Kota Kinabalu, 12 October 2020 – Both the Minister and Assistant Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment Sabah, YB Datuk Jafry Arifin and YB Datuk Joniston Bangkuai attended a briefing at Sabah Tourism Board earlier today to gauge the roles and responsibility of this agency under the ministry. The briefing was conducted by Puan Noredah Othman, General Manager of Sabah Tourism Board and also in attendance were Dr Jamili Nais, Permanent Secretary to the Ministry and Senior Managers of Sabah Tourism Board and Sri Pelancongan Sabah.
Among the pertinent matters discussed moving forward was to once again engage with the tourism stakeholders. Besides that, the direction of focusing on high yield tourism is to be studied besides managing the mass tourism arrivals. An emphasis on rural tourism will also take precedence in order to diversify the offerings of tourism products in Sabah and for the rural tourism owners to work closely with the travel agents to package these.
“The travel agents and operators are the key players of the success of the tourism industry and in this time, we need to try and manage their current needs within our means. We also understand that the success of tourism does not happen overnight but is part of a continued effort to grow the industry” emphasized YB Datuk Jafry Arifin.
