Tag - Tourism

Kota Kinabalu: Tourism Malaysia Sabah Office, with the support of eight Sabah tour agents, has developed its latest brochure - Sabah Premier Events "Best Of Borneo" Tour Packages - in an effort to step up promotion of the State. The brochure is specially created in conjunction with the State's five spectacular premier events, namely Sabah Fest (May 3-4), Sabah Dragon Boat (June 15-16), Sunset Music Festival (June 28-29), Kokol International Paragliding Race (Sept 16-18) and Mt Kinabalu International Climbathon (Oct 19-20). The travel packages enable tourists to witness, experience and learn more about the events. It is also in line with Tourism Malaysia's efforts to continue offering various innovative and creative tourism products to tourists, besides having a truly diverse choice to cater to every interest and budget. Fifteen tour packages that range from 2 Days 1 Night to 4 Days 3 Nights have been created, promising tourists a fun-filled time with lots of exciting activities. In conjunction with the Sabah Dragon Boat Race at Likas Bay, the 3 Days 2 Nights 'Merlin's Dragon' package has been created. Through this tour package, tourists get to witness the race on either June 15 or 16 and enjoy a day trip to one of the islands in Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park. The tour package is also inclusive of a trip to Klias River, famed for its proboscis monkeys. Another interesting tour package created in June is the 2 Days 1 Night 'Romancing The Music at the Tip of Borneo' package, in conjunction with the Sunset Music Festival. Be prepared to be mesmerised by the amazing talents of musicians as they bring you to the ultimate musical bliss whilst the red sun vanishes down below the horizon at the Tip of Borneo, Kudat. The new Minister of Tourism and Culture Dato' Seri Mohamed Nazri bin Tan Sri Abdul Aziz is also expected to grace the event on June 29. Those who are interested in any of the promoted events or would like to join the tour packages can get in touch with any of the eight tour agents for further details. Tourism Malaysia Sabah would also be promoting the tour packages through websites, online social media and distribution of brochures at Tourism Malaysia's state and overseas offices. Source: Daily Express

Kota Kinabalu: The Borneo Eco Film Festival (BEFF) has returned for the third edition, gathering filmmakers and aspirants on the trail of capturing the State's rich biodiversity on the reel. Festival organisers have prepared a number of activities running up to the main event this September 27 to 29 - screening of the films at the State's Department of Cultural and Arts Complex (JKKNS) - such as a series of film making workshops in the village level called 'Suara Komuniti' (Voice of Community). The year-long capacity building workshop was first held in April among the communities in Batu Puteh in Kinabatangan for four days, said co-founder and environmental anthropologist Agnes Agama, here on Wednesday. "Budding filmmakers from the communities attended the 'Narratives and Ideas', in which participants explored the concept of narrative and how to develop inspiration into ideas before translating them into film," she said. The workshop was conducted by local artistic film maker Chris Chong Chan Fui and creative writer Melissa Leong, who are the BEFF Board Chair and Festival Director. Agnes said the second scheduled workshop will be held in Bundu Tuhan this June 28-30 on documentary - making and followed by the final workshop on editing end of August. "It will culminate in a three-day intensive community filmmaking course on September 25 to 27," she said. Festival Director Melissa Leong said that BEFF also aims to engage the community apart from educating and raising awareness on environmental issues and its conservation. She said BEFF also calls for submission of creative short film entries for its "Boleh Bah Filem Kita" short-film competition, the closing date for which is set for August 1. "For more details on the competition and the workshop visit the BEFF website at www. beff. org. my or facebook page 'Borneo Eco Film Festival'," said Leong. Board Director Chris Chong meanwhile said BEFF is also accepting volunteers, donors, business partners who want to support the festival's organising. Meanwhile, sponsors for the festival are Sabah Economic Development and Investment Authority (Sedia), Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment and Finas. Source : Daily Express

