Brunei 101 (SPECIAL REPORT: AIME 2008)

MELBOURNE – A lot of people know about Brunei but they don’t have a clue where it is. So said Brunei Tourism’s chief executive officer, Sheikh Jamaluddin Sheikh Mohamed, who is attending his first AIME. And, he added, they don’t know what they can do there.

But Sheikh Jamaluddin sees this as a “plus point” for his country, which is entering the tourism and business events cautiously.

“Everyone has been to Bali and other places, and we offer a tranquil, peaceful country with a small population, excellent infrastructure, and friendly people,” he said.

“Brunei is different from other countries in Southeast Asia. For example, from the capital city you can see the wildlife of Borneo within 30 minutes and that is a big plus for us. And you can visit places like the Water Village, where about 30,000 people live along the river as they have for 600 years.”

As a ‘late starter’ in the tourism industry, Brunei has the benefit of learning from others’ mistakes, he said.

“We appreciate the value of sustainable tourism,” he said. “It is like a fire that can cook your food nicely, or can destroy your house. We have a cautious approach to this industry.”

Sheikh Jamaluddin said Brunei was keen to push the MICE market and was “slowly progressing down that road” with convention groups.

The Brunei International Convention Centre was host to the 2001 ASEAN forum and will also be the venue for ASEAN’s 2010 event. Other major convention venues include the 422-room Empire Hotel and Country Club which has a convention centre and theatre and has hosted major conferences for companies including Amway.

Brunei has about 2500 rooms in 30 establishments ranging from guest houses to the luxury “seven-star” Empire Hotel and Country Club.

New developments of interest to the business events market include the recent privatisation of the Ulu Temburong National Park, which will see an upgrade for the Ulu Ulu Resort to five-star facilities and service, and the opening in early 2009 of a new cultural village in the centre of the Water Village.