style="text-transform: uppercase;">Labuan: Member of Parliament Datuk Rozman Isli said the approval of Malindo Air chartered flights from Nanning and Guiyang in China to Labuan from Oct 1 to December 2016 is expected to boost the tourism industry on the island amid the slump in the oil and gas sector. He said Labuan has received 859 tourists from China since August this year through the existing direct flights from Kota Kinabalu.

"A budget of RM18 million had been approved by the Economic Council in the development of various infrastructures in Labuan.

"Tourism agents should promote Labuan and the local industry players should now be prepared for the arrival of the tourists from China to realise Labuan as a leading tourist destination," he said.

Rozman said this at an inter-government agencies meeting to promote Labuan as a tourism destination, which he and Tourism and Culture Ministry (Motac) Secretary-General Tan Sri Dr Ong Hong Peng chaired.

Dr Ong said Motac has identified four tourism areas the island can develop further, namely, walking trail eco-tourism, wreck diving and MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events).

He said the Motac is now working with Labuan Corporation and industry players to develop these products.