BERLIN: Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Christina Liew highlighted Sabah’s reputation as a seafood paradise and its marine life at the ongoing ITB Berlin.
She told Felix Fichtner, a journalist with Mr Food and Travel Magazine that Sabah offered a culinary journey like no other.
“Seafood is a major tourist attraction in Sabah, with fresh catches from the surrounding seas.
It is featured prominently in Sabahan cuisine.
“As a seaside city, most restaurants in Kota Kinabalu serve wonderful fresh seafood prepared in various styles.”
Liew
On Sabah’s ethnic foods, Liew said one such traditional dish is the Hinava, the Kadazandusun delicacy made from thinly-sliced fresh fish marinated with lime juice, chili, ginger and shallot.
To a question, Liew said some “must-see” locations for food travellers are the Api-Api Night Food Market (initiated by the Minister in 2018) and Gaya Street Sunday Market.
“We also have standalone restaurants around Kota Kinabalu that cater to the international market. We even have our own local fast food restaurant,” she said.
She said in a nutshell, Kota Kinabalu (State capital) is the gateway to Sabah. Sandakan is the gateway to Sabah’s iconic wildlife, while Tawau is the gateway to Sabah’s world-class diving sites off Semporna.
Sabah Tea, Tenom Coffee and Tambunan ginger, placed in a bamboo gift box (handwoven by Dusun women of Kota Belud) were being given away to visitors at the Sabah Tourism Board (STB) exhibition booth.
Liew said Sabah registered a strong growth for 2023, with the total visitor arrivals of 2,613,272, marking an increase of 51.3pc against the same period of 2022 (1,727,740) exceeding the 2.2 million target set.
This growth was driven by a combination of factors, including improved consumer confidence, improved air connectivity, strong recovery from Asian markets and various tactical and marketing campaigns being carried out with the “Feel Sabah, North Borneo” branding.
Sabah has outperformed its initial tourism target for the year 2023, surpassing the set goal of 2.2 million and achieving a total of 2.6 million visitor arrivals.
She said the top sources for inbound tourists predominantly were from China, South Korea, Japan and Asean nations. In addition, European countries like the UK and Germany contribute significantly to the tourist influx.
