TAWAU: A direct Tawau-Makassar flight is needed to boost tourism as well as the economies of Sabah and South Sulawesi in Indonesia.
Head of Culture and Tourism in South Sulawesi, Ir. Denny Irawan Saardi, proposed this at a seminar on Tourism Promotion, Province of South Sulawesi, at the Tawau Fajar Club, Thursday. It was participated by tour agents, media, business operators and government officers.
“International arrivals are expected to increase with the introduction of direct flights between both places as an alternative gateway for foreign tourists to the east coast of Sabah, especially to Semporna.
“In between, the people in Sabah can also easily visit Makassar, especially Toraja and other new tourist hotspots,” he said.
Denny hoped Deputy Chief Minister cum the State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Christina Liew and the government of South Sulawesi could jointly work on this matter.
Meanwhile, Indonesian Consulate Tawau chief Sulistijo Djati Ismojo (pic) disclosed that 1,478 foreign tourists visited South Sulawesi in July, mainly from Malaysia, Germany, France, Netherlands, China, Switzerland and USA.
According to the media reports in Sabah, about 1,000 foreign tourists visit Semporna through Tawau every day and he hoped to emulate the success of Sabah in managing its tourism sector.
The Consulate would organise a “Wonderful Indonesia Festival 2019” at Tawau community hall from Nov. 14-17. It would be one of their annual events to attract 20 million of tourists to Indonesia in 2019.
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