07Dec

Sabah Govt launches weekly night market in Gaya Street to boost tourism.

KOTA KINABALU: Tourists and visitors looking for a quick taste of Sabah can now stroll along Gaya Street to check out the various handicraft and local bites at the weekly Api Api Night Food Market. The inaugural weekend night market at the city's famous Gaya Street will take place every Friday and Saturday, starting from 6pm to 2am. Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Christina Liew said one way to boost tourism and inject soul to the city is by attracting many people to Gaya Street, which was already popular for its Sunday morning fairs. "A holiday in Kota Kinabalu will not be complete without visiting the Night Food Market or Gaya Street Fair, where there is plenty to see and learn about local culture and food. Liew, who is also the State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister, said Gaya Street was selected as the location due to its historical features, with some of its shops built over 100 years ago. Other efforts to keep the city vibrant and buzzing with activity included setting aside the section of Gaya Street, known as Lintasan Deasoka, for food trucks. "Lintasan Deasoka itself will become a spot for entertainers to display their talent. It can also be a place to hold events such as fashion shows and dance performances. "This will add value and lend an air of festivity to the night market," she said on Saturday (Dec 1). Liew said for tourists to choose Sabah as their annual holiday destination, the authorities must ensure that public toilets and food premises are always clean, in addition to properly maintaining public facilities. "The key is cleanliness because no tourist would want to return if basic considerations such as cleanliness are absent. Keep Kota Kinabalu clean. Keep Sabah clean. "Cleanliness is not only essential to ensure a healthy life for everybody, but it is also important if we want tourists to keep coming back," she elaborated. According to Liew, another aspect that must not be neglected is security. "Only barely two weeks ago, the KK Watch was launched to help boost security in the city. "This patrol team was formed to make Kota Kinabalu a safe city and so people can feel secure when walking the streets at night," she said. Source : Star Online
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07Dec

Call to activate Tourism Action Council in 26 districts next year

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Christina Liew wants the respective Tourism Action Council in 26 districts to be activated by next year. She said most of the districts in Sabah had a Tourism Action Council set up with the assistance of the Sabah Tourism Board. “Each council is responsible for identifying and developing their respective products for the benefit of their own district and people. “This coming New Year there will many more tourists coming by regular flights and chartered flights, and income from tourism will also increase. This is one of the ways to enhance each distrct’s economy. “We also want balanced tourism in Sabah, not just focused on Kota Kinabalu, Mount Kinabalu and the resort islands but all the across the state,” she said after launching the Community-Based Tourism Roadshow here. Liew said community-based tourism would be able to enhance all districts and towns into business entities that could contribute to the state’s economy. She said the state government through her ministry could provide the necessary infrastructure for all districts to heighten the experience for visitors. “Whenever a District Tourism Council identifies its products to be promoted as tourism products, they will let us (ministry) know. Our officers will go down to work with them,” Liew said. The two-day Community-Based Tourism Roadshow saw a total of 16 participants compared to only four last year. Earlier, in her speech, Liew said up to September this year, tourism had already generated an estimated RM6.2bil in receipts or 7% compared to last year, for the state’s economy. She said tourist arrivals were up 5.1% or 2.865 million compared to the same period last year. – Bernama Source :  Star Online
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29Oct

