/// East Malaysia Property News
EAST MALAYSIA
PROPERTY NEWS
Keep track of the latest property and real estate news
plus reviews in the property market in Sabah and
Sarawak
Sabah Needs More Five-Star Hotels
Sandakan Airport
Sutera Harbour Resort
Minister of tourism, culture and
environment Sabah Datuk Panglima
Masidi Manjun has called on local
companies and entrepreneurs to
to take up he challenge of providing
five-star accommodation and other
tourism-related services to cater to the
growing number of high-end tourists
coming to Sabah.
He said the state is in a dire need
for more upscale hotels to meet the
demand of holiday makers such as
those from China whose buying power
is high and on the rise.
He noted the occupancy rate of highend hotels in Sabah was the highest
in the country last year with 92%.
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Sandakan Airport Upgrade to Be
Completed End of 2014
And with tourist arrivals expected to
increase, demand for hotel rooms will
remain strong. The tourism industry is
an important economic sector he said.
In addition to hotels, the state also
needs to offer more variety of related
service including, food and beverage,
plus entertainment. This will keep
Sabah competitive compared to other
destinations in the region.
“Businesses need to keep reinventing
themselves and give new attractive
offerings, so that tourists will keep
coming back for more,” he said adding
that local businesses should take
advantage of the booming tourism
industry.
The Sandakan Airport
upgrading project is proceeding
smoothly and expected to
be completed by the end of
this year. Upgrading work has
reached 53.27% as of mid
February.
Deputy Transport Minister
Datuk Abdul Aziz Kaprawi,
who visited the RM170 million
project assured that it would
be completed on time as it is
being closely monitored by the
ministry.
The upgraded airport is
expected to accommodate
around 1.5 million passengers
per year compared to 800,000
at the moment due to its huge
capacity.
“The project is proceeding
smoothly even though we have
received complaints regarding
the uncomfortable environment
being endured by passengers
presently.
“The uncomfortable situation is
only temporary while awaiting
for the project to be completed
soon. We hope the public,
especially the passengers, can
bear with the intensified work of
the airport upgrading project as
the government is committed to
complete it within the expected
period,” he said.