PUTRAJAYA, 24 April 2026: The Sabah Tourism Board and Tourism Malaysia engaged in discussions on the need to align tourism promotion strategies following the extension of the Visit Malaysia campaign to end-2027.
The Sabah Tourism Board (STB) was led by Chairman Datuk Joniston Bangkuai, who is also Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister of Sabah, while Tourism Malaysia was represented by its Chairman Datuk Manoharan Periasamy.
Manoharan briefed the Sabah delegation on Tourism Malaysia’s current focus, citing the geopolitical situation as a key factor behind a stronger emphasis on domestic tourism and on the ASEAN region as a priority market under the revised campaign period.
Joniston said STB would support continued coordination to ensure consistency in promotional direction between federal and state tourism initiatives. He said both parties recognised the importance of regular engagement to support the success of Visit Malaysia Year and Visit Sabah 2027. He added that Sabah would continue to emphasise cultural and nature-based tourism under its Visit Sabah 2027 campaign, with key cultural events such as Kaamatan playing a central role in strengthening destination identity.
Present at the meeting were: Tourism Malaysia Head of Secretariat for Visit Malaysia Year, Mohd Akbal Setia; Tourism Malaysia Corporate Communications Director, Yasmin Faezah Samsudin; STB Deputy Chairman, Datuk KL Tan; Deputy Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Tourism, Culture, and Environment of Sabah, Mary Malangking; STB Chief Marketing Officer, Josephine Chai; STB Special Officer, Normegawati Baiduri Sapian; STB Head of Research, Angeline Engchuan; and STB Head of Digital and Communications, David Michael.
(Source: Sabah Tourism Board)
