As a part of Visit Malaysia 2020 (VM2020), exciting and special developments are happening in Sabah and the preparations are already in full swing. As a matter of initiation, a prestigious affair is scheduled to be held in Malaysia, as the state is all ready to host the Pata (Pacific Asia Travel Association) Adventure Travel Conference and Mart in the year 2020.

Next year will be the ninth iteration by Pata which will eventually be scheduled to take place between Feb 12-14,2019 in Kota Kinabalu. It is considered to be the region’s leading travel trade event dedicated to the adventure travel industry, with conferences and travel mart components that bring together professionals involved in adventure travel and responsible tourism. Pata has a primary focus to achieve the goal for sustainable development, to strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development.

Datuk Mohamaddin Ketapi, Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister said that this event is a “golden opportunity” to showcase Kota Kinabalu to the world. He added, “We look forward to welcoming our international guests to Malaysia for a fruitful meeting and explorations of the beauty and rugged landscapes of Sabah,”.

Sabah has exceedingly lush rainforests with unique flora and fauna and is eventually a famous tourist destination. There’s a lot of scope of hiking through the countryside, exploring the village life and sinking into observing the mountain peaks. Mount Kinabalu is the highest mountain in Malaysia. Located at the West Coast Division of Sabah, the mountain is protected as Kinabalu Park, a World Heritage Site. Sabah is popular for outdoor activities.

As part of VM2020, the government is targeting 30 million tourists and RM100bil in tourism receipts. At a recent event in Sabah, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng had expressed confidence that the state would contribute to the growth in tourist numbers. Lim said, “Sabah and Sarawak will continue receiving the biggest allocation in Budget 2020 as in the previous budget,”.