Sabah Tourism Board pushes sensory travel experience to ignite consumers' imagination

Sabah Tourism Board has curated an audio to offer listeners the chance to explore Sabah using their senses and power of imagination. The Sabah Sensory guides listeners through a series of sounds from various locations and events around Sabah.

From the calming sound of the South China Sea waves to the mysterious sounds of the world’s oldest rainforest, the sensory travel experience aims to evoke interest and introduce Sabah in a different manner.

In a statement to A+M, Sabah Tourism Board's spokesperson said the idea for Sabah Sensory came about during a natural language processing training last year and the story line, conceptualising and illustration were done in-house. Meanwhile, the narration and sound effects were done in partnership with a long-term video company, which the spokesperson did not specify. According to the spokesperson, the Sabah Tourism Board aims to showcase this audio at trade or consumer shows, dinners, bidding sessions or even trade presentations. The video will be made available on YouTube and Facebook.

Noredah Othman, GM of Sabah Tourism Board, said the team is always looking for a creative way to promote Sabah. "This sensory experience will elevate listeners’ experience in a uniquely interactive way by igniting their imagination. They can enjoy a glimpse of the wonders they can anticipate when visiting Sabah," she added.

Noredah said despite the challenges, the board will continue its ongoing efforts to bring its fans closer to the land, either virtually or via another interactive way possible.

"Visual senses are undeniably more appealing to the audience, but playing with our other senses is fun too. The sensory audio will make ‘travelling’ to Sabah more accessible than ever, and those from near or far will be able to enjoy a sense of Sabah," she added.

Just last month, it extended help to the private sector by launching a new corporate site showcasing data for the travel industry as well as marketing activities and media and resources for tourism development. The site also serves to provide industry support primarily on business events, promotion, and the marketing of Sabah as a tourism destination. Meanwhile earlier this year, it unveiled its new branding, Enchanting Sabah, conceptualised by its communication and digital division. The rebranding process began internally when the tourism board asked employees to create a logo that can best represent the state. The process took about six months from conceptualising to deciding on the new logo.