Sabah’s Community Based Tourism Roadshow 2023 will occur on 27-29 November at the Sabah International Convention Centre. The CBTR2023 event will see several international experts and a larger number of participants, all in an effort to promote rural destination offerings.
CBTR 2023 is organised by the Sabah Tourism Board and will coincide with the 6th World Tourism Conference (WTC), which is expected to attract over 3,000 domestic and international visitors to the event.
Community Based Tourism Roadshow 2023
Sabah Tourism Board chairman Datuk Joniston Bangkuai, who presided over the first CBTR 2022 main organising committee meeting, said that the upcoming roadshow is an opportunity for tour operators and rural tourism product operators to get together and discuss how to package rural destinations for new markets better.
Datuk Joniston, who is also Assistant Minister of Tourism, Culture, and Environment, also said;
“Our objective is not only to reach out to the locals but also to exhibit the tourism offerings of our rural areas to WTC delegates in the hopes of encouraging them to travel to these places during their time in Sabah. “It is our aim that this time’s CBTR would offer our rural tourism operators the much-needed exposure and put our hidden attractions into the international market,”
The Community Based Tourism Roadshow will be participated by 27 districts and 11 sub-districts, including the various Ministries, government and private agencies, and tourism-related associations.
The COBT2023 roadshow will be exhibiting and marketing new tourism products in each district and sub-district in Sabah in collaboration with district offices and registered district tourism associations.
The program also intends to highlight the distinctiveness of Sabah culture, traditional food, and indigenous handicrafts. In addition, there will be an international forum on community-based tourism featuring local speakers from neighbouring countries of Thailand and Indonesia.
Aimed at providing an alternative source of income for the rural folks, Sabah’s community based tourism concept has grown rapidly since its inception in 2014 with the pilot projects in Kiulu and Kadamaian. This concept is widely regarded as one of the state’s strongest rural products.
The Sabah Tourism Board has been instrumental in assisting in expanding the concept to other districts, which has resulted in several CoBT operators receiving accolades for international recognition. According to Joniston, Sabah now has more than 100 CoBTs and is regarded as a pioneer of the initiative, with several States in the peninsula sending delegations to learn more about the concept.
Last year during COBT2022, the main forum discussion was focused on Advancing Rural Tourism Prosperity. This was to highlight and uplift the well-being of destination communities through CoBT. Apart from that, there were cultural performances, sports and quizzes throughout the event.
In 2017, four districts took part in the roadshow; the following year, in 2018, fourteen districts participated. 2022 saw a total of 19 districts participating at the roadshow, and for this year, in 2023, a whopping 27 districts from all over Sabah will be participating.
Conclusion
And for those interested, the 6th WTC takes place from Nov 28-30 at SICC (Sabai International Convention Centre), where a total of 700 international and local participants are anticipated to attend the conference jointly organised by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture and the United Nations World Tourism Organisation.
For those who would like to join the Community Based Tourism Roadshow 2023, stay tuned as once the official news and registration process are announced, I will update this article. Otherwise, you can also visit the Sabah Tourism Board website or contact them at +6 088 212121 during working hours.