The Sabah Community Based Tourism Fair 2024, which promotes the State's authentic countryside experiences, will be promoted outside the State for the first time.
Sabah Tourism Board Chairman Datuk Joniston Bangkuai said the event is scheduled for October at the IOI City Mall in Putrajaya, Malaysia's administrative capital.
Sabah Community Based Tourism Fair 2024
Joniston said it was time for local community-based operators to venture out of their comfort zone and into bigger markets.
This event offers tour operators and rural tourism product operators the chance to get together and discuss how to better package rural destinations for new markets.
He said this during the handing over of the screen panel and the 2024 Kiulu Tourism Association Appreciation programme, which was attended by 26 community-based tourism operators and 40 private entrepreneurs.
Joniston said a Mentor and Mentee programme will also be introduced in Kiulu, providing a platform for successful tourism operators to share their success stories with newcomers.
The Sabah Tourism Board is also currently identifying mentors and mentees for the programme, and the sessions will be done in phases.
Joniston, the Assistant Tourism, Culture, and Environment Minister, announced that three Sabah rural operators have been shortlisted for this year's Asean Tourism Standard Accreditation.
The three operators had met the 10 criteria set for the prestigious award, and they are;
- Murug-Turug Eco Tourism
- Lingga Eco Tourism
- Bambangan Lama Eco Tourism
The main criteria emphasise management, business direction, standard operating procedures, and how tourism activities impact the local economy.
Most importantly, all these must be documented and winning the award would strengthen Sabah's growing international reputation for rural tourism.
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| The previous fair was held at Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. |
Conclusion
The previous Sabah Community Based Tourism Fair was held at the Suria Sabah Shopping Mall in Kota Kinabalu from 17-19 November 2023.
This time, the opportunity to have the fair at Putrajaya is considered a leap forward, opening up this segment of rural tourism to the peninsular market.