Bandar Seri Begawan – As Brunei Darussalam prepares for Visit Brunei Year 2027 – a campaign coinciding with His Majesty the Sultan’s Diamond Jubilee – the nation is opening its pristine natural rainforests and dark sky to a rapidly growing frontier in newly eco-tourism: Astrotourism.

Last night, June 20, 2026, the Astronomical Society of Brunei Darussalam (PABD) highlighted the sultanate’s stellar potential during a astrotourism showcase held under the “Nature Exploration” theme at the premier pre-launching ceremony of the Visit Brunei Year 2027 at Jerudong Park Garden.

The event reached a high point with a special royal visit. The PABD expressed its deepest gratitude and Menjunjung Kasih to His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Mateen ibni Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Anak Isteri Anisha Rosnah binti Adam, who graced the showcase to support the nation’s expanding nature and astronomy tourism sector.

Supported by the Tourism Development Department, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the exhibition emphasized how Brunei’s pristine, unpolluted night skies offer a serene and captivating space for exploration, seamlessly blending eco-tourism with the wonders of the cosmos.

During the visit, Their Highnesses spent time engaging with the local astronomy community. In a highly meaningful moment for astronomy outreach in Brunei, Their Highnesses graciously signed one of the PABD’s telescopes, cementing their support for the society’s educational and tourism initiatives.

The PABD and Tourism Development Department have been working closely to identify and protect pristine viewing sites for Milkyway observation and stargazing spots. With over 80% of its land covered in lush, undisturbed rainforest and a population density that keeps light pollution remarkably low, Brunei offers some of the most spectacular dark skies in Southeast Asia. Combined with its equatorial location at 4.9° N, visitors can experience year-round visibility of southern celestial phenomena that are invisible from the Northern Hemisphere.

With Visit Brunei Year 2027 on the horizon, the showcase served as a powerful reminder of the unique, untouched beauty Brunei has to offer. The PABD and Brunei Tourism are extending an open invitation to both locals and international travelers and amateur astronomers, especially strategic partners, to join in experiencing this celestial charm, and discover the universe from the heart of Borneo’s lush rainforests.

For more information, browse the Official Visit Brunei Year 2026 website: https://www.bruneitourism.com/vby2027/

The “Kembara Angkasa Maal Hijrah” programme served both public members and participants, by offering astronomy outreach and public engagement activities to make astronomy more accessible to the rural community in the country. It also aimed to help the development of new astrotourism in the country, where people travel to stargaze.

In Melilas, the darkest nights can reach with the Sky Quality Meter (SQM) readings of up to 21.83. At this SQM scale, the Milky Way was quite distinctive, and the structure was quite a spectacular sight. Stargazers can take advantage of the dark skies and see the heart of our Milky Way galaxy from such a pristine dark sky location.

During the stargazing session, a green laser beam was used to guide participants to identify the celetial objects such as constellations Sagittarius, which roughly be like a teapot, and Scorpius, part of which seem to be a tail of scorpion with the background of the Milky Way galaxy.

For a truly special experience, local villagers and participants were given the opportunity to look at the four planets – Jupiter, Saturn, Mars and Venus – through the telescopes. Few streaks of the Delta Aquarids meteor shower were also visible which was the one of the main highlights of the stargazing event.

As stargazing was always weather dependent, there were alternative evening activities when the skies clouded over such as astronomy quizzes and astrophotography practical.

The Astro-camping activity at the Julangan Titah Rumah Panjang Kampong Melilas was organised by the Astronomical Society of Brunei Darussalam (PABD) with jointly supported of the Majlis Perundingan Kampong Melilas and the Persatuan Kereta Tahan Lasak Brunei (PKTLB), in partnership of the Tourism Development Department, Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism Brunei Darussalam.

Photo Gallery 1

Photo Gallery 2 (Photos by Nahzif Hj Khalid/PABD)

Join the Astronomical Society of Brunei Darussalam (PABD) in an Astro-camping adventure to the most rural settlement in the Sultanate in Melilas on Friday, 29th until Sunday, 31st July 2022 (3 days 2 nights) at special price.

Booking & More info: www.bruneiastronomy.org/web/astrotourism

In order to make astrotourism more accessible, researchers working between the University of Namibia and the University of Oxford have come together to develop an introductory course which will be run via Zoom, free of charge. The course will consist of five, 1.5-hour sessions, and will be delivered on Tuesdays at 4pm CAT (UTC+2) on the following dates:

24th August (16:00-17:30 CAT / 22:00-23:30 Brunei Time) – Introduction to astronomy
31st August (16:00-17:30 CAT / 22:00-23:30 Brunei Time) – Astronomy facilities and research in Southern Africa
7th Sept (16:00-17:30 CAT / 22:00-23:30 Brunei Time) – Astronomy for development and astrotourism
14th Sept (16:00-17:30 CAT / 22:00-23:30 Brunei Time) – Stargazing and indigenous astronomy in Namibia
21st Sept (16:00-17:30 CAT / 22:00-23:30 Brunei Time ) – Light pollution and dark skies for sustainable development

This course serves as an introduction to several relevant topics relating to astrotourism, and sessions 2 and 4 will largely be in the context of Namibia. No prior knowledge is needed to take part in this course, and where possible we will share additional resources where you can learn in more depth. This course is not officially accredited, and cannot be used as credits towards other programmes. All sessions will be recorded, and material (PDFs and slides) will be made freely available to participants afterwards.

If you are interested in taking part, complete this registration form by Wednesday 18th August; our capacity is 300 participants. Here https://forms.gle/c6okSDfttXCvLmTo8

The information you provide in this form will be used for the sole purpose of contacting you about the course, and for understanding the demographics of those taking part. Your personal information will not be shared in any way and if you agree, will be kept for evaluation purposes for one year. Otherwise, it will be deleted after the course has been completed.

The course will be delivered by: Dr Hannah Dalgleish (University of Namibia, University of Oxford); Dr Meghan Hughes (University of Oxford). And was prepared with the additional help from: Dr Getachew Mengistie (University of Namibia). This project is led by Prof. Garret Cotter (University of Oxford), Dr Michael Backes (University of Namibia) and Dr Eli Kasai (University of Namibia), and has been funded by the Global Challenges Research Fund (ST/S002952/1) and Exeter College, Oxford in the UK.

• IAU OAO NOC Brunei Darussalam