'Branded factory outlet can lure China tourists'
Published on: Friday, September 04, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: Sabah can expect to see more Chinese tourists if a branded factory outlet were to be set up selling genuine and cheaper branded items. "This will definitely attract more Chinese tourists to come and visit Sabah and I think they will spend more," said Shanghai-based Borneo Airlines Director Gong Yuping.This is because according to her, Chinese tourists enjoy purchasing branded items and local souvenirs when travelling in Malaysia, particularly Sabah.
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"The shopping malls in Malaysia sell souvenirs that are duty free. That is why more of them are coming in and they tend to spend a lot. "Another reason why Chinese tourists love Malaysia is that the branded goods sold here such as Estee Lauder, Chanel and others are not fake. They're all original and the price is very cheap," she said. Apart from that, Chinese tourists also enjoy purchasing local delicacies such as dried anchovies, dried shrimps and local snacks for souvenirs."But their main favourite is the local coffee. They really love the local coffee here and it is a must for Chinese tourists to at least buy several packets of local coffee due to the 30kg baggage limit."During my visit to Sabah in the past, I would buy 200 packets of local coffee and give them as gifts to my friends back home," she said, adding that the recent depreciation of the Malaysian economy had also resulted in more China tourists coming to Malaysia.
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"For example, let's estimate that the exchange rate for RM1 used to be 2 renmimbi but it's only worth 1.60 renmimbi. Therefore, a lot of China tourists wanted to come and visit Malaysia," she explained. Gong said the reason they brought tourists to visit Labuan was because of the duty free items such as alcohol and chocolates which are sold there.
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"Why do we bring tourists there? It's because of the cheap goods we can purchase from there. Let's say, for example, the price for an item is worth 10 renmimbi in China and at other places in Malaysia, you can get it for 8 renmimbi but in Labuan the price is only 5 renmimbi! It is actually worth half the original price," she said. For example, the price of a lipstick costs about 200 renmimbi in Shanghai but in Malaysia it costs only about 100 renmimbi, she added. People had failed to understand this before but now they are starting to realise this matter, she said.Meanwhile, Shanghai-based Borneo Airlines Marketing Manager Wang Zheng, who promoted Sabah particularly Eastern Coast, including Mount Kinabalu and Labuan, among the Chinese, also said the number of Chinese tourists visiting the State has lately increased."Every month, we have about 100 Chinese tourists visiting Sabah and 30 to 40 per cent of them would opt to visit Pom Pom Island," she said.Gong said they also intended to get more groups of Chinese tourists to visit the State."Those who travel in groups based on the travel packages will be more exposed to the beauty of Sabah. We are able to introduce them to more places and food compared to free independent travellers," she said, adding that there will be another 20 Chinese tourists who will be visiting Pom Pom Island on Sept 9. However, a lot of Chinese tourists are still traumatised by the plane tragedies involving Malaysia Airlines MH370 as well as MH17. Chinese tourists who had visited Sabah especially to Pom Pom Island often want to return to the State and extend their stay at the island. "Pom Pom Island has the most beautiful scenery. It's very peaceful with lots of interesting activities and people won't get bored. They can go for snorkelling and even check out the sea turtles."Gong described the island as heavenly due to its beautiful crystal-like waters and delicious food. "My family and I had visited the island a lot of times already and we really enjoyed ourselves there and plan to return. I had brought my friends and one of them happens to be a famous Shanghai movie star, Wang Wen Li."Wen Li herself had visited Sabah five times and last year she even visited Pom Pom Island and returned to the island again this year," she said. Earlier, Wang also clarified that the lodging at Pom Pom Island resort is at 4, 000 renmimbi per person for four nights and not per night. This included meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner), air ticket and transportation. She then went on saying that those who had visited Sabah before know that the situation in the State is very safe."There's not a single place in this world where you can consider as safe. It is normal for them to ask about the situation in the East Coast but we always tell them that the current situation is safe," said Wang. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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