Flying the state flag

Sarawak Tourism Board was without a CEO for nearly four months after Gracie Gelkie completed her four-year term last July. The announcement that Rashid Khan, then commercial director of Malaysia Airlines (MAS), would be helming the board from November 2009, however, took many by surprise.

Rashid?s name was synonymous with MAS, which he served for 37 years. He was also the first non-Sarawakian tasked to increase arrivals to the state, make Sarawak?s tourism industry viable and profitable, and guide the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) as marketing advisor.

?I had many offers when my contract with MAS ended. The Sarawak state government was the most persistent,? he said.

The move entailed a number of leaps ? from the corporate world to government service, from the airline industry to a state promotions board, and from a well-established brand to a smaller niche player.

Understandably, there was a transition period. Rashid admitted: ?It was initially a challenge to understand the workings of government departments. The challenges so far include lessening the bureaucracy of decision-making and becoming more result-oriented.?

The aviation background of the board?s new CEO also comes in handy in tackling one hurdle to attracting more foreign visitors ? air access.

Rashid intends to turn Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Singapore and Brunei into hubs into Sarawak and plans to consult airlines servicing Sarawak on making airport transits a seamless experience for passengers. Also on his to-do list is engaging overseas tour operators and wholesalers on the possibility of more charters to the state, especially during peak seasons.

Another major priority is improving data gathering. Rashid intends to hold discussions with the Immigration Department on capturing country of residence data of tourists to Sarawak. At present, foreign tourists are categorised under nationality.

According to Rashid, focusing on the country of residence would enable the Board to better direct its marketing plans and funding.

He is also quick to dispel the notion that, as marketing advisor of BCCK, he would be favouring it over the other meeting venues in the state. ?I only look at the business advisory aspect. I do not get involved in the technical details of marketing and selling. Neither do I spend Sarawak Tourism Board funds in promoting BCCK. There is also no real competition with hotels in the state as BCCK targets 500 delegates and above with 30 exhibition booths, which is too big for hotel venues to accommodate.?

Internally, some of MAS? best are making an appearance at Rashid?s new workplace.

?The lab methodology (introduced at MAS by its former CEO and managing director Idris Jala) is now embedded in the culture of the Sarawak Tourism Board. It is a controlled environment for experimenting new ways of working and doing business,? he explained.

?Through this, we have come up with ways to leverage on technology such as Facebook. And we are currently developing an e-commerce portal to link suppliers in the state. The portal is scheduled to be ready in July.?

At press time, there was also an ongoing lab on project management and the linking of budget with performance.

Rashid has also turned two of the Board?s annual events, the Rainforest World Music Festival and the Miri International Jazz Festival, into commercial projects from this year on, freeing them from dependence on government grants as in the past.

Since increasing ticket sales is not an option as both events have already reached their maximum capacity, Rashid plans to introduce live telecasting and webcasting from next year, allowing the Board to earn from royalty payments.