Sabah set to become champion of marine tourism in Malaysia

KOTA KINABALU: Deputy Tourism Minister Datuk Dr James Dawos Mamit yesterday expressed confidence that Sabah would emerge as the champion of Marine Tourism in the country soon.

He said this was evident from the increasing number of tourist arrivals in the state where, last year alone, a total of 2.88 million tourist came to visit Sabah, a marked increase of 1.1 per cent from year 2011 (2.84 million tourist).

He said last year’s state tourism calendar showed 18 cruise ships with 12,707 passengers had come to Kota Kinabalu Port.

“Also, we have 131 international flights with 19,294 seats and 660 domestic flights with 85,976 seats a week having landed at Sabah airports.

“That is good for tourism sector in Sabah. Sabah must be proud to have a beautiful beach, high mountain, amazing world-class islands, various ethnic groups, food and culture.

“These make Sabah a unique state compared to the other states in Malaysia,” he said in his speech in conjunction with 13th City Day Anniversary Celebration at Jesselton Point, near here.

Also present was the Mayor of Kota Kinabalu City, Datuk Abidin Madingkir.

Dawos said Kota Kinabalu, with a suitable location and geography, had good opportunity to be one of the stop-over destinations for Cruise ships in Asia.

“Tourists love our numerous towns by the seaside. Of all the places I went to, Kota Kinabalu is one of the best and fantastic cities to enjoy the scenic sunset,” he said.

“With the natural silhouette of beautiful islands in the background, we are here today at Jesselton Point (one of the popular leisure spots among the locals) to witness how such a wonderful event like KK City Day Sunset Sea Parade can be done here with Kota Kinabalu’s stunning view of the beautiful South China Sea,” he said.

In this respect, Dawos underlined the need for the people, particularly city dwellers, to play their part in keeping
Kota Kinabalu City clean and free from rubbish. — Bernama

Source : Borneo Post