PENAMPANG: Business travellers spend at least 2.35 times more than leisure tourists, making business events a key avenue for Sabah to develop a higher-yield visitor economy, said Sabah Convention Bureau Chief Executive Officer Noredah Othman.
She said Sabah, while already established as a leisure tourism destination, should now shift its focus towards attracting more business travellers through meetings, incentive groups, international conferences and exhibitions.
“Business travellers are said to be high-yield visitors because when they travel, it is an investment for them.
“When you go on a holiday, you are spending on your own, for your leisure and pleasure. However, when you travel as a business traveller, it is an investment,” she said during the 10th Malaysia Digital Economy Forum (MDEF2026) at International Technology and Commercial Centre (ITCC), here, recently.
Noredah said the shift towards a high-yield visitor economy would not only increase visitor spending but also bring knowledge transfer and longer-term benefits to Sabah.
“People are travelling with a purpose, travelling to acquire knowledge and increase knowledge. What benefits do we get? Largely, the benefits would be because they can spend more money, but not just that.
“We also benefit from being a knowledge transfer destination and also with legacy impact,” she said.
Noredah said Sabah should aim for business events to leave a lasting impact on the destination, rather than having visitors simply come and leave.
“What we are looking at is that they don’t just come and leave their footprints, but a handprint, leaving something more, meeting with impact in our destination,” she said.
On Sabah’s competitiveness in attracting regional and international events, Noredah said the state already had venues capable of hosting such events, including the Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC) and the ITCC.
She said the Sabah Convention Bureau’s role was to promote Sabah as a destination for international conferences, meetings and corporate events, while also providing support and facilitation.
“We have subvention funds and these subvention funds are utilised to support international conferences or even homegrown conferences.
“It is for them to offset some of the cost of operating or rather running a conference. It is not a total subsidy or total sponsorship, but it is to support their events,” she said.
Noredah also stressed that air connectivity was crucial in attracting business travellers to Sabah.
She said Sabah’s strategic location and direct international flights to major markets, including China and South Korea, as well as connectivity with Singapore and Manila, were important advantages.
“Air connectivity is very important for business travellers,” she said.
Noredah said technology would also play an important role as Sabah moves towards a more high-yield visitor economy.
She said the state should continue exploring how business events and technology could help attract visitors who would stay longer, spend more and contribute greater benefits to local businesses and communities.
