Sabah all set for cruise tourism Nov
Kota Kinabalu: Plans are afoot to sell Sabah on the high seas.
Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said Star Cruises’ Superstar Cruises has plans to deploy to Kota Kinabalu in November and would be an excellent opportunity to sell the State to tourists and cruise passengers on board the Cruises.
“The cruise ship will be a good place for us to sell Sabah to international passengers onboard the ships.
“Star Cruises have agreed that there will be local cultural performances on the cruises and they will use their facilities on board to showcase what Sabah has to offer.
“We will be happy to assist them with tourism cultural dancers and other things.
“As I see it, there is nothing much passengers can do onboard so might as well tell them more about Sabah while they are onboard. For us it is a good opportunity to tell them more about our State and probably to encourage them to come to Sabah to spend more time on land instead of just on the ships.”
Masidi also suggested that Star Cruises consider expanding their route in Sabah in the future.
“We are looking initially at Sandakan but, of course, this is on the understanding and the condition that there are berthing facilities in Sandakan. The whole idea is that eventually there would be a Sabah cruise just going around Sabah on the ships.
“Sabah has many different attractions in Kota Kinabalu, Kudat, Sandakan and Tawau.
This are just some of the things we are looking at.”
Adding to this, Masidi said when a cruise ship calls on a port they will normally stay for eight hours.
“So we have to make sure that there are ample things for the passengers to see.”
He said this during the official announcement of the deployment of Star Cruises-Superstar Aquarius in a press conference at the Sabah Tourism Board office, Thursday.
According to Star Cruises East Malaysia Operations Vice President Edward Johann Leong, the visiting cruise passengers can have the choice to visit attractions and places of interest in the State.
“This can be attractions such as Mari Mari cultural village, State Museum, islands and the national parks for example. Those interested can actually do the purchasing of the excursions and attractions in KK in the cruise ship itself. So we can actually sell Sabah and what Sabah has to offer onboard. Likewise we would also like to showcase a lot of the Sabah handicraft and food items onboard the ship for foreigners on board the ships.
“Having the ship here actually allows people to actually come to KK, enjoy KK, go for a cruise and come back and probably stay for another night or two in KK before they go back to their home country.
“So this is the whole idea of putting the cruise here which is to entice tourists to come here and to have a broader perspective of what Sabah has to offer. Likewise also offering Sabahans the chance to experience a cruise-like holiday, ” he said.
Star Cruises would be also offering 4D3N cruises from KK to Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei and Bintulu, Sarawak departing every Sunday with shore excursions for guests to explore local attractions.
From Wednesday to Saturday, passengers can enjoy cruise fun and entertainment on a daily nightly high seas cruise.
The Star Cruises 51,309 tonnage Superstar Aquarius will commence her seasonal homeport deployment from Kota Kinabalu for the first time from Nov 6, 2013 to March 30, 2014.
Currently based in Keelung, Taiwan, the ship will embark on a special 8D7N cruise departing from Kaoshiung on Oct 29, 2013 with stops at Hong Kong, Manila Boracay and arriving in Kota Kinabalu on Nov 6, 2013.
Source: Daily Express
