11Oct

Sabah’s tourism boom in lead-up to Visit Malaysia 2020

Exciting developments are happening in Sabah as part of Visit Malaysia 2020 (VM2020). For a start, the state will host the Pata (Pacific Asia Travel Association) Adventure Travel Conference and Mart next year, the first time this prestigious affair is being held in the country. The ninth iteration of this event by Pata takes place in Kota Kinabalu Feb 12-14. It is the region’s leading travel trade event dedicated to the adventure travel industry, with conferences and travel mart components that bring together professionals involved in adventure travel and responsible tourism.
Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Mohamaddin Ketapi said this is a “golden opportunity” to showcase Kota Kinabalu to the world. “We look forward to welcoming our international guests to Malaysia for a fruitful meeting and explorations of the beauty and rugged landscapes of Sabah,” he said. Sabah is popular for outdoor activities. Among its natural assets are Mount Kinabalu, one of South-East Asia’s highest peaks; the Sipadan island dive site with its great marine biodiversity; lush rainforests with unique flora and fauna including the Rafflesia, the world’s largest flower. In a separate development, Tourism Malaysia has introduced a special edition booklet, Best of Sabah Holiday Packages 2019/2020. The publication provides new holiday ideas and explores Sabah’s lesser-known attractions. Some highlights include the state’s rugged adventures, colourful culture and exotic cuisine. The initiative is the result of partnerships between Sabah Tourism Board, Matta Sabah Chapter, Sabah Tourism Associa­tion, Sabah Homestay Association and local airlines in the state. The booklet is available on the Tourism Malaysia website for download. As part of VM2020, the government is targeting 30 million tourists and RM100bil in tourist receipts. At a recent event in Sabah, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng had expressed confidence that the state would contribute to the growth in tourist numbers. Last year, the government in Budget 2019 agreed to return 50% of the tourism tax proceeds of the respective states. As of March 2019, of the RM67.7mil distributed to all state governments, Sabah received the highest allocation of RM12.7mil. “Sabah and Sarawak will continue receiving the biggest allocation in Budget 2020 as in the previous budget,” Lim said. Source: The Star Online
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20Sep

CM launches ‘Best of Sabah Holiday Packages’ campaign

KOTA KINABALU: Chief Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal officially launched the ‘Best of Sabah Holiday Packages 2019/2020’ Campaign, here yesterday. The auspicious event saw Shafie launching the Best of Sabah Holiday Packages 2019/2020 special edition booklet – an initiative that was introduced by Tourism Malaysia, in conjunction with the Visit Malaysia 2020 campaign. It aims to promote the state’s beautiful and exciting attractions to both local and international tourists. Speaking to reporters after the event, which was held at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA), Shafie said that the initiative would help boost the tourism sector of the country and Sabah as a state. “We all know that the tourism sector is a very dynamic source for our country…we know that Sabah has a lot of tourism products. The initiative that was taken by the Federal Tourism Ministry as well as MASwings is something that should be welcomed. “Our role in the state level is to continue giving our support to the Federal Government and other bodies – to ensure that the Visit Malaysia 2020 agenda could be fulfilled,” said Shafie. Featuring 135 holiday packages offered by 76 travel agencies, tourism product operators, homestay operators and local airlines in Sabah, the booklet provides new holiday ideas in Sabah and explores the state’s lesser known tourist attractions. The initiative is the result of the partnership between Sabah Tourism Board, MATTA Sabah Chapter, Sabah Tourism Association, Sabah Homestay Association and the local airlines in Sabah. With the nation gearing up to welcome 30 million international tourists and RM100 billion in tourist receipts, the booklet is timely in promoting the Visit Malaysia 2020 Campaign. The campaign received a further boost of support from MASwings Airlines as it has agreed to partner with Tourism Malaysia to promote the Visit Malaysia 2020 Campaign – where the airline will be displaying the said campaign logo on its aircraft. Among those in attendance were Federal Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Mohamaddin Ketapi; State Tourism, Culture and Environment cum Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Christina Liew; and State Health and People’s Wellbeing Minister Datuk Frankie Poon. Mohammadin expressed his gratitude towards the State Government for its support towards the said initiative. “On behalf of the Federal Government, through the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry, I would like to say that we welcome its (the State Government’s) efforts. “We will come up with more tourism packages, not just in Sabah, but in the whole country. With such packages, I am confident that the country would be able to achieve its target of getting 30 million international tourists as well as domestic tourists,” said Mohammadin. The booklet is available for download at the Tourism Malaysia official website. Source: The Borneo Post
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26Jun

