Kota Kinabalu: A total of 19 districts will take part in the Community-Based Tourism Roadshow 2022 to be held at the Sabah International Convention Centre here from Nov 27 to 29.
Sabah Assistant Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Joniston Bangkuai said the event aims to showcase various rural tourism attractions, including eco-tourism and agro-tourism, in addition to the uniqueness of the State’s culture and traditional food.
He said the roadshow would be held on a large scale this year, involving other states such as Sarawak and Johor, as well as the State Rural Development Ministry, Industrial Development Ministry and Agriculture and Fisheries Ministry.
“We are bringing in ministries for the first time, and there is also participation from Thailand’s Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (Dasta). For a change, we will organise a forum entitled ‘Promoting Rural Tourism for Rural Communities’.
“We took the opportunity to organise this roadshow in conjunction with the World Tourism Conference, which is expected to bring together over 1,000 delegates from 60 countries,” he said in a press conference here, Wednesday.
Joniston, who is also Sabah Tourism Board (STB) Chairman, said the roadshow would feature 56 booths, with 50 of them selling handicrafts and local cuisine, in addition to activities such as lucky draws and drawing contests for children.
“Admission is free, and we hope the public will take the opportunity to visit this roadshow to see various rural tourism attractions,” he said, adding that Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor is expected to officiate the event.
Meanwhile, Joniston said STB hoped to achieve the target of at least 1.2 million tourists to Sabah by the end of this year.
“This is only a target since we are still in the recovery phase. However, with the hard work and efforts of STB and our partners in the tourism industry, we have recorded 1.9 million tourist arrivals as of September,” he said.
