Suzaini new Sabah Tourism Board GM
KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Tourism Board (STB) will be led by a new general manager with effect from Monday (Jan 1).
Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said the board’s deputy general manager (marketing) Suzaini Sabdin Ghani, who has more than 20 years of experience in senior positions of an international hotel prior to joining STB, will replace Gordon Yapp, who will retire today.
“As head of marketing, Suzaini has spearheaded the transformation of STB’s marketing strategies to be more focused, result-oriented and lower marketing expenses.
“For the last two years, we have been working hard to transform STB to strive for excellence by embracing private sector’s work ethics and culture,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Masidi said STB had helped the state yield better results in terms of tourist arrivals last year despite working on low marketing costs.
He said 2016 was a record breaking year in terms of tourist arrivals and was confident the state performed better this year.
Meanwhile, Masidi said his ministry created a new bureau known as the Sabah Convention Bureau, which will be helmed by Yapp as chief executive officer.
The minister said the bureau was created in anticipation of the completion of the new Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC), expected by the fourth quarter of next year.
“Availability of world class facilities at SICC would allow STB to focus on the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) market, which would earn Sabah more tourism receipts.
“The importance and strength of this new segment of the tourism industry must be built from now and Yapp will assist and work together with the owner of SICC to prepare and market SICC and generally secure more MICE business to Sabah,” he said.
SICC is owned by Innoprise Corporation Sdn Bhd, an investment arm of the Sabah Foundation. - Bernama