More five-star hotels approved

KOTA KINABALU: The State Government has approved the construction of more five-star hotels here and in the east coast of Sabah in tandem with the tourism boom, said Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Christina Liew. She made the announcement at the Matta (Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents) Raya Open House celebration at Le Meridien Hotel on Sunday night. “This is in view of the rising demand for hotel accommodation. International tourists are coming to Sabah in droves. It’s incredible, simply, we just don’t have enough hotel rooms,” she said. Liew, who is also Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment, said she was told by an incentive tour package organiser from China that the latter preferred hotels that can provide accommodation for two to three thousand clients at any one time. “For her incentive reward trips to Sabah, she is not in favour of spreading out her guests in different hotels.” The celebration was organised by Matta (Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents) Sabah Chapter led by its chairman, Lawrence Chin. Turning to the members of Matta, Liew said while the government formulates policies favourable to the tourism industry, it is incumbent upon all tourism players to do their part to ensure the success of the industry. “The government can only facilitate. It is you (tour operators) who will make a difference by luring tourists here. All of you are Sabah’s tourism ambassadors. Do promote the State’s attractions to the international community,” she added. Meanwhile, Matta president Datuk Tan Kok Liang assured tour and travel agents that the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (Motac), Datuk Isham Ishak will address pressing issues confronting the tourism sector in Sabah. “I have brought issues such as illegal tour operators and zero-dollar tourism to his attention,” he said while urging the secretary-general to provide funding for tourism projects in Sabah. Isham, who also spoke, commended Sabah for its high performance in terms of tourist arrivals under the leadership of Liew. “In this respect, Sabah can be a leader to other states in the country from the tourism perspective.” Also present were the Consul-General of the Republic of Indonesia in Kota Kinabalu, Krishna Djelani; Consul of the People’s Republic of China in Kota Kinabalu Wang Kai; Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Sabah Office Director, Ag Ahmad Zaki Abu Bakar; KKIA Airport manager Sunif Naiman, Sabah Tourism Board general manager Noredah Othman, deputy general manager Kevin Chin and senior marketing manager Tay Shu Lan. Source: Borneo Post Online
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08Apr

Joint MoU to promote Sabah tourism attraction to India

KOTA KINABALU: The Travel Agents Federation India (TAFI) of the Tamil Nadu Chapter, the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) Sabah and Malindo Air have jointly signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote Sabah’s tourism attractions to the people in India. Speaking at the MoU signing ceremony cum Business To Business (B2B) Session yesterday, Sabah Tourism Board (STB) chairman Ken Pan Ying On said that the agreement would benefit all tour agents and hoteliers in Sabah. “With this MoU, Sabah local tour agents and hoteliers can grab the opportunity to start partnering with travel agents from India throughout 2019 to 2020, starting with a target of 50 pax per tour agent from 31 TAFI agents here yesterday (Saturday), which I’m confident will increase,” said Ken in his officiating speech. He pointed out that India is the second most populous country in the world and is set to be the next biggest outbound travel market globally after China. “Hence, this B2B will open up great opportunities for the state’s tourism industry to capture this market. “We would like to have a diverse range of tourists from other markets to level the numbers with the steady growth of Chinese tourists in Sabah,” he added. Meanwhile, Matta Sabah chairman Lawrence Chin said that his association had always been proactive in promoting and facilitating travel to Sabah. “Although Malaysia is already one of the most visited countries, there is still room to increase more visitors from countries with a huge population such as India. “The number of visitors to Sabah from India in the year 2017 and year 2018 was 6,196 and 5,606 respectively. By 2020, Sabah should be getting 50,000 tourists from India which is only a minimum number compared to the large Indian population. “Our tourism industry will thrive on the support and consistency efforts from Sabah Tourism Board in promoting Sabah as the top-of-mind destination,” said Lawrence. He said that MATTA Sabah would like to see healthy growth of visitors from India after the signing of yesterday’s MOU. “As such, the room for growth for India visitors to Sabah, Malaysia, is much bigger, and together, we can make it happen. “Members can develop strategic partnership and promotion of their services to Indian outbound tour operators through this cooperation. “Such collaboration will create favourable conditions for the continuous tourism growth for Malaysia and India tourism industry and members’ interest,” he added. Among those present in the event were TAFI chairman S. Arul Lazaran, Malindo Air Head of Communications and Promotions (South Asia) Suresh Vanan, Tourism Malaysia Senior deputy director Asia/Africa Division Mohamad Taib Ibrahim and STB general manager Suzaini Sabdin Ghani.
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13Mar

Sabah wants to boost domestic tourism

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah recorded a 2.8% increase in domestic tourist arrivals in 2018, with 2.518 million visitors compared to 2.449 million the previous year, which state believes can be boosted further. Based on a domestic outbound survey conducted in 2018, Sabah Tourism Board (STB) said there were many opportunities to increase domestic tourism to Sabah.
The survey found that approximately 209,000 visitors came to Sabah every month, and these visitors are connected by 442 weekly flights to Kota Kinabalu, Tawau, Sandakan from nine Malaysian cities. The survey conducted by STB's research division, revealed that the top five preferred holiday activities for domestic travellers were viewing natural scenery (71.1%), relaxing by the beach (54.4%), visiting local markets (54.4%), visiting famous landmarks (52%) and island hopping/snorkelling (41.5%). The survey showed that those intending to visit Kota Kinabalu increased from 29.6% to 85.7%, Sandakan from 7.8% to 33% and Tawau from 6.3% to 23.1%. Suzaini said STB plans to use the MATTA Fair in Kuala Lumpur from March 15 to 17 as a platform to explore opportunities to boost domestic visitors. She said that Sabah is pushing community-based tourism especially to rural areas, as well as homestay and camping which have shown to be areas of interest among domestic travellers who prefer self-driving to travel in groups. Source: The Star Online
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