Venues & Hospitality

Future Coastal Cities: Advancing Blue Economy, Digital Governance and Urban Resilience

10 – 14 October 2026 · Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

The Dialogue is hosted across Kota Kinabalu’s waterfront and islands — the conference venue, delegate accommodation, and the locations for the site visit, receptions and closing ceremony.

Delegate accommodation

The Magellan Sutera Resort
- 10 minutes from the airport
- 5 minutes from central Kota Kinabalu
- Open in Google Maps (opens in a new tab)
Delegates will be based at The Magellan Sutera Resort, part of the Sutera Harbour Resort complex on Kota Kinabalu's waterfront. The resort's design draws on the longhouse — a traditional communal dwelling built by several of Borneo's indigenous communities, including the Rungus people of northern Sabah, reimagined here as a grand, open-timber lobby that greets guests on arrival.
The resort's 456 rooms and suites each open onto a private balcony overlooking either landscaped gardens or the South China Sea. Just five minutes from central Kota Kinabalu and ten minutes from the airport, it offers delegates an easy, low-friction base for the week, with the reassurance of five-star service throughout, recognised with the 2019 Sabah Tourism Award for Excellence in Hotel Services.
Mayor's Welcome Reception Dinner

Al Fresco, The Magellan Sutera Resort
- Sunday 11 October 2026
- Open in Google Maps (opens in a new tab)
Al Fresco is the resort's open-air seafront restaurant, set along the water's edge with unobstructed views of the South China Sea. The menu blends local Malaysian flavours with international and Mediterranean dishes, a gentle, approachable introduction to Sabahan hospitality for delegates new to the region.
As dusk settles over the harbour, Al Fresco will host the Mayor's Welcome Reception: an evening of cultural performance, warm conversation, and one of Kota Kinabalu's celebrated sunsets, the first opportunity for mayors and delegates from around the world to meet one another in person.
Site visit destination

Gaya Island
- Sunday 11 October 2026
- A short boat ride from the Kota Kinabalu coastline
- Open in Google Maps (opens in a new tab)
Just a short boat ride from Kota Kinabalu's coastline lies Gaya Island, the largest of five islands that make up the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park, a protected marine reserve established in 1974, and one of Malaysia's most accessible showcases of tropical marine biodiversity. Despite sitting only minutes from the city, the island feels worlds away: ancient rainforest meets sandstone cliffs and clear turquoise water, with coral reefs supporting hundreds of species just offshore.
For visiting delegates, many arriving in Sabah for the first time, Gaya Island offers a striking, tangible introduction to the coastal and marine ecosystems that define the region's Blue Economy, the same ecosystems the Dialogue exists to protect and champion.
Site visit, fireside chat and networking lunch

Gaya Island Resort
- Sunday 11 October 2026
- Open in Google Maps (opens in a new tab)
On Gaya Island's Malohom Bay sits Gaya Island Resort, operated by YTL Hotels — a Malaysian hospitality group with a portfolio of award-winning properties across the region, known for pairing five-star comfort with a strong commitment to conservation. The resort's 120 villas and suites are built from local materials, set quietly among rainforest and coastline rather than against it.
At its heart is the Gaya Island Resort Marine Centre, where the resort runs active coral restoration and sea turtle rehabilitation programmes, alongside guided nature trails, a private beach at Tavajun Bay, and a spa set within mangrove forest. For KKIMD delegates, it offers a working example of how tourism, hospitality, and marine conservation can coexist, a theme that will carry directly into the Dialogue's programme on Blue Economy and sustainable coastal development.
Main conference venue

Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC)
- Monday 12 – Tuesday 13 October 2026
- Open in Google Maps (opens in a new tab)
The Dialogue's core programme takes place at the Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC), in the heart of Kota Kinabalu's Central Business District. It is the largest waterfront, purpose-built convention facility in East Malaysia and the largest of its kind on the island of Borneo, spanning six hectares across five levels with over 150,000 square metres of event space, including column-free convention halls, flexible exhibition areas, private VVIP lounges, and an outdoor plaza that opens onto the South China Sea.
With panoramic views of Mount Kinabalu on one side and the sea on the other, SICC gives international delegates an immediate sense of place: a modern, world-class venue built within sight of the natural landscape that shapes Sabah's identity. It is here that mayors, speakers, and delegates will gather for the Dialogue's plenaries, roundtables, and panel discussions on the future of coastal cities.
Sunset dinner venue

Big Fish, Kota Kinabalu Marriott Hotel
- Tuesday 13 October 2026
- Open in Google Maps (opens in a new tab)
On the 15th floor of the Kota Kinabalu Marriott Hotel, Big Fish offers panoramic views over the South China Sea alongside a menu built around fresh, locally caught seafood and a modern take on surf-and-turf. It's a chance for delegates to sample Sabah's coastal cuisine at its best, paired with the city skyline and open water below.
Held as the Dialogue enters its final stretch, the Sunset Dinner at Big Fish offers a relaxed, high-altitude close to the conference days, a moment for delegates to reflect on the week's discussions as Kota Kinabalu's sky turns to gold.
Friendship Tree Planting Ceremony

Tun Fuad Stephens Botanical Park
- Wednesday 14 October 2026
- Open in Google Maps (opens in a new tab)
In the Bukit Padang area of Kota Kinabalu sits Tun Fuad Stephens Botanical Park — known locally as Taman Botani — named after Sabah's first Chief Minister after Malaysian independence, and later its fifth. Within its 162 acres, a 44-acre botanical area has been established as a centre for the conservation, research and appreciation of Sabah's native plant life.
It holds more than 500 plant species and 30,000 newly planted trees, shrubs, orchids and ornamental plants, set among themed gardens, boardwalks and nature trails, with visitor facilities for researchers, families and visiting delegations alike.
It is here that KKIMD closes with its Friendship Tree Planting Ceremony, a simple, symbolic gesture in which participating mayors each plant a tree, leaving a lasting, living mark of the Dialogue and the friendships formed across the week, long after delegates have returned home.