Joniston speaking at the CULT press conference.
KOTA KINABALU (July 15): Care and Urban Lifestyle Trends (CULT) exhibition, the first biggest indoor car event in Sabah, has the potential to be one of the signature events to further boost Sabah’s tourism industry.
Assistant Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Joniston Bangkuai said the event will be held from Oct 7 to Nov 9 at Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC), hoping to draw car enthusiasts from all over the world to visit Sabah.
“I believe CULT has the potential to be one of the signature events to further boost Sabah’s tourism industry because if it can become an international event, it will draw car enthusiasts from all over the world to visit Sabah, creating demand for hotels, food, tours and so on.
“This will benefit not only the tourism industry, but also the automotive industry,” he said during CULT exhibition press conference at SICC on Friday.
During his speech, Joniston also said the Ministry of Tourism and Sabah Tourism Board is putting in a lot of effort to ensure the tourism industry will be revitalised with not only better or improved products, but also with new products that can further add value to the industry.
“Now, things are gradually returning to how they were before the pandemic. Conventions and expositions are making a comeback, whether on a small scale or a large scale.
“Our state tourism industry is also experiencing growth following the resumption of international direct flights from South Korea, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand and Brunei,” he said.
Joniston also further explained that the Sabah Tourism Board is also actively working to expand Sabah’s presence in the MICE industry and to identify potential expositions and conventions that we could host and that will attract both domestic and international participants.
“We have successfully invested in the Bird Watching industry by holding the annual Bird Festival and the Borneo Safari International Off-road Challenge. These events are based on our great outdoors and nature landscapes.
“Sabah is moving towards high-end tourism with the construction of SICC – the first dedicated convention centre in the state. It is the largest waterfront purpose-built facility in East Malaysia, laying the groundwork for Sabah to become the top MICE destination in Asia.
“With such a beautiful setting, I strongly support and believe that Sabah’s tourism potential will be further boosted by the development of new annual signature events that can be staged annually to capture special interest groups,” he added.