Published: Wednesday June 2, 2010 MYT 8:09:00 PM

Sabah to host World Tourism Conference

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah will host the prestigious World Tourism Conference (WTC) on Oct 4-6, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman said.

He said the event would provide opportunities for the state's tourism sector to showcase Sabah's assets to the international delegations and provide avenue for stakeholders to participate.

Musa said the federal government had approved an allocation of RM500,000 to the Tourism Ministry to organise the event.

"We welcome and thank the federal government, especially the Tourism Ministry, for suggesting that the event be hosted by Sabah," he told reporters after chairing the state cabinet meeting, here Wednesday.

He said the WTC 2007, hosted by Kuala Lumpur, attracted 826 participants from 72 countries, including 13 ministerial-level participations.

"This will bring about positive impact to the state's tourism sector. We hope that participations would be as many as the WTC 2007 in Kuala Lumpur," he said.

According to the WTC website, the conference, organised by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, was held for the first time in Manila, the Philippines in 1980, followed by Acapulco, Mexico in 1982.

After an absence of 25 years, the WTC returned for the third time in Kuala Lumpur in 2007. - Bernama

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