Borneo Safari Challenge helps to promote Sabah as safe tourist destination

KOTA KINABALU: The presence of over 1,000 international participants in the 2018 Borneo Safari Challenge will not only help to promote Sabah as a tourism destination but showcase the current security situation in the state. Deputy Chief Minister and state Culture, Tourism, and Environment Minister Datuk Christina Liew said the encouraging participation from other countries in the 28th Borneo Safari adventure would give a clear picture that Sabah is indeed safe state to travel. Among the participating countries in the expedition are Japan, Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Ireland and Russia. “They will be able to enjoy the state’s beauty and help to promote Sabah as a safe destination. The Borneo Safari will also help promote the state’s outdoor activities to people outside the country,” she told reporters after a flagging-off ceremony here today.
Deputy Chief Minister and state Culture, Tourism, and Environment Minister Datuk Christina Liew flagging-off the participants of the 2018 Borneo Safari Challenge. NSTP/ Khairull Azry Bidin.
Present were the ministry’s permenant secretary Datuk Datu Rosmadi Sulai and Sabah Four Wheel Drive Association president Faez Nordin. The Borneo Safari, which began today, is scheduled to end on Nov 4. Christina said there were 1,030 participants and 399 four-wheel-drive vehicles involved in the expedition. Meanwhile, Faez said Borneo Safari participants would cover 400 kilometres starting from the state capital. “They will be going off-road and driving through jungle routes in three districts namely Tuaran, Kota Belud, and Kota Marudu before returning to Kota Kinabalu,” he said, adding that this year’s activity would not involve areas with water.
Source : New Straits Times
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29Oct

RM8b from tourism certain

Photo by Sabah Tourism Board
  Kota Kinabalu: Sabah is on track to achieve RM8 billion in revenue from tourism by the end of the year, said Deputy Chief Minister Christina Liew. Liew who is also State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister said up to August, Sabah Tourism Board (STB) estimated that the total tourism receipts have reached RM5.55 billion or 7.5 per cent more compared to the same period last year. "As of August this year, total tourist arrivals to Sabah increased 5.4 per cent or 2.56 million compared to the same period last year," she told a press conference on the Xiamen Airlines' inaugural Xiamen-Kota Kinabalu flight, here, Friday. "At least 417,574 or 45.2 per cent of these international arrivals came from China, making it the largest market source for international arrivals to Sabah. "We are still on target to achieve 500,000 China arrivals by the end of the year. "We will work closely with the office of the Chinese Consul-General to strengthen the Malaysia-China relations." She said, the ministry's aims is to re-emphasise tourism in the East Coast, especially in Tawau and Sandakan. "The Ministry is working on upgrading the airports in the East Coast to international status so that all the foreign airlines can establish a direct flight here. "Sabah's attractions vary from the West Coast to the East," she said. On the inaugural Xiamen-Kota Kinabalu flight on Oct. 28, Liew said it is the third direct flight by Xiamen Airlines to the city, after Fuzhou and Beijing. "With this additional connectivity, there will now be a total of 100 weekly direct flights from 12 major and secondary cities in China to Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA). "I was told that Xiamen Airlines' network expands to over 55 Chinese cities with around 160 million population. "The airlines have both Xiamen and Fuzhou as transfer hubs of these 55 Chinese cities." She said, she was also informed that 80 per cent of passengers from the Fuzhou-Kota Kinabalu route are from Beijing and Northern Asia. "Therefore, the airlines' winter schedule may include daily flights from Beijing to Kota Kinabalu. "Xiamen Airlines is currently providing connections to 11 cities in South East Asia. "The airline's long haul connection to Europe, US and Australia, once strategically tapped, could be beneficial for Sabah. "All these potential arrivals, now have many options flying in," she said. Also present were Deputy Consul-General of China in Kota Kinabalu, Zhang He, and Xiamen Airlines (Kuala Lumpur Office) general manager Guo Yuan. - Ricardo Unto   Source : Daily Express
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26Oct

ASK Mi service to help tourists get more info on Sabah

Photo by Sabah Tourism Board
  KOTA KINABALU: A new tourist assistant information service known as ASK Mi will now make it easier for international and domestic tourists to get more information on Sabah. Introduced by the state Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry through Sabah Tourism Board (STB), these tourist assistants are placed at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport and the many shopping malls here to assist tourists and visitors. Deputy Chief Minister cum Tourism, Culture, and Environment Minister Datuk Christina Liew said most of tourist assistants were unemployed graduates. She said the graduates were trained on the many attractions in the state. “The intake of tourist assistants is to further boost services by STB following the increase of tourist arrivals in the state,” she said after launching ASK Mi at the airport here, today. She added the service would be expanded to other airports such as in Tawau and Sandakan. The ASK Mi service provides language options such as Mandarin, English, Bahasa Malaysia, and Kadazan.   Source : New Straits Times
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