Bandar Seri Begawan – The launching of the Brunei Food Festival
yesterday is expected to create a platform for SMEs (Small and Medium
Enterprises) to grow and to increase employment within the Sultanate,
according to Brunei Tourism CEO and HEM Event Management’s Marketing
Executive.
In an interview with The Brunei Times, Brunei Tourism CEO Sheikh
Jamaluddin Sheikh Mohamed said that he was pleased to see tourism
stakeholders involved in the food festival.
“Brunei Tourism is supporting this event and it is great to see Bruneians promoting local delicacies and commerce,” he said.
Sheikh Jamaluddin added: We (Brunei Tourism) are not just looking
into the arrival of tourists into the country, but to also focus on new
businesses incubated in tourism. Also, the key performance indicator
for tourism is the fact that employment will increase when generated by
tourism in Brunei.
HEM Event Management’s Marketing Executive, who wished to be known
as James said that this was the first time the company had organised
Brunei’s Food Festival.
“This is a good platform to showcase local products. We need to
encourage local people to boost the promotion of local food, and
perhaps after this we can look into exporting these local products,” he
said, adding that he hoped the festival would spur the growth of SMEs
(Small and Medium Enterprises). James said he was pleased to see so
many locals arriving to visit the booths, especially since the food
festival was outdoors.
“This is a very good response from the public and I am very pleased
because most Bruneians do not like to go outdoors. However, this is
only the first day and a lot of people are coming which is great,” he
said.
The marketing executive added that plans were already under way for organising next year’s food festival.
buying a product from a vendor (L) after the opening of the Brunei Food
Festival yesterday at the National Indoor Stadium parking area.
He said: “We are already planning for next year’s food festival to be
different. We will try to upgrade and carry out a different concept
such as having the event at the ICC because we want to have more stalls
involved.”
In inaugurating the annual event, Yang Amat Mulia (YAM) Pengiran
Anak Khairul Khalil Pengiran Syed Hj Jaafari was present as the guest
of honour. After the ribbon and cake-cutting ceremony to signify the
start of the festival, the guest of honour proceeded to tour the stalls
displaying a variety of local products and delicacies.
A total of 52 vendors will be participating in this year’s Brunei
Food Festival, comprising of 24 SMEs and other food and beverage
companies.
The festival kick-started yesterday at the National Indoor Stadium and will end on August 9.
— Courtesy of The Brunei Times
