were more than 25 species of pitcher plants and over 30 wild orchid species in the garden.
“The pitcher plants are mostly from Borneo, but we also have some from the Philippines and Indonesia,” he said.
Ornamental: Council worker Singah Kadir making adjustments to a miniature longhouse in the garden.
They include Nepenthes rafflesiana, the biggest species found in Sarawak. The pitchers can grow up to two feet in the wild.
Lim said that pitcher plants were carnivorous self-feeding plants which attracted prey with their nectar and colourful pitchers.
“The prey slips in and drowns in the pitcher, which has enzymes to digest the meal. Pitcher plants feed on insects, but in the wild, they even feed on small animals like birds and rats,” he said.
The Pitcher Plant and Wild Orchid Garden is open from 9am to 4pm from Tuesdays to Sundays. Admission fees are RM2 for Malaysians, RM10 for tourists and RM1 for children below 12.
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