“In the last six years, tourists have begun to know Gopeng as one of the great nature destinations in Perak. Here Outdoor Geeks is one of the local adventure tour providers offering a choice of adventure activities including river, waterfall and cave tours at Gopeng, delivering unforgettable experiences. We are proud to have been awarded MaTEx certification that provides the confidence on optimal safety for our customers. Located just 30 minutes from Ipoh city, Gopeng is one of the key attractions and a must-visit in Perak other than Kuala Kangsar, Taiping and Royal Belum State Park.” Mr. Gurnam Singh, Founder of Outdoor Geeks Products & Services.

There are lots of other accommodation options in Cameron Highlands. As for adventure tour options, Yusree points out that there are more than 100 companies doing hiking tours all over Malaysia. Competition is tough, thus healthy differentiation is key for everyone’s sustainability. For a start, appreciation of the environment needs to begin with awareness that it exists and is important. Towards this end Hikers Sleep Port has various environmentconscious features; some obvious and needed, some subtle and unique.

“Permit can be obtained from the Forestry Department office by following their procedure such as quotas, guide, ratios and few more things to be full filled before the approval. The best is to contact the Forestry Department at least 14 days before date for inquiries and applications regarding permit.” Mrs. Cik Marina Hamzah, General Manager, ORL Ventures (ORL).

Speaking of outdoor adventures especially with mountain trips, the first thing that comes to mind is; how safe would this be? With the background and love for adventure, Ohana prioritises safety first among other important matters complete with its own Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) based on experience.

“A wide range of attractive packages are offered to enable Ohana to stand as the most preferred operator in adventure tourism. Towards this aim as well, we have developed our own SOP from long experience and it ensures that the safety of all our participants are our priority. In addition, the preparation of food by our own staff specially to be served to hikers who follow our packages becomes another attraction that makes us different from our competitors. We also operate optimally by running numerous tours per month so that there would be many more participants who would know Ohana or come back to us for other adventures.” Mr. Nik Mohd Zawanie Nik Mat, Founder of Ohana Adventure Sports.

They have an established Emergency Response Plan (ERP) and Risk Analysis Management System (RAMS) in place, where all these systems are implemented in all of their programmes and activities. All programme activities, Maverick has set a better than average trainer-to-participant ratio where every 10 persons in a group would be equipped with one trained guide or trainer regardless of how big a group is.

“The Janda Baik packages opened up a new horizon to Maverick as they offered more diverse activities resulting from our collaboration with local operators. Other than waterfall abseiling and jungle trekking that are run directly by Maverick, the integration of local tourism products help the domestic economy to expand as well. The safety aspects of each of the products are never neglected, so that also ensures that each product is individually sustainable in the long term. Big thanks to all our strategic partners who each have good awareness on participants’ safety and comfort, which really make it easy for all of us to move with the same rhythm.” Mr. Ahmad Shukry Awang Founder of Maverick Trainers and Consultants.

Jenoba is one of the first outdoor adventure operators in Terengganu to have a comprehensive set of Standard Operating Procedures SOPs, which the company devised on its own based on experience, observation and existing industry practice.

“We transformed our approach from offering packages that were just recreational into adventure tourist packages, in order to increase the demand for our tourism products. With that, now trips can proceed with a minimum participation of just two people, which of course optimised the company’s regular operations. Collaboration with travel agents at the Kuala Besut jetty to introduce Jenoba’s packages became the gateway to bringing in foreign tourists to try local tours and expand their stay in Terengganu. Jenoba’s hope for the future is for Terengganu to be as famous for all its exciting nature and outdoor adventure offerings, just as its beautiful islands are.” Mr. Mohd Najib Bin Alias, Manager, Jenoba Trading & Services Sdn Bhd.