KOTA KINABALU 6 April 2022: The Sabah Tourism Board encourages business event organisers to reach out to them for assistance in planning and holding major national and international conferences in the state.

Tourism, Culture, and Environment Assistant Minister Datuk Joniston Bangkuai said constant engagement with the Board is key to ensuring that all stakeholders work collaboratively to prepare for the return of business events.

With the Malaysian border now open, Joniston said they anticipate more business conferences and exhibitions will take place in the near future as industry players choose Sabah as a venue for business events.

“The Sabah Tourism has launched ‘Sabah: BE here for you’ campaign in 2020, targeting the Business Events industry. It is still running to this day, and the campaign involves an MYR5 million grant incentive from the state government.

“Eligible applicants can apply for this grant up to MYR100,000 maximum per group, for both national and international events meetings,” he said, inviting business event organisers to take advantage of the opportunity.

Joniston, who chairs Sabah Tourism Board, was speaking at the BE (business events) Get Together dinner reception on Thursday.

Present were Malaysian Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers (MACEOS) president Francis Teo; Place Borneo Sdn Bhd director and Congress Certification Program official trainer Gracie Veronica Geike; Sabah Tourism Board chief executive officer Noredah Othman; chief financial officer Julinus Jeffery Jimit; chief marketing officer Tay Shu Lan; and Sri Pelancongan Sabah general manager Zachary Mobijohn.

Joniston said the Sabah Tourism Board collaborates with the Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC) to market the venue for meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE) both locally and globally.

A state-of-the-art facility for small and large scale events, the SICC has a capacity of 5,000 people and is conveniently positioned with a seaside view. It is also strategically located close to the city centre and airport.

Earlier, Joniston congratulated industry players for completing the Congress Certification Program 1.0 and the Congress Certification Program 2.0 Advance Masterclass.

These online courses, which are recognised and certified by the Events Industry Council (EIC) of the United States, are fully subsidised by the Sabah Tourism Board.

It was aimed at helping promote the growth and ecosystem of the industry and to support the development of human capital for the state’s business events industry.

“With the necessary knowledge, tools, and requirements needed from event bidding to digital event strategies, these courses greatly assist in sustaining and empowering the industry.

“I would like to acknowledge the trainers from the MACEOS, for constantly working together with STB in ensuring the industry is ready to welcome business event travel. Let’s together strengthen our relationship towards improving business events for Sabah,” said Joniston.

Information on the ‘Sabah: BE here for you’ campaign can be found on the Sabah Tourism Board’s Business Events website at www.be.sabahtourism.com.

(Your Stories: Sabah Tourism Board)

KOTA KINABALU, 5 April 2022: The Sabah Tourism Board product team is helping to transform Bingkor township in Sabah’s interior into a sustainable rural tourism destination.

The team had recently carried out an engagement with 47 Village Development and Security Committees (JPKK) in the Mukim Bingkor to explore tourism potential in their respective area.

Organised in collaboration with the Keningau Tourism and Culture Association, the engagement session was officiated by State Assistant Public Works minister and Bingkor assemblyman Datuk Robert Tawik.

Sabah Tourism Board chief financial officer Julinus Jeffrey Jimit said rural areas such as Bingkor have a great deal of potential to become a draw factor for tourists looking to travel into the interior of the state.

“While we encourage tourists to visit Sabah and experience the state’s major attractions, we equally encourage them to explore the countryside and interact with the local community to get the most out of their visit.

“It is part of the product team’s role to support rural communities in consistently unlocking their potential and creating opportunities for them to thrive through tourism,” he explained.

During the engagement session, Julinus gave a presentation on the tourism industry and how rural communities can benefit from it, especially now that travel is fully resumed with the reopening of the country’s border.

Among other things, the programme aimed to raise awareness among JPKK representatives about tourism products that can be developed, particularly community-based tourism products in Bingkor.

Additionally, they were also briefed on the importance of equipping themselves with digital marketing skills to efficiently market their tourism products.

Julinus added that similar engagement would be expanded to Keningau and other districts soon to empower and reach out to as many rural communities as possible.

Bingkor is about 10 kilometres from Keningau and has a predominantly Dusun population. Nature, culture, and handicrafts are abundant in the area, but they have yet to be developed.

At the moment, Bingkor does not have a community-based tourism offering, but the development of Bandukan Eco Park is in the works.

The community will manage the new tourism product with assistance and training from the Sabah Tourism Board.

In addition, the Keningau Tourism and Culture Association will work with Sabah Tourism to use QR codes to capture visitors to Bingkor.

For more information visit: http://www.sabahtourism.com/

(Your Stories: Sabah Tourism Board)