The VISITORS’ PERCEPTIONS OF ORGANIZING STREET DANCE COMPETITION IN PROMOTING DOMESTIC TOURISM

Abstract

This article discusses the outcome of a research on tourism promotion through events where the survey was conducted at Borneo Street Dance (BSD) 2012 in Sabah, one of states in Malaysia, and it was organised by the Ministry of Tourism Malaysia. The event was held to promote domestic tourism and to attract youth participation in performing art where they could showcase their talents and creativity. The findings of this research suggested that event such as BSD was able to attract interest and participation among youth from all over the state and this contributed to the promotion of domestic tourism. The event is also able to attract youth’s interest to fill their free time with beneficial and favorable activities while exposing them to ethnic diversity in the highly diverse culture of namely Sabah, Sarawak and the Federal Territory of Labuan. This is where the event could foster tolerance and understanding on the diverse ethnic among the youth in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan and thought to be beneficial to domestic tourism. The research concluded that the event such as BSD should be made to be an annual event to enhance the promotion of domestic tourism industry in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan among young travellers and Visiting Friend and Relative (VFR) that tied with the event and eventually enhancing the sustainability of the tourism industry in Malaysian Borneo.