THE Sabah government is steadfast in its efforts to restore and develop the tourism sector, as reflected by the RM134.59 million allocation in the 2023 Budget to the state’s Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry.

Chief Minister Hajiji Mohd Noor said the allocation will cover upgrading tourism facilities and human capital development for Community Based Tourism, besides the setting up of the Sabah Convention Bureau (SCB), which will be operational by next year.

“The SCB will accelerate the growth of the tourism industry through tourism-based business events to make Sabah a preferred destination for meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibition/events, which will generate economic activities for the benefit of the hospitality, logistics, aviation and other related sectors,” he said in his speech at the opening of the World Tourism Conference 2022 at the Sabah International Convention Centre in Kota Kinabalu today.

Sabah Local Government and Housing Minister Masidi Manjun read the speech text.

Hajiji said the conference theme “Tourism Futures Reimagined” was timely and apt.

“Since the opening of our borders on April 1, Malaysia – and Sabah for that matter – have been relentless in our pursuit of speeding up our growth and development, particularly in tourism.

“I am happy to know that in-person participation at this conference will put many heads together to address tourism futures and strategies, driving tourism’s recovery and resilience post-pandemic,” he said.

Hajiji also said that although Sabah’s tourism was the worst affected sector this past two years, the state government has not let up in its efforts to manage the challenges.

“The state government dispenses a good budget to cushion the impact and to ensure the healthy development of our tourism industry seeing that tourism generated the biggest revenue for Sabah pre-pandemic,” he added.

The conference, from today until Wednesday, is jointly organised by the Malaysia Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry in partnership with the World Tourism Organisation and the Sabah government.

In its sixth edition this year, the conference brings together 1,000 delegates from more than 60 countries to reconnect and reassess tourism recovery in the aftermath of the worldwide pandemic.

The conference also features 30 speakers comprising government policy makers, industry leaders and leading academics. – Bernama, November 28, 2022.