By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Aug 19: The Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) has been named the Grand Title Winner in the Marketing category at the 2026 PATA Gold Awards for its Sarawak Guinness World Record – Longest GPS Journey by Successive Drones initiative.
The award was presented at the PATA Gold Awards 2026 Gala Dinner held here yesterday (Aug 18), in conjunction with PATA Travel Mart (PTM) 2026 organised by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA).
According to a media release, the award recognises STB among leading organisations in the Asia Pacific travel and tourism industry for an innovative campaign that used emerging technology and a record-breaking aerial relay to promote Sarawak.
The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), in announcing this year’s winners, said 26 award categories recognised outstanding campaigns and initiatives across Marketing, as well as Sustainability and Social Responsibility.
STB was selected as the Grand Title Winner in Marketing, while the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Culture and Tourism Development, China, received the Grand Title Winner award in the Sustainability and Social Responsibility category.
On Dec 31, 2025, Sarawak officially secured a Guinness World Record for the longest GPS journey by successive drones after completing an unbroken aerial relay covering 1,706.7 kilometres across the State.
The historic flight comprised 128 continuous flight segments spanning the length of Sarawak, while capturing extensive aerial footage of the State’s diverse landscapes. The achievement provided a creative and high-impact platform to promote Sarawak ahead of Visit Malaysia Year 2026.
PATA chief executive officer Noor Ahmad Hamid said the Gold Awards continued to highlight creativity, innovation and commitment towards building a stronger and more sustainable tourism industry.
“This year’s submissions were among the strongest we have seen, reflecting the remarkable efforts of PATA members and the wider industry in pursuing excellence,” he said.
He said the winning entries demonstrated how bold ideas could create lasting impact, ranging from innovative marketing and emerging technologies to conservation, climate action, inclusion and community empowerment.
“They set new benchmarks for excellence and demonstrate tourism’s potential as a force for positive change,” he said.
Noor also congratulated the winners and commended the independent judging committee for ensuring a rigorous and fair evaluation process.
The 2026 winners were selected by an independent judging committee comprising senior tourism professionals, academics, researchers and industry experts from across the Asia Pacific region and beyond.
Meanwhile, Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, director of the Macao Government Tourism Office, congratulated the winners, saying their projects demonstrated the power of tourism in highlighting and building a better future for communities.
The PATA Gold Awards recognise excellence across a wide range of disciplines, including destination and industry marketing, emerging technology, climate action, conservation, human capital development, community-based tourism, inclusivity, and youth and women empowerment.
In the Sustainability and Social Responsibility category, the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Culture and Tourism Development was recognised for its “Millennial Whispers of Stone, Shared Preservation of Heritage – Sustainable Development Program for the Systematic Conservation, Research, and Dynamic Inheritance of the Dazu Rock Carvings”.
The Dazu Rock Carvings, an outstanding example of late Chinese grotto art, were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1999.
The initiative integrates conservation, research, revitalisation and heritage inheritance through scientific protection, academic research, adaptive reuse, community participation and international cooperation to support the site’s long-term preservation and sustainable development. — DayakDaily
