KOTA KINABALU: The first Commonwealth conference on sport tourism will be held here from tomorrow until Thursday.

It is themed "Sport Tourism and Sustainability: Inter-relationship, Impacts and Issues".

"The conference will discuss how the benefits of sport tourism can be maximised and its negative impacts minimised," said Commonwealth Tourism Centre (CTC) director-general Abdul Rahman Shaari.

Organised by CTC, the conference is supported by the Tourism Ministry, Tourism Malaysia, Sabah Tourism Board, UK's Bournemouth University and Creative Advances Technology of Malaysia.

Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said will deliver a keynote address entitled "The role of government in the business of sport tourism".
Among the participants are Samoa's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Tourism Misa Telefoni Retziaff and ministers of tourism from Cameroon, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and Zambia.

Speakers include Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games bid director Dr Derek Case and executive producer of 2004 Athens Olympics and 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games Andrew Walsh.