01/10/2026
“What makes Sarawak unique is not simply our culture, nature, adventure, food or festivals. It is the opportunity for business event groups to experience Sarawak through our people and communities.”
That was how The Honourable Datuk Snowdan Lawan, Deputy Minister for Creative Industry and Performing Arts Sarawak, described the experience we want business events in Sarawak to offer.
On 21–25 September, in conjunction with our 20th Anniversary celebration, we hosted the Sarawak Beyond 2026: Destination Discovery Programme (SBDDP2026), giving media and potential business event organisers a real feel of Sarawak.
Over five days, 25 delegates from Portugal, Hong Kong, Australia, the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia experienced Kuching through a mix of hotel and venue visits, cultural activities, food, wellness, heritage, networking and community engagement.
Of course, there was plenty of fun along the way. But the bigger goal was to help them understand what makes Sarawak different as a business events destination.
For us, that means going beyond the usual sightseeing experience. We wanted our delegates to experience Sarawak through the people, communities and values that shape the destination, while also showing them how familiar parts of an event programme can be done a little differently here.
One example was our Morning Rave, BESarawak’s take on wellness. Delegates started the morning with a sound bath and meditation session, followed by music and movement — a refreshing take on “DJ parties” playing pop and disco favourites. It is not something you commonly see on a business events itinerary, and that was part of what made it special. It was an experience curated specifically for the group and showed how wellness can be approached in a fresh and unexpected way as part of an event in Sarawak.
One of the most meaningful parts of the programme was a session with Heart Treasures Kuching, a social enterprise supporting young people with intellectual disabilities. The session was specially curated at the Borneo Cultures Museum, wheres delegates and the youths took part in an art therapy session, followed by a museum tour and lunch.
This gave the group first-hand experience on how business event groups can connect with local communities in a way that is both meaningful for delegates and valuable to the people they meet.
The programme also showed how Sarawak’s heritage can become part of the event experience. The Brooke Dockyard Industrial Heritage Museum, for example, became the setting for the White Rajah Networking Dinner. This gave our delegates an opportunity to understand more about Sarawak’s heritage while also seeing the potential of the museum as a unique offsite venue for future events.
Sarawak already has plenty to offer through its culture, nature, adventure, food and festivals. What we want to do now is connect these experiences more closely with business events, so delegates can spend time with our people, understand our culture and communities, experience our hospitality and get a genuine sense of what makes Sarawak feel different.
By the end of the five days, our delegates had not only seen what Sarawak could offer on paper. They had experienced it for themselves. They had fun, made connections, discovered new possibilities for their own events and, importantly, had the opportunity to feel Sarawak through the experiences we shared with them.
For BESarawak, that is the kind of experience we want future business events to create: one that is memorable for delegates, meaningful for organisers and valuable for the destination and its communities.
