News & Updates from KePKAS

22Oct

Odou Bakanjar potential as tourism product

KUALA PENYU: The Odou Bakanjar celebration of the Tatana community has the potential to become a tourism product, especially in Kuala Penyu district. Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal said the richness of the country’s ethnic and cultural treasures is an important asset in the tourism industry, which in turn drives the economy of Sabah’s people and state. He said Sabah had many ethnicities and was rich in its cultural traditions. For example, the Tatana ethnic community in Kuala Penyu  is one of the most important ethnic groups in Sabah. “As such I hope that ethnic festivals like Odou Bakanjar will be a tourism product as it will attract more tourists from within and outside to Sabah,” he said, at the 6th Odou Bakanjar Celebration, at the Cultural Village, here, Saturday. The text of his speech was delivered by Sabah Rural Development Minister Datuk Ewon Benedick. Shafie said the Odou celebration also serves as a field to showcase the customs, art and culture of the Tatana people so that this heritage continues to be passed on to the younger generation. “I hope the younger generation has a strong interest in learning and inheriting this valuable culture. The younger generation should not be overwhelmed by the sophistication of gadgets and social media alone. “I believe this effort will preserve the ethnic culture which includes food, dance, traditional music, clothing, language, literature, customs and so on which is an ethnic identity,” he said. Shafie hopes through the Odou Bakanjar, the spirit of friendship and unity among the community would continue to thrive and be preserved. “This is because unity is an important asset to drive the development of the state,” he said. In addition, understanding the culture of a society and ethnicity is important as it will foster a sense of brotherhood within the community.“The high spirit of brotherhood will further strengthen the friendship and unity among all ethnic groups in the state. This unity will ultimately help to maintain a peaceful environment in Sabah and Malaysia in general,” he said. Source: Daily Express
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22Oct

6,000 expected at Tanjung Aru Beach Fest this weekend

Kota Kinabalu: The second edition of the Tanjung Aru Beach Festival is expected to attract about 6,000 visitors, this weekend (Oct 26-27).Assistant Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Assaffal P Alian said the event will be held at Prince Phillip Park, Tanjung Aru Beach, here.Sabah Tourism Board (STB)’s subsidiary Sri Pelancongan Sabah Sdn Bhd (SPS) is the main organiser of the event which will see a collaboration with local associations and non-governmental organisations for the two-day festival. “Tanjung Aru Beach has always been one of the favourite beaches for the public to have the perfect view of the sunset and its formation,” he said during a press conference, here, Monday. “It is our duty to promote our public beaches as a tourism product with an amazing sunset view all year round…we have to capitalise the natural beauty that we have.”The festival, he said, aims to create public awareness on the importance of maintaining the cleanliness of the beaches.To this end, a beach clean-up programme will be coordinated by Trash Hero Borneo on Saturday, starting 8am. “Everyone is encouraged to come and lend a hand in this beach clean-up. “The Tanjung Aru Beach Festival is a trash-free event and we hope to promote a clean city as well as to have a healthy lifestyle among the communities,” he said.Among the activities that will be held during the festival are a music concert featuring local performers, dance competition, sandcastle building competition, art installations, and beach soccer.Deputy Chief Minister cum Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Christina Liew will officiate the festival, Sunday.To avoid traffic congestion in the area, visitors are advised to use e-hailing services where a special promotional code will also be offered by Borride. Source: Daily Express
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22Oct

Sabah Tourism website wins award

SINGAPORE: Sabah Tourism Board won the Best Tourism Board Website award for Asia Pacific from TravelMole-ITB Asia Awards 2019. The others shortlisted were Langkawi and Tourism Thailand. “We are thrilled to receive this award. STB has continuously improved the website to be on par with the new trends. We are currently focusing on the way we position our content. “For example, we recently highlighted the various Volunteer Tourism options available in Sabah and Self-Guided Tours. This is something commonly asked,” said Noredah Othman, General Manager of Sabah Tourism Board. “Among our contributors for content besides managing this solely inhouse, are the online writers, bloggers and travel agents with blogs,” she said.“On average, we have 30,000 unique visitors mainly from Malaysia, Singapore, US, UK and Australia. In addition to the general website, we maintain sites in Chinese, Japanese and Korean.” TravelMole’s 65,000 travel trade Asia Pacific newswire subscribers were asked to place their nominations in July.  A group of travel experts determined a shortlist for each category in September. Source: Daily Express
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20Oct

