Labuan gets first Beijing tourists – due to Harris
Published on: Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Labuan: Tan Sri Harris Mohd Salleh continues to do his bit for Sabah and Labuan despite being well past 80.Known for his determination in promoting agriculture, trade and investment, Labuan received the first batch of organised China tourists from Shanghai – holding out promise that the island could also join Sabah as a tourism industry player.It was the fruit of months of strenuous efforts at marketing the "Borneo Package" which includes travel and tours to Sabah's West Coast, Labuan and Indonesian Kalimantan by Borneo Airlines that was set up by the former Sabah Chief Minister to tap the Chinese market.ADVERTISEMENT "Harris used his connections and network to draw the interest of Chinese tour agents to the 'Borneo Package' with the hope that Labuan could get into the tourism map as well," said General Manager of Borneo Airlines, Tony Alexander Tan."Though the first batch of 29 may be considered a trickle it could snowball into something big when this new package is popularised," he said.Tony observed that the new trend in China is to go abroad at least once annually. "Large companies have sponsored thousands of their employees for holidays in France and Thailand as an incentive. "If a small percentage of this came to Sabah and Labuan, it would have a significant impact on the local economy."ADVERTISEMENT Tony thanked the Tourism Ministry, Labuan Corporation and others for their support. The welcome dinner was also attended by MP Datuk Rozman Isli.Tony said Labuan's good food, vibrant entertainment and good shopping malls with designer products can draw China tourists.
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He said the potential of the tourism industry should not be under-estimated. Going by studies done by the Tourism Ministry, 30 million tourists from various countries are expected to visit Malaysia by 2020. The estimate is that these tourists would spend RM168 billion and this works out to about RM3 billion per week.On the first batch of China tourists, Tony said after visiting the proboscis monkey in Kuala Penyu and the cultural village in Papar, they experienced island hopping between Manukan and Sapi.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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They arrived here by ferry and were given a traditional welcome at the terminal. Later in the evening, they were entertained by performances by the KDCA and enjoyed a beach-side barbecue.The tourists stayed at the Palm Beach which had a resort ambience and a 9km beach front which won the Clean Beach Award from United Nations Environment Programme.