REMLI BIN ADENAN¹

Lambir National Park is a popular destination for local visitors during weekends and public holidays. The park offers a variety of activities such as picnicking, swimming, jungle walking and tree tower viewing to fulfil the recreational needs of the local visitors. In the year 2000, there were 29,533 visitors to the park, more than 80% of whom were Malaysians.

Most of the visitors who came to the park were day-trippers. Apart from the Latak Waterfall which is most popular, the other places visited included First Waterfall, Second Waterfall, Tree Tower and the historical Oil Well site. This research aims to identify the pattern of activities and places the visitors go.

The survey was conducted in May and June 2001, and Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays were chosen for the survey as these are the days when peak numbers come to the park. Self-completion exit questionnaires in English and Bahasa Malaysia were designed for this purpose. Each group of visitors who had been to recreational sites other than the Latak Waterfall filled in the form after they returned from their activities in the park. The respondents of the survey were local visitors who resided in Miri town, Sibuti, Bakong, Batu Niah and the surrounding plantation areas. Questionnaire forms were distributed until 100 completed responses were returned.

The survey showed that most groups of visitors (89%) at Lambir National Park came from Miri, where the population is higher than the others; 4% came from Sibuti, 4% from nearby plantations, 2% from Batu Niah and 1% from Bukit Song. Only 9% were first time visitors. The recreational sites visited are shown in Table 1 (the total is more than 100 because some groups visited more than one site). The main activities are shown in Table 2.

Table 1 : Recreational sites visited

Table 2 : Activities

Respondents were asked if they would recommend their friends to come to Lambir, and what they would say to persuade them to come. Only 23 of the respondents gave recommendations and these were very vague, with 15 saying it was a nice, interesting, or beautiful place. Three mentioned peacefulness, and others mentioned exercise, education, natural forest and coolness.

The response rate was high as I was there to administer it with the help of the park staff, and most people completed the form before leaving the Park. A few questionnaires were distributed with stamps and self-addressed envelopes, but these were not returned. Some of the questionnaires were filled by interviewing the visitors to get their responses.

The most popular sites (other than Latak Waterfall) include First Waterfall, Second Waterfall and the Tree Tower. These sites are close to the entrance and take less than half an hour to reach. Very few people used the long trails.

About 48% of the groups went jungle walking or trekking. Another 40% went picnicking and swimming, 18% for education and ‘research’. These represent groups with different needs and should be considered individually to better cater for their preferences.

The recommendation part of the questionnaire did not work out, perhaps because the respondents did not have time to think about it. Other research methods such as interviews may give better information. Maybe there is a need to invite people to form focus groups for different activities.

It is possible to divert people from Latak Waterfall. The needs of trekkers and those interested in natural history as well as picnickers should be considered. The facilities or recreational sites need to be close to the car park, as very few people used the long trails. The questionnaire survey did not get good information on what people felt were the attractions of Lambir National Park; a study with semi-structured interviews or focus groups would be a useful alternative.