A man performs a martial art at the launch of the Brunei December Festival in Bandar Seri Begawan, capital of Brunei, on Dec. 3, 2020. The Brunei government officially launched the 4th Brunei December Festival (BDF) on Thursday, with the aim to promote local tourism and consumption amid the global COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Jeffrey Wong/Xinhua)

 

People perform martial arts at the launch of the Brunei December Festival in Bandar Seri Begawan, capital of Brunei, on Dec. 3, 2020. The Brunei government officially launched the 4th Brunei December Festival (BDF) on Thursday, with the aim to promote local tourism and consumption amid the global COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Jeffrey Wong/Xinhua)

 

People perform at the launch of the Brunei December Festival in Bandar Seri Begawan, capital of Brunei, on Dec. 3, 2020. The Brunei government officially launched the 4th Brunei December Festival (BDF) on Thursday, with the aim to promote local tourism and consumption amid the global COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Jeffrey Wong/Xinhua)

The Brunei government officially launched the 4th Brunei December Festival (BDF) on Thursday, with the aim to promote local tourism and consumption amid the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Haji Ali, Brunei's Minister of Primary Resources and Tourism, officiated the launch of the BDF 2020, which is organized by the Brunei Tourism Board through the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism, and with the cooperation of various ministries, foreign missions in Brunei, strategic partners and event organizers, to provide a variety of events and activities for locals to experience and enjoy throughout the month-long school holiday season of December.

According to the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism, over 70 exciting events and activities have been lined up for the BDF 2020.

When the Brunei government officially launched the BDF in 2017, it was aimed primarily at international visitors. Over the past years, the BDF, which is designed to help diversify Brunei's economy through culture and tourism, has grown from 35 events with 98,289 visitors in the first year, to 50 events with 173,561 visitors in 2018 and 60 events with 200,822 visitors in 2019.

Brunei's Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism said it is hoped that this year's month-long festival will attract more local visitors and consumers despite local and global economy being hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and a sharp drop in international tourists in the wake of border controls.

The country reported no new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, with the national tally of cases standing at 151.

At present, Brunei has recorded 211 days without local COVID-19 infection cases. Only two active cases are currently being treated at the National Isolation Center.

There have been three deaths that resulted from COVID-19 and 146 recovered cases in Brunei.