25 girls for Miss Scuba International Pageant in KK Nov 16

KOTA KINABALU: Miss Scuba International Pageant 2019 that will take place here next week is yet another viable platform to market Sabah as a premier destination for leisure or business. Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Christina Liew said the glittering event would put Sabah in the world spotlight as 25 beauties representing 25 countries gather here for a series of activities, culminating in the Gala Dinner cum Show on November 16 at the Magellan Sutera Hotel. The pageant with the theme “Saving Oceans Through Beauty” is being organised by Miss Scuba International Ltd and supported by the Sabah Tourism Board (STB) under the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment. “As a promotional strategy, the Sabah Tourism Board (STB) will provide videos to showcase the State’s natural attractions and tourist hot spots for usage by the organisers,” she said during a courtesy call by the Founder cum Executive Chairman of Miss Scuba International Ltd, Robert Lo and Pageant Director Grace Ginda on Thursday. Liew, who is also Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment, has been invited as guest of honour for the Gala Dinner cum Show. Given the theme of the pageant, Lo said the judges would not only be looking at the contestants’ beauty per se but would also gauge their knowledge on ocean conservation (or marine conservation) efforts. “Their itinerary includes a visit to Pulau Sipadan, a world-class diving site.” Also present was STB Senior Marketing Manager, Tay Shu Lan. Source: Borneo Post Online
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18Oct

AirAsia to launch direct international flights to Tawau, Sandakan next year

KOTA KINABALU: Tawau and Sandakan are expected to welcome direct international flights brought in by low-cost carrier AirAsia from early next year. AirAsia Group Bhd chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said they are looking at linking both cities to destinations in China, Korea, Japan and Asean countries. "We are looking at January, February. I want to launch it during the winter period to promote the wonderful beaches here.We are ready to do it now as we believe we can bring lot of jobs and growth directly to Tawau and Sandakan. "So I will fly to Tawau right after this to announce to our staff," he told reporters after paying a courtesy call to Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal on Friday (Oct 18). However, he said Kota Kinabalu would remain a priority hub as plans are afoot for KK-Seoul flights from next August. Fernandes reiterated their ongoing plan to push the re-opening of Kota Kinabalu International Airport Terminal 2 (KKIA2), where AirAsia formerly operated before its shift to KKIA Terminal 1 under the Transport Ministry's order. "We can do so much in KK if we can get Terminal 2 reopened, but I want to start developing Sandakan, Tawau as well as Sarawak. "The meeting with the CM was also to relay if we can get Terminal 2, we can grow to 15 million passengers (from the current eight million passengers), our estimate is to create 33,000 jobs and bring in RM150bil into Sabah's economy. It is such a waste to see the empty terminal. "If you move us back, it also allows Terminal 1 to bring in more airlines like Qatar Airways and Emirates, so you need to do this to release capacity," he added. Asked about the current development for such discussions, Tony said he remained optimistic and believed they are "making headway" as the Transport Ministry is opened to talks. Asked about Shafie's response to shifting AirAsia's operations back to Terminal 2, he said,"I think he is supportive, but the ball is in Malaysia Airports (court). It is something the state and federal level have to work out. "But one of the reasons why the idea was put (on the backburner) because there was talk about building a new airport in Kota Kinabalu. "But that would take five to seven years to materialise. That is why we continued the discussion about Terminal 2," he added. He said expanding the airport's capacity was crucial in conjunction with Visit Malaysia 2020. AirAsia currently operates 511 weekly flights into Kota Kinabalu. Source: The Star Online
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