Devon Larratt visit boosts Sabah tourism ahead of arm wrestling event

Devon Larratt and Jodi Larratt have turned Sabah’s first East vs West International Arm Wrestling Competition into a tourism showcase as much as a sporting stop. The pair arrived in Kota Kinabalu on Wednesday, June 17, and have already taken in Kundasang and Kinabalu National Park before the competition weekend, giving the state a rare burst of attention around one of arm wrestling’s biggest names.

That matters because Sabah is not treating the trip as a routine athlete appearance. With East vs West making its Malaysia debut in Sabah, the event gives local organizers a chance to present the state to a global niche-sports audience while linking the competition to scenery, food and culture. The itinerary being discussed around the visit includes Mari-Mari Cultural Village, a Klias river cruise, island-hopping and Gaya Street Sunday Market, all of which point to a promotional effort that stretches well beyond the table.

The timing also fits Sabah’s wider tourism strategy. Chief Minister Hajiji Noor said on June 7 that the state was drafting a comprehensive Tourism Blueprint due by year-end, while also citing 3.79 million visitor arrivals in 2025, RM8.74 billion in tourism receipts and nearly 400,000 jobs supported by the sector. Sabah Tourism Board CEO Julinus Jeffery Jimit was present in related coverage of the Larratts’ visit, underscoring that the push is being coordinated at the tourism-board level rather than left to chance.

Kinabalu Park gives Sabah a strong built-in selling point. Gazetted as a national park in 1964, it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000 and a UNESCO Global Geopark in 2023, and it remains one of the clearest examples of how the state wants to package nature, conservation and travel in one message. Official state messaging has also emphasized sustainability, community collaboration and digital promotion as Sabah positions itself for Visit Sabah Year 2027.

The arm-wrestling angle is just as important. Devon Larratt’s presence gives the Sabah stop instant credibility with fans, while local reporting has also linked the state’s sports push to plans for expanding traditional competitions across every district. If the weekend delivers on the attention already building around it, Sabah will have shown that an international strength-sport event can do more than fill a venue. It can sell a destination.