Marcel Simok
The Community-Based Tourism Roadshow (CBTR) will return in November, bringing more international experts and participants to promote rural destination offerings.
Organised by the Sabah Tourism Board, this year’s CBTR opens at the Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC) just one day ahead of the 6th World Tourism Conference (WTC).
The event will run for three days, starting 27 November 2022, and is expected to draw in about 3,000 domestic and international visitors.
Sabah Tourism Board chairperson Datuk Joniston Bangkuai said that the upcoming roadshow is an opportunity for tour and rural tourism product operators to get together and discuss how to better package rural destinations for new markets.
“Our objective is not only to reach out to the locals but also to exhibit the tourism offerings of our rural areas to WTC delegates in the hopes of encouraging them to travel to these places during their time in Sabah.
“It is our aim that this time’s CBTR would offer our rural tourism operators the much-needed exposure and put our hidden attractions into the international market,” said Sabah’s deputy minister for Tourism, Culture, and Environment, Joniston.
The 6th WTC follows CBTR from 28 to 30 November at SICC.
A total of 700 international and local participants are anticipated to attend the conference, which is jointly organised by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture and the United Nations World Tourism Organisation.
The CBTR will be participated by 27 districts and 11 sub-districts; the various Ministries as well as government and private agencies; and tourism-related associations, among others.
The roadshow will exhibit and market new tourism products in each district and sub-district in Sabah in collaboration with district offices and registered district tourism associations.
It also intends to highlight the distinctiveness of Sabah culture, traditional food, and indigenous handicrafts.
In addition, there will be an international forum on community-based tourism featuring local speakers from neighbouring countries of Thailand and Indonesia.
Sabah’s community-based tourism concept has snowballed since its inception in 2014 with the pilot projects in Kiulu and Kadamaian.
The Sabah Tourism Board has been instrumental in expanding the concept to other districts, resulting in several CBT operators receiving accolades and international recognition.
“Sabah now has more than 100 CBTs and is regarded as a pioneer of the initiative, with several states in the peninsula sending delegations to learn more about the concept,” said Joniston.
For more information, visit www.sabahtourism.com.
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