Tourism Ambassador of Sabah

The Sabah government has appointed Datuk Lee Chong Wei as its Tourism Ambassador from October 2021 to December 2022 [Malay Mail]. Following the announcement of the appointment, I've noticed a number of facebook posts, as well as forwarded WhatsApp messages on the subject. 

Apparently, many Sabahans do not agree with the appointment - or at least question the appointment - as they consider that Datuk Lee is not qualified to be the Tourism Ambassador of Sabah on grounds that he is not a Sabahan, and he is not very knowledgeable on places of interest and tourism products in Sabah. They are of the view that there are many Sabahans who are well-versed with our tourism products in Sabah and therefore more qualified for the job. It is for that reason that they believe that whatever that is paid to Datuk Lee, it is a waste of resources, because such payment could be put to better use by paying a Sabahan who is very knowledgeable about Sabah instead.

While I am convinced that we have many, many Sabahans who are walking textbooks on the subject of Sabah tourism and very experienced in the local tourism sector, tourism knowledge and experience are unfortunately not the primary requirements to be an effective Tourism Ambassador. I can understand the sentiment of the patriotic Sabahans, but the appointment has nothing much to do with tourism knowledge and experience.

The role and purpose of the Tourism Ambassador is to attract people from abroad to visit Sabah. He does this with the help of his fame, not so much with his knowledge and experience on Sabah tourism. He is well known all over the world, even if his fame is not in the field of tourism. The most important thing is that because of his fame people tend to notice him. When he speaks of Sabah, that will give rise to curiosity in the minds of his followers which may eventually lead to the desire to visit Sabah.

I am not saying that knowledge and experience on tourism are not important. Of course they are. But those come later, after the foreigners have been lured to come. Promoting tourism is a lot like selling a book. 

Before buying a book, we read the synopsis and comments on the back cover of the book. That is where the reader will get a general overview of what the book is all about; something that will whet his appetite. If the synopsis is well-written, it would rouse the reader's interest and may well convince him to buy the book. And only after he has bought the book will he then get the details which are contained in the book itself.

Datuk Lee, in his role as the Tourism Ambassador of Sabah, is a lot like the synopsis found on the back cover of the book. There is very little information there about the whole story. What's there is just enough to attract the buyer's attention and perhaps capture his imaginations. Once the reader has decided to buy the book, the synopsis has done its job successfully and it ends there. It is then up to the content of the book to live up to its role in satisfying what the reader is looking for. The many knowledgeable and experienced Sabahan tourism experts are like the content of the book. Datuk Lee, as the Tourism Ambassador, lures the foreign visitors to Sabah; and then it's entirely up to the Sabahans to service those visitors satisfactorily.

Of course it would be great if we have a world renown Sabahan celebrity like Datuk Lee who can also command the kind of followers like he does. Such a Sabahan can also pass the requirement as the tourism ambassador. Perhaps he can be next in line for the job after December 2022. But for now, as a pure Sabahan, I have no problem whatsoever on the appointment of Datuk Lee Chong Wei as the Tourism Ambassador of Sabah.