Joniston (centre, in blue jacket) after the briefing on the expo by Missun (fourth from left) and Ombak members.
KOTA KINABALU: A 24-hour tourism expo dubbed the "Longest Non-stop Live Broadcasting Tourism Fair" is on the cards in Sabah.
It is initiated by the Sabah Tamparuli Bamboo Music Orchestra Association (Ombak), which also aims to get the event into the Malaysia Book of Records.
The expo is set to feature 48 local tourism operators offering their respective destinations and attractions, Ombak programme director Stanley Missun said here on Tuesday (July 5).
He said the 24-hour event would be from Aug 6 to 7 with the closing ceremony scheduled for Aug 14.
"The purpose of this programme is to contribute to the state's effort to stimulate the economic and tourism sectors.
"In addition to that, it is part of the association's preparations to present Sabah traditional music and dance at an upcoming international folklore festival in Argentina.
"We want to create an impact in Sabah first," Missun said.
He said Sabah is the only representative from Malaysia and Asia at the World Folklore Festival in which 17 other countries, including Cuba, Chile, Brazil, Panama, Bolivia, Peru, Mexico and Canada, will take part.
Missun, a local influencer with over two million Facebook followers and over 96,000 TikTok followers, was also expected to receive the International Award for Culture and Performing Arts at the festival.
Missun led 13 members of the Ombak team to brief Sabah Tourism Board chairman Datuk Joniston Bangkuai on the event and also invited him to grace the closing ceremony.
Joniston, also the Assistant Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister, commended the association for putting in an effort to promote local tourism operators and raise Sabah’s profile on the international scene.
He was also impressed with the creativity and innovation shown by the association in pursuing positive goals that would make the state proud.
"Part of our objective is to raise awareness of Sabah through the involvement of our people in international festivals.
"We need to expose homegrown talents as they are the ambassadors for Sabah and Malaysia.
"I have no doubt that Sabah will become more well-known around the world as a result of this remarkable performance.
"Sabah Tourism is always ready to provide the required support and to engage with local influencers," he said.
