| James Kon |
INTERNATIONAL speakers and experts will be sharing their expertise with local tourism stakeholders at the upcoming International Tourism Conference and Exhibition 2018, in a bid to further develop sustainable tourism and conserve heritage.
The conference, themed ‘Tourism and Heritage: The Asean and Borneo Context,’ is being organised for the first time by The Borneo Studies Network – a body comprised of 12 major universities and research institutions in Borneo and its secretariats – and will be held at the Pengiran Anak Puteri Rashidah Sa’adatul Bolkiah Institute of Health Sciences of Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) from January 16 – 17. It will be open to the public from 9am to 5pm.
Details of the conference were yesterday revealed at a press conference by Dayangku Dr Noor Hasharina binti Pengiran Haji Hassan, the Head of The Borneo Studies Network Secretariat Office and Deputy Director of the Institute of Asian Studies, UBD.
In her remarks, UBD Acting Vice Chancellor Dr Joyce Teo Siew Yean noted that “The tourism sector plays a key role in contributing to the GDP of the country. We are happy to host the conferences that were pieced together with the help of the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism.”
Dayangku Dr Noor Hasharina, who is the conference chair, meanwhile added, “Tourism has been identified as one of the means of diversifying our economy. Based on the speakers and experts we have invited – some of them started from the grassroots level in the tourism sector – we want to learn how they, from the community level, develop their tourism products and services.”
She called on local entrepreneurs to participate in the exhibition to showcase their products and services to visitors.
Among the major topics to be addressed at the conference sessions include Tourism in the Development Agenda, Innovative Planning/Strategies for Sustainable Tourism, Identity and Heritage Conservation, Niche Tourisms, Perspectives on Tourism Promotion, and Lessons for Tourism Planning and Development, Dayangku Dr Noor Hasharina revealed.
Commenting further on the event, which is more than just an academic conference targeted at researchers, she said, “We have also sought to involve and engage with tourism stakeholders, governments, private sector companies and tourism industry service providers especially through the dialogue session to take place on January 17 titled ‘Tourism in the Digital Age and Trends in Eco-Tourism’, as well as the cultural heritage tourism and exhibition.”
With regard to the event’s theme, ‘Tourism and Heritage: The Asean and Borneo Context,’ she explained: “Here we will be looking at and discussing the link between tourism and heritage, all the way from Asean to Borneo and Brunei as well.”
A keynote address on ‘Asean Tourism and Heritage: Issues, Problem and Prospects’ will be delivered by Victor T King, Professor of Borneo Studies at the Institute of Asian Studies, UBD following the opening ceremony of the conference on January 16.
Dayangku Dr Noor Hasharina finished by saying that she hopes the event will turn out to be a medium to catalyse the expansion of tourism both here in Brunei and the neighbouring Bornean states as well.
For further information on the event, the public are advised to contact UBD through email at itce.bsn@ubd.edu.bn or bsn@ubd.edu.bn.
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