KOTA KINABALU, 9 March 2023: Sabah’s homegrown Cars and Urban Lifestyle Trends (CULT) event is coming back; this time, it is expected to draw an even larger crowd.

CULT event director Azlin Awang Chee said this year’s car show would be held from 10 to 12 November and should attract 30,000 visitors and car enthusiasts.

The Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC), where the first show was held last year displaying 600 custom vehicles, will again serve as the exhibition’s venue.

Azlin, alongside CULT promotion director John Kong, paid a courtesy call to Sabah Tourism Board (STB) chairman Datuk Joniston Bangkuai on Thursday to brief him on the second edition of CULT Carshow.

“The SICC’s enthusiastic backing is also a huge boost for our event, which attracted over 20,000 crowds last year. This time, we plan to bring in a greater selection of rare and unique vehicles from abroad and across the country,” said Azlin, adding they have received confirmed participation from Thailand, Singapore, and Indonesia.

He continued by saying that CULT was determined to provide a memorable experience for locals and visitors by organising various side activities and entertainment celebrating the thrill of automotive culture.

While praising the initiative’s success, he said Sabah ought to host more signature events just like CULT, which can draw international participants.

“Big car shows can attract many car enthusiasts and collectors from all over the world. This can create a buzz and generate interest in Sabah, drawing in visitors who may not have considered Sabah as a tourist destination before,” said the state Assistant Minister of Tourism, Culture, and Environment.

“I believe the event can help to create a sense of community and bring people together while also highlighting the unique attractions and offerings of Sabah as a tourism destination,” said Joniston, adding STB supports events that benefit the state and have economic spillover.

For more information visit: www.sabahtourism.com

(Your Stories: Sabah Tourism Board)

BERLIN, 8 March 2023: There could not be a better travel marketplace platform than the ITB Berlin 2023 (Internationale Tourismus-Borse Berlin) for Sabah Tourism Board (STB) to launch Sabah’s new destination rebranding – ‘Feel Sabah, North Borneo’.   

‘Feel Sabah’ promotion was developed by STB, while the idea of incorporating ‘North Borneo’ was mooted by Minister Datuk Christina Liew, who led a 10-member delegation to this global event.  

STB is under the purview of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment.

Launching this rebranding exercise at the world’s largest tourism trade fair at the Messe Berlin in Germany on Tuesday, Minister Datuk Christina Liew said it was most apt to adopt this promotional theme for sentimental and historical reasons.

She stressed that we want the international community to know that Sabah is located in the northern part of Borneo Island in the hope of fascinating and wooing more European tourists.

“The name ‘North Borneo’ (now Sabah) sounds exotic and evokes nostalgic feelings of yearning for this destination. It is also of historical significance as the state was then known as ‘North Borneo’ before gaining our Independence in 1963.

“People in many parts of the world haven’t heard about Sabah, despite decades of promoting this Land Below The Wind to the outside world, let alone know about our diverse natural attractions and iconic wildlife.

“However, we know that the mention of Borneo or North Borneo, it rings a bell. Europeans, in particular, associate Sabah with Borneo. Hence, we are determined to rebrand this tourist destination with ‘Feel Sabah, North Borneo’ to create a new identity in the travel marketplace,” Liew said after the launch.

She added that Sabah is home to spectacular natural wonders such as Mount Kinabalu, Maliau Basin and Tip of Borneo.

The delegation comprised Assistant Minister cum STB Chairman Datuk JonistonBangkuai, the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary Datuk MohdYusrie Abdullah, STB Chief Executive Officer Noredah Othman, and ministry and STB officials.

With the recent resumption of direct international flights, cruise tourism and optimism about mounting regular or chartered flights from new destinations, Liew said Sabah targets 2.2 million arrivals for 2023 and will work towards attaining 2.5 million arrivals. “If we hit the 2.5 million mark, this would indicate an increase by 45.35pc compared with 1.72 million arrivals in 2022.”

According to her, Sabah’s top feeder markets in the past (based on 2019 data) had represented a good mix of Taiwan, China, Brunei, Singapore and South Korea. “For Europe specifically, our top inbound tourism markets are Germany, France, Netherlands and Italy.”

The Minister added that plans are afoot to explore prospects of luring tourists from new tourism markets in America, Australia, Japan and India via tourism roadshows by STB.

Borneo Eco Tours, Borneo Nature Tours, Borneo Trails, Rustic Borneo, Sepilok Tropical Wildlife Adventure and Tabin Wildlife Reserve from Sabah are participating in ITB Berlin 2023, rated as the world’s leading travel trade show.

Visit: www.sabahtourism.com

(Your Stories: Sabah Tourism Board)

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah welcomes 140 travellers from Guangzhou on 2 March when the first direct flight from China since the pandemic landed at Kota Kinabalu International Airport.

The AirAsia flight was welcomed by Sabah Assistant Minister of Tourism, Culture, and Environment cum Sabah Tourism Board (STB) chairman Datuk Joniston Bangkuai was on hand to greet them.

He was accompanied by the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Datuk Sr. Mohd Yusrie Abdullah; Chinese Consul General in Kota Kinabalu Huang Shifang; and STB chief executive officer Noredah Othman.

A day later, on 3 March, AirAsia introduced a second route from Shenzhen, China, to KKIA.

Sabah had anticipated the arrival of Chinese visitors much earlier this year, but a holdup in issuing passports to Chinese citizens delayed the resumption of flights.

“We are thrilled to have Chinese visitors back, and we hope our industry players will continue to provide exceptional hospitality services to our guests,” said Joniston, adding that China is a key and important market for Sabah.

Sabah anticipates more Chinese tourists will visit the state in the coming months as more direct flights from several cities in China resume. Before the pandemic, China was Sabah’s leading international visitor source, with 598,566 Chinese visitors recorded in 2019.

Visit: www.sabahtourism.com

(Your Stories: Sabah Tourism Board)