| Azlan Othman |
GIVING a fresh impetus to tourism development between Brunei and Sabah, a memorandum of cooperation was signed between national carrier Royal Brunei Airlines (RB) and Sabah Tourism Board (STB) on Tuesday.
It is the first of its kind tourism initiative between the Sultanate and the Malaysian state.
The memorandum, which aims to develop joint promotional activities for the inflow of tourists from Melbourne into Borneo, was signed by RB Executive General Manager Brett McDougall and Sabah Tourism Board General Manager Gordon Yapp.
The signing was witnessed by RB Chief Executive Officer Karam Chand and the Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Masidi bin Manjun.
“STB has worked with RB before on several joint promotions, be it for Australian market or long haul markets like UK, therefore this cooperation will further intensify and cement our working relationship for future mutual benefits,” said Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Masidi.
As part of the cooperation, the two parties agreed to cost-share the promotional activities that will centre around stimulating the increase of Australian tourists into Brunei Darussalam and Sabah.
Selected Australian travel agents will be appointed to sell special packages within a time frame, which includes a dedicated Return and Services Leagues (RSL) package to attend the Sandakan Day Memorial Service in Sabah this year.
For higher destination awareness on both Brunei and Sabah, the document also agreed to work with Australian online writers and media to produce online content as well as a promotional e-book.
“Brunei is our closest neighbour from where we received one of our top international arrivals last year. Some of our long haul arrivals, particularly from Australia, traditionally use the Melbourne-Kota Kinabalu route, a connection they have been enjoying for the past few years.
“We are seeing positive results from fresh strategies and new marketing approach, continued awareness on the correct platform combined with the convenient air accessibility by RB, that arrivals from Australia last year increased by 8.7 per cent compared to 2015.
“It is only right that we embark on this memorandum right now to further develop this market segment for both countries. On behalf of the state government, I wish to congratulate both parties on this historical partnership,” added Masidi.
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