Tag - Travel

Kota Kinabalu: The tattoo industry is a niche market that can be promoted further as a parcel of the tourism attractions in the State, said Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun. Masidi said his Ministry will continue to support events like the 2nd Sabah International Tattoo Convention (SITC) in the hope of making Sabah more known globally, especially in the tattoo scene. "This is the second time the convention is held in Kota Kinabalu and this year has been an overwhelming success. "This time they have 71 tattoo artists from 20 countries and that is a big improvement on the number of participants in comparison to last year's convention. "This is a niche event where it is targeted to a specific market and the people who come here are those who are very interested in tattoos. "While some may not want to get inked themselves, they have the curiosity to know more about tattoos," he said after visiting the convention at the Hyatt Regency Hotel ballroom, here, Saturday. He also hoped the venue will be shifted to a bigger area next year to accommodate the increasing number of participants and visitors. "It is a niche area which I think can be promoted as part of the tourism attractions in Sabah, especially in Kota Kinabalu. "I believe we can make Sabah more popular to the rest of the world through this event. "The fact that the participants came from 20 countries itself is a great success to promote Sabah." Masidi was also impressed with the dedication and the skills shown by the tattoo artists in the convention. "Some of us perceive that it (tattooing) is just a simple thing…putting up designs on your bodies, but it is not. "It involves a more intricate work where you have to master the art of tattooing and the most important thing is to come up with interesting designs," he said. Organiser Carlos Benny Majakil, who is also the owner of Koiyak Gloves, said SITC is the biggest tattoo event in the country and he expected a crowd of more than 2,000 visitors over the three-day period beginning Oct 21. "The inaugural SITC which was held last year broke boundaries by being the first ever tattoo event in Sabah that was endorsed by Sabah Tourism Board (STB)," he said. According to Benny, SITC aims to celebrate and promote all aspects of the professional tattoo industry – from the participation of famed tattoo artists to the presentation of various modern and traditional tattooing styles. "We hope to bring more tattoo artists and visitors from more countries next year, including talents who are not directly involved with the tattoo industry but related to arts." This year's convention is participated by a line-up of renowned tattoo artists from all over the world. Among them are Norm from the US, Mattia Maranggoni (Italy), Guy Le Tattoer (France), Nic Tse (Hong Kong), Christian Nguyen (Switzerland), Gino Angelov (UK), Ernesto Kalum (Malaysia) and Rojan Shrestha (Nepal). Los Angeles-based tattoo genius, Norm said he was excited to join the convention again after a memorable experience last year. "The convention is great and Sabah is nice… it is also a good time to come here for a vacation as well. "Last year, I managed to visit the highlands and it was a good experience. This time around, I am going to stay here for about a week and I will rent a motorcycle to go around the city," he said. The former graffiti artist disclosed that his friends and fans had contacted him prior to his trip to the city and made appointments with him. "About six to seven people came for tattooing sessions with me in last year's convention and I'm expecting the same number of customers as well for this year's event. "Sabah is a great place to relax and converge with other tattoo artists and enthusiasts… as well as to enjoy the seafood." Apart from live tattooing sessions by artists at their booths, a range of tattoo contests will also be held during SITC which will be judged by tattoo maestros in the likes of Benny, Marco Leoni from Italy and Ernesto. For more information, visit www.sabahtattooconvention.com.   Source : Daily Express