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)
