Sabah pushes hard to bring tourism revenue from China

Monday, March 18, 2024

Sabah is pushing hard to bring in tourism revenue from China following the gradual recovery of the Chinese tourism market, says Datuk Christina Liew.

The state Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister said her ministry, through the Sabah Tourism Board (STB), will actively promote the development of the state’s tourism industry.

“We will also increase support for high-end tourism businesses,” she said here yesterday.

This comes after Sri Pelancongan Sabah, a subsidiary of STB, recorded about RM5mil in tourism revenue from several Chinese groups recently, one of which was a meeting, incentive, conference and exhibition (MICE) group.

Liew said this proves that Sabah is gaining momentum as a preferred MICE destination.

“Now that we have established the Sabah Convention Bureau, we expect more MICE groups from China, among other countries, to visit Sabah this year,” Liew added.

Meanwhile, Sri Pelancongan Sabah chairman Ken Pan Ying On said the China MICE visitors had a two-week stay in Sabah with a packed holiday programme, including a company annual gala.

“This generated income for tourism stakeholders in Kota Kinabalu, Kundasang, Tuaran and Semporna,” he said.

Pan said this is a head start to Sabah’s tourism industry for 2024, adding that MICE groups have high spending power, which in turn, boosts the local economy.

“Air connectivity has improved with more direct flights from major Chinese cities to Kota Kinabalu, thus allowing tourists to experience various types of travel.

“These include leisure tourism, sightseeing tours, cultural tourism, diving, mountain climbing and forest adventures, and underwater world explorations.

“All these activities mean spending money in Sabah,” he said.

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