Sunday, September 02, 2007

Brunei Tourism to promote Heart of Borneo Project at Borneo Conference


Story by Azlan Othman

Brunei Tourism will showcase the much-publicised and highly-praised Heart of Borneo (HoB) conservation project in a presentation for the upcoming Borneo Tourism Conference in Sarawak beginning September 11, the CEO of Brunei Tourism Board told the Bulletin.

Tourism players ranging from tour operators to hoteliers will be taking part in the 4th Borneo Tourism Conference 2007, which will end on September 13.

"I don't want Brunei to be left out in this seminar. We will be presenting a paper on the Heart of Borneo (HoB) rainforest and its uniqueness, as (the upcoming forum) is a good platform to showcase what is available in Brunei," Sheikh Jamaluddin said.

According to the CEO of Brunei Tourism Board, the Sultanate is the only country in Borneo that does not promote logging. He added that there are signs that eco-tourism is booming as more people are interested in nature.

"While in Sarawak, we will be trying to sell Brunei to the tourism players and tell them why they should come to Brunei, how we take care of our environment and how we value the HoB project," he said.

He added that Brunei has been working with its counterparts in Borneo to promote tourism such as organising joint promotions.

The upcoming conference will be a good opportunity for Brunei officials to meet renowned eco-tourism speakers, he said, adding that four officials will be representing the country at the event.

The Borneo Integrated Services and Sarawak Tourism Board are jointly organising the conference with support from Tourism Malaysia Promotion Board, Sabah Tourism Board and Brunei Tourism Board.

Over 120 delegates comprising industry practitioners, national park operators, hoteliers, civil servants and university students from the Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, Brunei, Indonesia and Thailand will be attending.

Sheikh Jamaluddin added that Brunei would also be taking part in other tourism forums in the coming months such as the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) travel mart in Bali, JATA in Japan, as well as trade shows in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin Sunday

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