Good time for tourism players to do renovations – minister

KOTA KINABALU: Now is a good time for tourism industry players to do renovations and produce new products in preparation of tourist arrivals.

Although it may not be appropriate to talk about tourist arrivals now, Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Nancy Shukri said the industry must be prepared.

“We have to dream for tourists to come. This is a good time to do renovations and add on new cultural products. Like the impending Sabah cultural village.

“Even though Sabah, like Sarawak, has always been connected with culture, this is the first time Sabah is going to have its own cultural village.

“We have to make sure that we have solid, new infrastructure because want to make sure that when tourists come, we are prepared for them.

“Now is a good time for renovations, for repurposing. We want to see Sabah improve in that sense because Sabah has everything,” she said.

She spoke to reporters after a courtesy visit to Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, during which they discussed strategies to strengthen cooperation between the federal and state tourism ministries.

She also witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) and the National Visual Arts Development Board (NVADB), to spur and encourage the development of the visual arts ecosystem in the country. The impending cooperation is expected to be realised via the UMS Azman Hashim Gallery.

The Minister hoped with the Azman Hashim Gallery, art activities in Sabah will be nurtured and revived in an effort to support the tourism industry, in addition to becoming a new attraction to local art enthusiasts.

“With the signing of this MoU, cooperation between the two organisations can be done through strategic data and information sharing, about arts and culture. With the expertise of the NVADB, data and information sharing will have added value through the UMS Azman Hashim Gallery.

In the same event, the National Art Gallery launched its latest initiative through the Malaysia Art Trail, to map the art ecosystem in all states throughout Malaysia.

Among those listed in Sabah are the Azman Hashim Gallery and the Sabah Art Gallery, with the potential to become an art tourist attraction, in addition to 59 locations throughout the state which comprise public artwork, art halls, galleries, studios and residencies.