Borneo Nature Tours Clinches Two Top ASEAN Tourism Awards
- nabalunews
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
30 January 2026
KOTA KINABALU: Borneo Nature Tours won two prestigious honours at the 35th ASEAN Tourism Association (ASEANTA) Tourism Awards of Excellence held in Cebu, the Philippines.
At the presentation ceremony on 27 January, the Yayasan Sabah Group subsidiary secured the Best ASEAN Cultural Preservation Effort Award and the Best ASEAN Eco-Lodge Award, marking a significant achievement for Sabah’s nature-based tourism sector.
Its flagship property, the Borneo Rainforest Lodge in Danum Valley, Lahad Datu, claimed two of the nine awards presented, outperforming leading eco-lodges and hotels from across the region.
Borneo Rainforest Lodge Chief Executive Officer Freddie Coleman, who accepted the awards on behalf of the company, said the recognition further reinforced the lodge’s reputation for delivering high-quality eco-nature experiences while safeguarding Borneo’s rainforest and cultural heritage.
“This recognition affirms our commitment to balancing tourism excellence with conservation,” he said.
On cultural preservation, Coleman noted that the lodge actively supports local communities by providing employment and training that meet international standards, in addition to supporting various community programmes and research centres.
“In the long term, we aspire to be a leader in nature tourism and to contribute meaningfully to the sustainable development of the rainforest,” he added.
ASEANTA comprises tourism organisations from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The annual awards serve as a regional platform to showcase best practices, promote collaboration within the tourism industry and encourage the replication of proven initiatives across ASEAN destinations.
The evaluation process is conducted by tourism leaders from across Southeast Asia, with ASEANTA acting as the custodian of the awards programme.
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