Kota Kinabalu: Sabah could use 360-degree virtual tours and immersive technology to attract more international business events by allowing organisers to inspect venues and destinations remotely before deciding to travel to the State.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Jalin Creative Sdn Bhd, Simon Jr Jalin, said virtual site inspections could reduce the time and cost involved in sending international event organisers to Sabah for initial assessments.
He said organisers typically needed to inspect convention centres, hotels, meeting rooms, accommodation and transportation facilities before deciding on a destination.
“Flying a team to Sabah just for initial inspection may take time and money,” he said during the 10th Malaysia Digital Economy Forum (MDEF2026) at the International Technology and Commercial Centre (ITCC), here, recently.
Simon said 360-degree virtual tours could instead be used during the pre-qualification stage, allowing organisers to experience and assess Sabah digitally before committing to a physical inspection.
He said Sabah could take the concept further by developing an immersive presentation showcasing the entire business events ecosystem, including convention centres, hotels, restaurants and other relevant facilities.
“Ultimately, immersive technology can help Sabah to sell the destination much better and effectively,” he said.
Simon said the technology could also strengthen Sabah’s broader destination marketing as potential visitors increasingly relied on digital content when deciding where to travel.
He said 360-degree virtual tours, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) allowed people to explore destinations, accommodation and attractions before making a booking decision.
“Today people do not need to wait to come to Sabah to start experiencing Sabah. They can already start experiencing Sabah through digital,” he said.
He said immersive experiences could give potential visitors a stronger sense of “being there” compared with conventional photographs.
Simon also shared an experience involving a VR promotion in Bandaraya, where an elderly woman was able to experience a virtual destination she believed she would no longer be able to visit physically.
He said the experience demonstrated the ability of VR to create an emotional connection with destinations and could be applied to promote Sabah attractions overseas.
With Sabah offering numerous attractions, he said VR and other immersive technologies could effectively bring the destination to potential visitors abroad and encourage them to experience it in person.