Kota Kinabalu: Sabah’s tourism industry is missing out on higher-value visitor spending due to a lack of luxury tourism products, high-end hotels and full-service airline connections, said retired banker Datuk John Lo, who advises the State Government through the Sabah Economic Advisory Council (SEAC) and the Institute for Development Studies (IDS).
Although Sabah has recorded a strong recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, with tourism receipts reaching about RM8.5 billion, Lo said the State should prioritise attracting higher-spending visitors rather than simply increasing tourist arrivals.
He noted that the average tourist currently spends between RM1,500 and RM2,000 per visit, but said this figure could be doubled or even tripled with the right products and policies in place.
“One of the key challenges is that we don’t have sufficient high-end tourism products,” he said during the Daily Express’s Sabah Matters podcast recently. Lo said Sabah also lacks sufficient luxury accommodation to cater to affluent travellers.
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