Kota Kinabalu: Sabah Convention Bureau chief Executive Officer Noredah Othman said the state’s tourism industry must unite for collective promotion to stay competitive ahead of the Visit Malaysia 2026.
She emphasised that the growing supply of hotel rooms – including the newly soft-launched Howard Johnson by Wyndham Kota Kinabalu – demands stronger, coordinated marketing to avoid being outpaced by aggressive neighbouring destinations.
“The more rooms we have, the more important it is to strengthen our promotion,” Noredah said after the hotel launch. “We are not alone in destination marketing. Our neighbours are very strong, so we need to support every player – from convention facilities to tourism operations.”She stressed that stakeholders including hoteliers, tour operators, convention venues and government agencies must avoid working in silos.
“We promote the destination collectively, not individual products. We have to go out as a team to seek and secure opportunities, as competition is stiff.”Noredah also highlighted the need to pursue growth in the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (Mice) sector amid intensifying global competition, and noted that collaboration between public and private sectors will be critical for the planned Visit Sabah 2027 campaign.
“Service quality remains decisive for both tourists and business event organisers – it’s not just about the product,” she said.
Sabah Tourism Board deputy chief executives Humprey Ginibun and Josephine Chai, along with the hotel’s owner Datuk Aruldas Arulandu, were present at the event.
Tourism data shows strong momentum leading into VM2026.
Malaysia recorded 16.94 million international arrivals in January-May 2025 (a 20pc year-on-year increase), with Singapore, Indonesia, China, Thailand and India as top markets.
For Sabah, January-September 2025 saw 2.83 million arrivals (up 17pc year-on-year), reaching 91pc of pre-pandemic levels and 80.8pc of its 3.5 million full-year target.
Domestic arrivals rose 16.8pc to 1.66 million, while international arrivals fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels at 1.16 million (up 17.2pc), with tourism receipts estimated at RM6.58 billion (a 17pc increase from 2024).