Convention bureau: Sabah tourism must reinforce promo efforts to match lodging growth

KOTA KINABALU (Jan 17): Sabah’s tourism industry must strengthen joint promotion efforts and present itself as a united destination if it is to compete effectively ahead of the Visit Malaysia 2026 (VM2026) campaign.

According to Sabah Convention Bureau chief executive officer Noredah Othman, with more hotel rooms coming on stream in this city, the growing supply must be matched by stronger and more coordinated marketing; otherwise, the state could face intense competition from neighbouring destinations that are already aggressive in their promotions.

“The more rooms we have, the more important it is to strengthen our promotion,” she said when met after the soft launch of Howard Johnson by Wyndham Kota Kinabalu on Friday.

“We are not alone in destination marketing. Our neighbours are very strong in promotion and marketing, so we need to increase our efforts and support every player, whether in convention facilities or tourism operations,” she added.

Noredah stressed that Sabah’s tourism stakeholders including hoteliers, tour operators, convention facilities and government agencies should avoid working in silos.

“Instead, we promote the destination collectively. We should go out as a team. We are selling the destination, not individual products.

“Businesses are not going to fall into our laps. We have to go out there, look for opportunities and secure them. Competition is very stiff,” she said.

Noredah said the bureau continued to encourage industry players and suppliers to actively pursue business opportunities, particularly in the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) sector, where global competition had been intensifying.

Looking ahead to the planned Visit Sabah 2027 campaign, she reiterated that collaboration between the public and private sectors would be critical in positioning Sabah as a strong and credible destination on the international stage.

“If we go out as a team, we are able to sell the destination together and be featured as a very strong destination.

“I hope hoteliers would come on board and promote with us, not just the tourism board or the convention bureau, but the whole ecosystem, including government agencies and the private sector.”

Nonetheless, Noredah regarded service quality as still being a decisive factor for tourists and business event organisers alike.

“It’s not just about the tourism product. Service is very, very important in tourism and in the MICE business,” she added.

Also present at the event were Sabah Tourism Board deputy chief executive officers Humprey Ginibun and Josephine Chai, and the owners of Howard Johnson by Wyndham Kota Kinabalu, Datuk Aruldas Arulandu.