KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah government is ready to cooperate to open flight routes to Indonesia through Batik Air in an effort to develop the state as a health tourism destination.
State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Jafry Ariffin said the flight routes to Indonesia include to Pontianak, Balikpapan in Kalimantan.
He hoped that the flight routes will be realised in the near future because they were also one of the important factors to attract visitors from neighbouring countries to Sabah.
"This is the right time for Sabah to target health tourism by promoting the latest facilities offered by (Sabah) hospitals, especially to the Indonesian market," he said in a statement here today.
Yesterday, he had held a meeting with the Chief Executive Officer of Batik Air Captain Mushafiz Mustafa Bakri, general manager Muhammad Ariff Abdul Aziz and some Batik Air Kuala Lumpur staff.
Jafry said that through the value chain and the health tourism industry, it will definitely open up opportunities for tourists to explore tourist locations with the 'nature healing' concept in Sabah.
He added that Sabah should take full advantage of the current health tourism trend since every medical tourist has the potential to spend more than ordinary tourists.
