| James Kon |
BRUNEIANS do not need to go overseas this year to celebrate their year-end holiday as the upcoming Brunei December Festival 2017 has plenty of fabulous offers and attractions to make them stay in the country itself.
There are already a total of 34 activities confirmed and many more are expected to be lined up for the month-long festival for locals and tourists to indulge in.
The details of the festival and the list of events were revealed by Wardi bin Haji Mohammad Ali, Deputy Permanent Secretary (Tourism) at the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism (MPRT) yesterday during a meeting with representatives of local media to discuss the various approaches of promoting the events.
A first-of-its-kind initiative spearheaded by the Government of His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam with the support of various stakeholders, the Brunei December Festival aims to boost domestic tourism by encouraging international visitors to choose Brunei as one of their preferred holiday destinations.
Among the events planned for the mega festival include International Food Festival, Brunei Salebration, School Camping Holiday, Creative Arts Festival, The Brunei Islamic Tour Experience, Karnival Cinta Rasul, Muslim Youth Camp, DST Carnival, One Village One Product stalls, Paintball Target Shooting, Motocross Challenge, Brunei E-Sports Tournament, Brunei Off Road Challenge, 4×4 Jamboree, Spotlight Brunei, Yes Letop, Brunei Film Blitz 2017, Bandarku Ceria Festival Seni Belia among others.
The deputy permanent secretary added that most of these events will be hosted annually and additional events are in the pipeline.
He also highlighted one of the main events, Mahligai Impian, the first mass wedding event to be held in Brunei Darussalam and BMW has agreed to become the official transport partner to ferry the couples in BMW cars. “Brunei Darussalam is a unique destination which many people around the world have yet to discover. We have pristine forests, clean environment and people with warm hospitality,” he said.
He also revealed that since July 1 this year, Chinese tourists have been given multiple entry visa, so that they can also visit the neighbouring state of Malaysia. Currently, Chinese make up the second largest number of tourists to Brunei while Malaysians are still ranked number one. The number of Korean tourists is also picking up and around 9,000 Koreans have already visited Brunei this year.
For further information on the Brunei December Festival, members of the public can log on to www.bruneitourism.travel.
The post Stay home to enjoy holiday delights this year appeared first on Borneo Bulletin Online.