Tourism leading sector in Sabah — SUCCC
KOTA KINABALU: Tourism has become a well-performed and leading industry in Sabah in the era of information and technology today, said Sabah United Chinese Chambers of Commerce (SUCCC) president Tan Sri Andrew Liew Sui Fatt.
Liew said the rapid growth of the tourism industry had also benefitted the tourism, catering, entertainment, public transportation and other related industries.
He said the economy of Sabah had evolved from farming and fishing during the North Borneo times, followed by the timber industry as the economic lifeline of Sabah in the 1980s.
In the 1990s, Liew said the oil palm industry had become the main interest aside from financial and real estate sectors.
Today, however, he said the tourism industry had emerged as the leading sector in the State.
In the Chinese New Year reception hosted by the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Kota Kinabalu, Liew said Chief Minister Tan Sri Musa Aman had taken positively the opinion of Consul General Liang Caide to enhance and strengthen the relationship between Sabah and China.
“Liang has stressed that Sabah had established close contacts and exchanges with many provinces in China, which resulted in the arrival of 430,000 Chinese tourists to the State last year.
“This has brought considerable growth to the economy of Sabah,” Liew said in his Chinese New Year message.
Therefore, Liew said the tourism industry had good prospects in Sabah.
He also concurred with Liang that the Belt and Road initiative implemented by the Chinese government could be linked with the Sabah Development Corridor, as the extended cooperation could contribute to the betterment of the people in China and Sabah.
Earlier, he said the Year of the Rooster last year had not gone according to most people’s expectations, such as the result of the presidential election in the United States, North Korea’s intention to run nuclear weapon tests and the Brexit.
He said all these incidents were bound to have direct or indirect impact on Southeast Asian countries.