Sabah to woo international tourists at Dubai Expo

 By Olivia Miwil - November 22, 2021 @ 1:57pm

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Tourism Board hopes to build a network and capture the interest of international travellers following its participation in the Expo 2020 Dubai next month.

Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Jafry Ariffin said the focus would be the Middle East and emerging markets such as India and Turkey.

"The Expo 2020 Dubai is an excellent avenue for Sabah to market our destination globally. It is said to be among the first major global business events to open for visitors to be present physically, since the pandemic.

"As our country moves forward, my ministry has started our aggressive recovery efforts in preparation to welcome back international visitors while we anticipate our international border to reopen for leisure visitors.

"Sabah Tourism Board attended and participated in a major tourism event, the World Travel Market at London earlier this month. This is our effort to restore the confidence of our UK and Europe market segment. I am determined that the Expo 2020 Dubai will further amplify our global marketing efforts," he said in a statement.

Malaysia's participation in Expo 2020 Dubai is spearheaded by the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry with the Malaysian Green Technology and Climate Change Corporation as an implementing agency.

Sabah Tourism Board and the state Economic Planning Unit will be the lead agencies representing the state government at the expo between Dec 20 until 24.

Joining the Sabah tourism team are representatives from the Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) Sabah Chapter, Sabah Association of Tour and Travel Agents (SATTA) and Fun Holidays Sdn Bhd.

Aside from business meetings, Sabah Tourism delegation is expected to showcase the destination through a series of tourism presentations at the Amphitheatre Malaysia Pavilion.

As a recent member of the global community - Hybrid City Alliance, Jafry said the state was also strengthening its position in the business events industry by offering matching prospects and bidding facilities in Sabah during the fifth day of Sabah Week.

Sabah Tourism Board welcomes any interested parties to set appointment meetings with the agency at Expo 2020 Dubai. The appointment can be scheduled by registering your interest at expo2020dubai.sabahtourism.com.