Kota Kinabalu: Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun wants all the help he can get to drive Sabah tourism forward and he is right now thinking of all things Chinese. Already on board the ministry is a new Assistant Minister Datuk Pang Yuk Ming, who according to Masidi was specifically picked to tap into the Chinese market. It will make the job of reaching out to the vast Chinese market all the more easier, said Masidi who is buoyed by the more than 70 per cent increase in Chinese tourist arrivals over the last four months. "Most of the tourists come from the southern part of China like Shenzen, Hong Kong. I think now we are ready to expand to the more economically better Beijing market. "This is because their economic standing means they can afford to travel more and at the same time, this can improve ties between us and China," he said during the Farewell/Welcoming Lunch to Outgoing/Incoming Assistant Tourism Ministers at Ming Garden here on Wednesday. The ministry welcomed new Assistant Ministers Datuk Pang Yuk Ming and Datuk Kamarlin Ombi. The previous Assistant Ministers were Datuk Bobbey Ahfang Suan and Datuk Bolkiah Ismail. Masidi also wants more Mandarin-speaking tourist guides to meet the expected increase in arrivals; more chartered flights and even Mandarin-speaking immigration officers at the airport to greet their arrivals. "We have to adapt to the changes in the tourism industry. We used to have lots of tourists from South Korea and Japan, but now, the number of Chinese tourists has surpassed the number of tourists from those two other countries. "We also have to remember that we are competing with other nations such as Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and even other states in this country," he said. The appointment of Pang as assistant minister in the ministry is seen as a strategy by the State government to ensure that there is a political leader in the ministry who can communicate directly with officers or tourists from China. "It is hoped that easier communication between us and them will make them more comfortable in dealing with us and at the same time, improve our competitiveness in the tourism industry. "The whole idea is to make us more efficient so that we can make fast decisions," said Masidi. A total of 103,917 Chinese tourists arrived in Sabah from January to April this year compared to 59,385 last year. The increased number of chartered flights from 46 to 87 this year was attributed to the increased number of tourist arrivals. The coming summer holiday is expected to bring in more tourists from that country in July and August via 36 chartered flights. Sabah has seen a surge in tourist arrivals with 888,000 tourists from January to April this year compared to 793,842 last year including 630,520 domestic tourists. Source : Daily Express

The KK Jazz Festival this year will feature international artistes including highly talented local bands & singers. The 7^th  KK Jazz Festival Committee disclosed this when paying a courtesy visit to the Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun recently. Organising Chairman, Mr. Jack Ong who led the courtesy visit thanked the Datuk Masidi Manjun - Ministry of Tourism, Culture & Environment and also the Sabah Tourism Board in their sponsorship and support in the festival. Mr. Jack Ong also added that the Kota Kinabalu Jazz Festival is an annual fund raising jazz extravaganza jointly organized by the Rotary Club of Kota Kinabalu (RCKK) and the Society of Performing Arts Kota Kinabalu Sabah (SPArKS). The Jazz festival will be held on 14^th – 15^th  June 2013 at the Covered Tennis Court Sutera Harbour Marina Golf and Country Club, Kota Kinabalu starting at 7.00pm. Masidi fully supports the event and he called on people to purchase tickets for the show. “Jazz music and all art is an essential part of the human experience. A basic understanding and appreciation of music can only serve to broaden one’s character and deepen the connection with those around us.” He said.   According to the Chairman of the festival Mr. Jack Ong “KKJF recorded a crowd of over 4,000 people during the both 2-night performance in year 2011 and this year on its 7^th edition of KK Jazz Festival in 2013 promises to be another ground-breaking experience not to be missed by music lovers from all over the world. One of the striking differences about KK Jazz Festival is its lineup of artists, which includes international names and highly talented local bands and singers. Some of the artists that will be performing for this year are Kekko Fornarelli Trio (Italy), Mia Palencia in Good Company (Australia), Moscow Fish (Canada - Thailand), Shanghai Jazz Redefined with Janet Lee (Malaysia), HumanFolk (Phillipines) and more . Acknowledging the immense talent of the people from the Land Below the Wind, KKJF serves as a stage in showcasing our local artists too and as well as the selected bands of this year Sabah Jazz Talent Search - Funkafize, Jazz United, Mega Boogie Blues Buster and singer Eilvane Chieng  . Besides these, local celebrity DJ Carlene Wong will also be hosting the evening as an EmCee. Charlene is currently the host Radio DJ for Malaysia’s No. 1 English radio station, Mix.FM, whom used to be a former top 5 finalist of Miss Universe Malaysia 2010. The festival this year is being supported by Dewan Bandaraya Kota Kinabalu (DBKK). This year KKJF is being sponsored by Yayasan Sime Darby, Sabah Tourism Board and Carlsberg. The festival is a fund raising event, of which the money from ticket sales is used to fund deserving community projects run by the Rotary Club of Kota Kinabalu such as the clean water project, literacy program in rural areas of Sabah and environment protection program. With the collaboration of AirAsia under AirAsia RedTix, tickets are now on sale at redtix.airasia.com at RM100 for two-night pass and RM70 for per-night pass. Tickets are also available for purchase at Kota Kinabalu at Party Play Lifestyle Café Gaya Street,  Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf outlets & The Shamrock Irish Bar. The KK Jazz Festival is one of the signature event in the Sabah’s annual calendar of events, and is also a key component of the Kota Kinabalu Arts Festival. For more information, please visit www.kkjazzfest.com and Facebook at ‘KK Jazz Festival’