By Olivia Miwil - April 5, 2021 @ 6:11pm
For the domestic market, state Assistant Tourism, Culture, and Environment Minister Datuk Joniston Bangkuai said both agencies have plans to bring Sabah industry players to Penang and Klang Valley for business-to-business sessions.
Such efforts, he said, would be implemented when interstate travel restrictions are lifted.
"As for the international market, STB maintains good relations with Tourism Malaysia offices in targeted markets with several initiatives to be carried out even though international borders are still closed," Joniston, who is also STB chairman, said in a statement.
He added that STB and Tourism Malaysia would also work together to organise the Sabah Asean Webinar session tomorrow, which involves agents from Singapore, Brunei, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia.
Stakeholders such as the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA), Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH), Sandakan Tourism Association (STAN), and Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC) will be participating in the session to establish business relationships with agents within the Asean region.
n May, said Joniston, a live video streaming with Alibaba Group's travel-services platform Fliggy and Tourism Malaysia Shanghai would take place to introduce interesting tourist destinations in Sabah.
"A collaboration with Tourism Malaysia Hong Kong for the organisation of 'A Taste of Malaysia Staycation' at Hotel Jen, Hong Kong is scheduled for next month.
"Various Malaysian dishes will be introduced during the promotion to attract visitors to find out more about interesting destinations in Malaysia, including Sabah," he said.
The following month, a virtual business-to-consumer event is scheduled to be held with Tourism Malaysia Singapore, where five industry players would be invited to showcase their products at the session.
STB is also collaborating with Tourism Malaysia Singapore and Have Halal Will Travel media through publication of online articles.
"Apart from these initiatives, STB is in discussion with Tourism Malaysia from time to time to continue the efforts to promote the tourism industry effectively, especially with international borders remaining closed.
"Although tourism promotion in Sabah is currently focused on targeting locals, we are still carrying out overseas promotion for the purpose of creating destination awareness.
"Ongoing campaigns this year also include the SABAHDeeKhrap campaign specifically for the Thai market and for the Korean market we have started promoting Sabah destinations on Naver, Kakao and Intagram social sites."
He also expressed optimism that the tourism industry would recover with vaccination programmes being carried out across the globe.
"In the current situation, the government allows domestic travel by zone as a step towards the recovery of the tourism sector. Hotels and tourist spots are back in operation and the response from locals is very encouraging.
"Indeed, domestic travel is the best way to revive the state tourism industry. It is hoped that the relaxation for inter-district travel according to zones to some extent will help industry players to start operating again.
"While remaining vigilant, society also needs to play a role in activating the tourism sector and mobilising our economy. The development of this industry can be reactivated with cooperation between government, tourism industry players, and the community," he added.
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