NBT's Year of the Tiger displays expected to attract tourists

TRUE to its yearly tradition, NBT (Brunei) Sdn Bhd showroom in Gadong was last night lit up with a mixture of red and gold lights to ushers in the upcoming Chinese New Year that is to be celebrated on February 14.

The official opening ceremony was done by the Director of Tourism Development Department, Sheikh Jamaluddin Sheikh Mohamed who told The Brunei Times that the annual festive displays at NBT that were done to commemorate eachfestive celebrations in Sultanate, was "very good for Brunei Tourism".

"The last one that they did with the Christmas displays have attracted a lot of visitors from across the border, from Sabah and Sarawak," he said.

Stating that the displays were a good addition to the Brunei tourism industry, he also applauded NBT for carrying out their corporate responsibility.

"I hope other big corporations would follow this example and come out with similar. We need to celebrate a lot of festivities as this is an advantage for tourism," he said.

Asked how the other corporations can follow suit, he said that it was entirely up to them.

"They have their own venues and can do this in separate places. I know that NBT has been doing this for many years and I appreciate it," he said.

Sheikh Jamaluddin added: "We can show the world that Brunei respects other races and that we are a tolerant nation."

This is the second time that Sheikh Jamaluddin has been invited to officially turn on the festive lights at NBT, and he commented that this year's design was more dramatic than the last one.

"This year's displays highlight the famous rock mountains in Guilin, China and the Tiger characters (to commemorate the Year of the Tiger)," he said.

He said that the displays offer the public an opportunity to experience the Chinese festivities.

"It's just like the Christmas decorations, you can feel the snow during Christmas so hopefully during Hari Raya you will be able to see and experience the Malay culture,"he said.

Additionally, the director said that he "hope 2010 will be a great year for everyone and that he would like everyone to look after their health".

When the switch was turn on, the director and the members of the public can hear the sound of the firecrackers filling night air that marked the beginning of the Chinese festivities and the colourful decorations giving life and colours to the displays.

Tiger is the main character of this year's displays.

Two stairs were placed at the sides to enable visitors to go up and take pictures. NBT displays celebrate various celebrations here.

The Brunei Times