The world heritage site, the Mulu National Park in Sarawak, in Malaysian Borneo has announced that by 2010 it aims to attract a target 45,000 visitors and generate around £13.2 million.

The park, which is already a major contributor to Malaysian tourism, currently makes more than £7.36 million each year and has seen a recent sharp increase in visitor numbers, rising from just 1,600 visitors in 2003 to around 24,000 last year, the Borneo Bulletin reports.

Figures revealed during a recent ecotourism journalism workshop in the park state that 60 per cent of tourism to the Mulu national park comes from foreign visitors, and although there are increasing numbers of tourists from Western Malaysia, Australia, Japan, Korea and Taiwan, the majority of visitors still come from Europe and Great Britain.

Park manager Brian Clarke commented: "The visitors from Europe identify Mulu in Sarawak as a destination in Borneo Island which strongly links to culture and forest. To the Germans and Belgiums, the national park is relatively a new experience of a nature-based adventure destination."

Mr Clarke also announced that over the next 12 months a number of new projects and facilities will be installed to bring visitors closer to nature.

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