Joniston (eighth right) and Manoharan (seventh left) in a group photo after a discussion engagement in Putrajaya, yesterday.
PUTRAJAYA: The Sabah Tourism Board (STB) and Tourism Malaysia held a fruitful engagement here, including discussions on the need to align tourism promotion strategies following the extension of the Visit Malaysia campaign to end-2027.
STB was led by Chairman Datuk Joniston Bangkuai, who is also Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister of Sabah, while Tourism Malaysia was represented by its Chairman Datuk Manoharan Periasamy.
In the meeting yesterday, Manoharan briefed the Sabah delegation on Tourism Malaysia’s current focus, citing the geopolitical situation as a key factor behind a stronger emphasis on domestic tourism and the ASEAN region as priority markets under the revised campaign period.
Joniston said STB would support continued coordination to ensure consistency in promotional direction between federal and state tourism initiatives.
He said both parties recognised the importance of regular engagement to support success of Visit Malaysia Year and Visit Sabah 2027.
“With the Visit Malaysia campaign now extended, it is important that we align our efforts so that Sabah’s strengths are effectively positioned within the broader national strategy.
“This alignment will ensure that Sabah is clearly represented within Malaysia’s overall tourism direction,” he said after the meeting.
Joniston added that Sabah would continue to emphasise cultural and nature-based tourism under its Visit Sabah 2027 campaign, with key cultural events such as Kaamatan playing a central role in strengthening destination identity.
Tourism Malaysia had expressed support for Sabah’s direction and indicated its readiness to facilitate promotional efforts, including providing advertising space in strategic locations to enhance visibility of Sabah’s tourism campaigns.
The meeting also discussed administrative coordination for tourism grant applications, with Tourism Malaysia suggesting that submissions include endorsement letters from state government to streamline evaluation processes.
Joniston said that Sabah would assist in endorsing qualified applicants who meet the grant requirements, in line with established criteria, as part of efforts to strengthen coordination between state and federal tourism initiatives.
Present at the meeting were Tourism Malaysia Head of Secretariat for Visit Malaysia Year Mohd Akbal Setia; Tourism Malaysia Corporate Communications Director Yasmin Faezah Samsudin; STB Deputy Chairman Datuk K L Tan; Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry’s Deputy Permanent Secretary Mary Malangking; STB Chief Marketing Officer Josephine Chai; STB Special Officer Normegawati Baiduri Sapian; STB Head of Research Angeline Engchuan; and STB Head of Digital and Communications David Michael.
