JW Marriott and Hilton Soon Joining
KK Hotel Scene
CMS Subsidiary May Raise RM21 Million
From Land Sale
and Arif Enigma Sdn
Bhd (20%).
JW Marriot located on top of the completing Oceanus Waterfront Mall
in Kota Kinabalu
State Tourism, Culture and
Environment Minister Datuk Seri
Panglima Masidi Manjun hopes
the emergence of new hotels
this year and next will help solve
the room shortage faced by the
tourism sector in Sabah.
He said while the influx
of tourists has been an
encouraging development,
“unfortunately the continuous
increase of tourists created
a problem for us due to
insufficient number of hotel
rooms to accommodate all of
them.
“We hope more hotels will be
built. I hope the JW Marriott will
open this year. I was informed
the KK Hilton will also be ready
by the first quarter of next year,”
he said.
Commenting on the state
government’s target of 3.4
million tourists visiting Sabah
this year, Masidi said the
Ministry would be revising the
target from time to time.
“For example, last year we
targeted three million tourists
but I believe we have surpassed
that number. I would prefer to
put a lower target in accordance
with our capabilities. It is better
to aim low and get a higher
mark,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Sabah Tourism
contingent visited Japan last
month in its bid to ensure the
reestablished direct flight from
Narita to KK would bring in more
tourism receipts.
“One of the reasons the route
was cancelled by Malaysia
Airlines a few years back was
due to low passenger load.
Therefore, we want to keep the
route open by attracting more
tourists from Japan.
“Last year, the number of
Japanese coming into the state
rose by 26% despite no direct
connection between Japan
and KK. We hope with the
reestablishment of the route,
the number will continue to
rise,” he said.
Masidi also said last year
there were 273 chartered
flights from China to Sabah,
the highest number in the
country. The number did not
include scheduled flights from
five Chinese cities. The Sabah
Tourism Board will also be part
of the Ministry’s entourage to
Berlin ITB in March.
“We have been receiving good
response from Europeans
who would like to visit Sabah
especially from countries with
low temperature all year round,”
he said.
Deputy Chairman of Tourism
Malaysia Senator Dato’ Maznah
Mazlan said Sabah is one of
the most important tourism
destinations in the country.
“We are confident that the
industry will benefit not only
the country’s GDP but also
to Sabahans including those
in the rural areas through
programmes such as Inap Desa.
Locals can also take advantage
of the industry by becoming
trained tourist guide ̳