By Izam Said Ya'akub

Bandar Seri Begawan - The budget allocation for marketing and promotion of Brunei Darussalam's Tourism industry is not $1S million, says Sheikh Jamaluddin Sheikh Mohamed, Director of Brunei Tourism, a figure which is deemed too small by industry insiders.

The $1.5 million which was previously announced in the State Legislative Council Meeting last week, does not reflect the amount allocated for marketing and promotions but for operational costs, says Sheikh Jamaluddin.

"The figure is our operational budget, which includes staff salary and the purchase office equipment," he said.

"For marketing and promotion we have been given $40 million for a period of five years, which is spent on trade shows abroad, familiarisation trips and printing of brochures." This would represent an average figure of $8 million per year which the director is satisfied with.

Sheikh Jamaluddin said that currently with the amount of hotel rooms in Brunei Darussalam and the occupancy rate which has pushed past 50 per cent, he does not want a situation where tourists arrive in Brunei and do not find suitable accommodation.

Brunei Darussalam's tourism industry has considered to have grown, with the Minister of Industry and Primary Resources, Pehin Orang Kaya Setia Pahlawan Dato Seri Dr Awang Haji Ahmad Hj Jumat citing $328 million being contributed to the sultanate's Gross Domestic Product in 2007. This figure dwarfs the $275 million which was recorded by the tourism industry in 2004.-- Courtesy of The Brunei Times