BCCK, Orchidwoods to host BIGEXS next month

Abdul Karim (second right) presses a button on the iPad to launch BIGEXS 2023 – Photo by Roystein Emmor

KUCHING (Feb 22): Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) and Orchidwoods will be hosting the inaugural Borneo International Garden Expo Sarawak (BIGEXS) here next month.

To take place at BCCK from March 17 to 19, Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah hoped the the event could attract about 20,000 visitors.

The timely establishment of BIGEXS, he added, would provide opportunities for domestic garden lovers, as well as a unique platform for the industry players to showcase the latest product and services, and to gain further insight and knowledge in the untapped market.

“This expo will also drive both domestic and regional tourism to Kuching and Sarawak as a whole, and is also in tandem with the strategy toward value-addition to generate tourism economy as outline in the Post Covid-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030 action plan,” he said at the launching ceremony of the event at BCCK here yesterday.

Abdul Karim said BIGEXS 2023 will bring about RM4.4 million in direct and indirect economic impact during the three-day expo, adding that it would bring a phenomenal media mileage for Kuching especially through social media and influencer coverage.

He said the Expo would also increase the tourism arrivals to Sarawak in the next 5 years for this event and eventually, growing into a new tourist attraction event, something similar as the Rainforest World Music Festival.

“BIGEXS will become a platform to disseminate and learn the latest trends and technology and create opportunities for the exchange of information and ideas amongst exhibitors, regional expert growers and the public,” he said.

BIGEXS 2023 aims to feature Borneo’s unique nature, and horticulture as a passion project for like-minded individuals from within the region with the purpose of promoting Sarawak as one of the horticulture hubs in this region.

It will feature a unique garden display, marketplace, international food market, fashion shows, pop up boutiques for art and crafts, talks and seminars by renowned botanists, cooking demonstrations of  edible plants, and fringe events by Society Atelier Sarawak and many more under one roof.

Renowned botanist and taxonomist Dr Peter Boyce is one of the speakers for BIGEX

Other notable international celebrity exhibitors include owner of Live with Plant, Sappasiri Chaovanich, world’s best Vanda and Asco hybridiser Adisak Hongslip and Hainan-based ornamental plant-producing company, Dongfang Tengful Horticulture Biotech Ltd – to name a few.

For more information about the expo, visit BIGEXS 2023 website at www.bigexs.com.my or follow BIGEXS Facebook and Instagram page for latest update.