Kota Kinabalu: The Community-Based Tourism Roadshow (CBTR) to be held next month is expected to draw some 3,000 domestic and international visitors.
Organised by the Sabah Tourism Board (STB), this year’s CBTR will take place at the Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC), from Nov 27 to 29, in conjunction with the 6th World Tourism Conference (WTC).
STB Chairman Datuk Joniston Bangkuai, who presided the first CBTR 2022 main organising committee meeting, said the roadshow is an opportunity for tour operators 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,” said Joniston, who is also Tourism, Culture, and Environment Assistant Minister.
“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.”
The 6th WTC will take place from Nov 28-30 at SICC. A total of 700 international and local participants are anticipated to attend the conference, 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.
Aimed at providing an alternative source of income for the rural folks, Sabah’s community-based tourism concept has grown rapidly since its inception in 2014 with the pilot projects in Kiulu and Kadamaian.
This concept is widely regarded as one of the State’s strongest rural products.
The STB has been instrumental in assisting in the expansion of the concept to other districts, which has resulted in several CoBT operators receiving accolades for international recognition.
“Sabah now has more than 100 CoBTs and is regarded as a pioneer of the initiative with several States in the peninsula sending delegation to learn more about the concept,” said Joniston.
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