3.8mil tourists target likely

Kota Kinabalu: The Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry said the State is on track to reach its target of 3.85 million tourists by the end of this year with an estimated tourism receipt of RM8.154 billion.Deputy Chief Minister cum Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister, Datuk Christina Liew said out of the total, some 1.2 million arrivals made up of foreign tourists while 2.5 million were domestic tourists.

According to her, in the first nine months of this year, Sabah received a total of 2.8 million visitors with an impressive 5.1 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2017 (2.7 million people).

"The total number of arrivals reached 74.4 per cent from the targeted tourist arrivals for the year.

"During that period, China recorded a sustained growth of 40.2 per cent arrivals with a total of 464,271 tourists, followed by South Korea with an increase of 8.4 per cent or 244,230 visitors.

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Liew said the State also contributes around 20 per cent to the total number of visitors arrivals from China to Malaysia and about 52 per cent to the total number of visitors from South Korea to the country,"

She said this in response to a question from Tamparuli Assemblyman Datuk Jahid Jahim on whether the targeted number of tourists to Sabah for this year can be achieved by the State Government.

Meanwhile, Liew said apart from efforts and marketing strategies that have been implemented, the improvement in air accessibility is one of the factors that led to the growth of international tourist arrivals to Sabah.

She said Sabah is now linked to 24 international destinations, including Brunei, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Wuhan, Fuzhou, Chengdu, Changsha, Xiamen, Beijing, Macau, Jakarta, Manila, Tokyo, Perth, Seoul, Busan, Taipei, Bangkok and Tarakan via 216 international direct flights per week with a capacity of 37,210.

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"This year alone we have received seven new services from international destinations such as Kunming, Chengdu, Changsha, Xiamen, Beijing, Macau and Bangkok," she said adding that this has also made Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) the busiest airport after the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).

In a supplementary question from Tambunan Assemblyman Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, asking whether Liew's ministry would propose a re-look of the current pump boat policy on the grounds of safety and security at coastal tourist sites, Liew said they will need to consider and study the matter first. - Neil Chan

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