Tourist arrivals up 12.2% in Jan, Feb

SABAH welcomed a 12.2% increase in tourist arrivals for January and February, compared to the same period last year, revealed Assistant Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Pang Yuk Ming.

He said the first two months recorded 531,585 visitors (198,665 foreign visitors and 332,920 domestic visitors), an increase from 490,798 visitors within the same period in 2015.

Pang said this was the result of continuous efforts and strategies done by the ministry through the Sabah Tourism Board (STB), and the increase in air accessibility was part of the main efforts done to ensure the state’s continued tourism sector growth.

“STB together with Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad will cooperate in the program implementation to encourage airlines to open new routes originating from international destinations to Sabah,” said Pang at the 14th Sabah State Legislative sitting here yesterday.

“A total of RM10 million has been allocated by MAHB from 2016 to 2017 for this purpose,” he revealed, adding that the forged relations between STB and the airlines aimed to encourage the introduction of direct scheduled f lights as well as chartered flights.

Pang said past efforts had resulted in 146 direct international flights with 24,038 seat capacity per week, linking Sabah with 16 destinations, namely Brunei, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Wuhan, Jakarta, Tarakan, Bali, Manila, Tokyo, Perth, Singapore, Seoul and Taipei.

Cooperation between STB and the airlines through ongoing joint tourism marketing such as, media familiarisation trip, celebrity tours, contests for social media users and advertising will also help improve the awareness of Sabah as a choice of destination for tourists.

“STB is also constantly identifying potential new markets as a step to ensure the continued growth of the Sabah tourism industry,” said Pang.

“Among the new markets that have been identified is Pakistan. Therefore, from March 3 to 11, Assistant Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Kamarlin Ombi led a Sabah delegation to Pakistan in conjunction with the launch of the Malindo Air direct flight from Kuala Lumpur to Lahore,” he added.