Chief Marketing Officer Tiyah Hj Yunsi said Neogene is working with website designer Auxilium Technologies to put up a website that will feature Brunei’s geological sites and encourage foreign geologists to do their field research here.

“Geologists travel around the world to look at outcrops. These outcrops can give them a real life example of geological process, formations and theories,” she said.

Tiyah recalled a foreign geologist who conducted a field trip to study a mud volcano at the boundary of Limbang and Brunei.

“He’s a lecturer in one of the universities in Thailand. A few years ago, he brought around 10 of his students to look at the outcrops in Berakas beach and along the Subok area,” she said.

Tiyah said developing a geological tour website can also help in boosting the sultanate’s hospitality industry.

She said foreign geologists who bought their tour packages will bring their family members and friends to stay in Brunei’s hotels for few days and visit the country’s tourist spots. To illustrate her point, Tiyah cited a field trip organised by Neogene last May for a group of students and lecturers from the Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK).

“We charged the UMK students for the tours. Since it was their first time visiting Brunei, they wanted to stay in Brunei longer because they wanted to learn more about the sultanate’s culture and this promoted ecotourism,” she said.

She said UMK students stayed in a hotel for a few days and even visited Kg Ayer.

Tiyah said Neogene is currently developing educational tours for students and researchers to promote Brunei’s geological sites including the Sg Akar ancient marine outcrop, Berakas Beach’s river system, Lugu’s fossil hunting and structural system, Ambog Hill, Lubok Pulau and Penanjong Beach’s coastal system.

“The market is already there because there’s a lot of geologist enthusiasts out there,” she said.

Chief Finance Officer Wana Jumat said the website—which will feature details on tour packages, locations, videos and photos—will give more information on Brunei’s geological sites. This won’t only grow the country’s tourism sector but can also develop Brunei’s education and research sector.

“Under Wawasan (Vision) 2035, one of the goals is to improve the education and research (sector). I believe we can contribute a lot to the research (sector) because there will be a lot of professional geologists visiting Brunei to do their research,” Wana said.

Abdul Qawi Hj Abd Karim, founder of Auxilium Technolgies, met with Neogene members last month to discuss about updates on their business.

“Neogene is still finalising everything. They want to feature their clients on the website as (part of) their company’s portfolio,” he said.