Event brief
The inaugural ASEAN Travel Exchange (ATEX) 2025 held earlier this year in June, came at a crucial time for Malaysia, including the state of Sabah, as it aligns closely with the national tourism strategy leading up to Visit Malaysia Year 2026.
The event reinforced Malaysia’s efforts to position itself as a key regional tourism hub, while also showcasing Sabah’s appeal as a destination for both leisure and business events.
Co-organised by ASEAN Tourism Association (ASEANTA), Federation of ASEAN Travel Associations (FATA), and the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA), the event received strong support from the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment Sabah, Sabah Tourism Board, Sabah Convention Bureau, and strategic partners AirAsia Group and Jetama Water.
Event Highlights
ATEX 2025 is the country’s first B2B, private sector-driven travel event of the year, attracting 230 buyers and 120 sellers.
Buyers included tour operators, travel agents, hoteliers, and tourism product owners from 17 countries, including China, India, Nepal, Pakistan, South Korea, Oman, Myanmar, and Vietnam. Sellers were drawn from across ASEAN and represented a wide range of tourism-related sectors including accommodation, transportation, attractions, and destination management services.
Sabah’s minister of tourism, culture and environment, Christina Liew, delivered the chief minister’s prepared opening speech on June 19 as the latter was unable to attend. The programme on the first day also included product presentations from Sabah Parks, Sabah Wildlife, Sabah Convention Bureau, Sabah Tourism Board, AirAsia, ProConnect and Visit Malaysia Year 2026.
The day concluded with a welcome dinner for all delegates at Shangri-La Tanjung Aru, offering delegates from overseas and from peninsular Malaysia a taste of Sabah’s renowned hospitality.
On June 20, the programme shifted to a full day of B2B speed-dating sessions, facilitating targeted meetings between buyers and sellers, before ending with a networking dinner at the hotel.
The event wrapped up with post-show fam tours for many of the hosted buyers, showcasing Sabah’s rich cultural heritage, highlands, and island attractions.
FATA president, Tan Kok Liang, remarked: “The post-tours were designed to give buyers immersive experiences and a deeper understanding of Sabah’s tourism offerings. Many of the local and international buyers who registered for the post-tours are already marketing Sabah in their respective countries, and these first-hand experiences will help them do so more effectively.”
Challenges
Organising the inaugural event was not without its challenges.
Tan shared that one of the biggest hurdles was building the ATEX brand from scratch and securing buy-in from key stakeholders, particularly the Sabah state government who provided financial support to organise the event.
He recalled: “We had several engagement sessions with the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment Sabah to persuade them that this was an event worth investing in. We had to convince the ministry that ATEX could deliver long-term value to the state’s tourism sector.”
Another major challenge was distinguishing ATEX from the abundance of other B2B trade events already established across Asia and beyond.
Tan shared: “ASEANTA, FATA, and MATTA worked together to promote the event through our respective member networks and to travel associations outside the ASEAN region.
“With so many trade shows competing for attention, we had to demonstrate that ATEX would offer genuine business value and networking opportunities for delegates.”
To further encourage participation – especially from small and medium-sized enterprises – the organisers decided to keep the seller registration fee affordable, at just US$100.
“This allowed many smaller operators who usually cannot afford to attend international B2B events to showcase their offerings and connect with international buyers,” Tan added.
Event ASEAN Travel Exchange 2025
Dates June 19-21 2025
Organisers ASEAN Tourism Association, Federation of ASEAN Travel Associations, and Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents
Venue The Magellan Sutera Resort in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah
Number of attendees 350
Downing brings over 30 years of luxury hospitality experience across South-east Asia, Australia, and the Indian Ocean. He most recently led The Siam in Bangkok.
