Sanctuaries in Melaka turn to virtual guided tours to generate income

Two of Melaka's tourist attractions, the Melaka Crocodile and Recreational Park and the Melaka Butterfly and Reptile Sanctuary that were usually packed with tourists on weekends have not been spared and are struggling to deal with the consequences of the pandemic.

With Phase One of the movement control under the National Recovery Plan currently underway, both sanctuaries have decided to bank on offering virtual guided tours as an alternative form of tourism to home-bound Malaysians, many of whom have not been able to satisfy their wanderlust since the pandemic began.

Melaka Crocodile and Recreational Park general manager Ahmad Syarifuddin Mohamad said they began experimenting with virtual tours since last June 12 after receiving requests from viewers who reacted excitedly to the Facebook Live videos featuring some of the park's inhabitants that the sanctuary uploaded.

"We have only featured some animals at the park, but now we are considering a more comprehensive session after receiving a significant number of requests from viewers.

"The virtual tour is held every Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 11 am and 2.30 pm and viewers need to register and pay RM7 before being given a link to our YouTube account," he told Bernama here yesterday.

Ahmad Syarifuddin said the response has been very encouraging with hundreds of viewers at any one time, including from Singapore and Indonesia.

He said the virtual tour brings viewers around the Melaka Crocodile and Recreational Park, which has attractions such as miniatures of iconic buildings in Malaysia, reptiles like snakes and terrapins, as well as mammals like raccoons.

He said the park has 100 crocodiles of four species, comprising the Saltwater, Siamese, Gharial and the Caiman, which is from Central and South America.

"In addition to showing the animals' daily activities in the park, such as how crocodiles eat, we also provide tips to viewers on what to do should they bump upon the wildlife in their natural habitat," he said.

Meanwhile, the Melaka Butterfly and Reptile Sanctuary is using the Zoom platform to promote its virtual tours to ensure the sanctuary is able to survive the current situation after not being allowed to operate following the spread of COVID-19 in the country.

Its manager, Qurratu Ain Rohaminordin said the sanctuary offers virtual tours where participants would be taken on a tour of the park and watch the butterflies and reptiles online for about an hour.

She said the ticket for the virtual tours, which is held every Thursday and Friday starting at 3 pm and at 11 am on Sunday, is prized at RM6 per family.

"The sanctuary has also introduced a chat programme, Sembang Fauna, that airs live on Saturday at 11 am with interesting topics, such as the crocodile as an apex predator.

"Sembang Fauna has a documentary concept and provides information and facts on the topics discussed. The programme is for about an hour. We are offering tickets at a promotional price of RM15 per family," she added.

She said there is also a chat session for participants to share and exchange information on caring for butterfly cocoons under the butterfly adoption programme.

"There are many challenges that we have to face while operating the virtual product, especially from the aspect of broadband coverage because MBRS is located in hilly areas and surrounded by forests, apart from our staff having to be multitaskers as we operate virtually at a very low cost," she said.

Meanwhile, marketing executive Juwairiyah Hashim said she was also involved in the Sembang Fauna programme in her role as Butterfly Princess, who is the guardian of the butterflies.

She said the Butterfly Princess would appear on the programme for about 10 minutes to give a brief explanation on caring for the butterfly cocoons and pupae.