/// Hot Topic
/// HOT TOPIC
Sabah a Top Travel Hotspot
but Lacking Tourism Properties
S
abah recorded an increase
in tourist arrivals last year
despite several security related
incidents that happened, namely the
Sulu intrusion and the Semporna
episode.
State Tourism, Culture and
Environment Minister Datuk Seri
Panglima Masidi Manjun said that
2.5 million tourists visited Sabah in
the first 10 months of 2013, which
represented an increase of 21%
over the same period in 2012.
Masidi added that the bulk of
visitors were Malaysians from the
peninsula and Sarawak totalling
some 1.8 million, an increase of
17%.
The largest increase in arrivals was
foreign tourists, especially those
from Hong Kong and China, with
their numbers going up by nearly
85%. A total of 307,325 people from
Hong and China visited Sabah via
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237 charter flights, the highest in the
country to date.
In 2013, arrivals from South Korea
jumped 32.1%, visitors from Japan
increased by 25% and tourists from
Taiwan improved by 15.5%.
According to Chief Minister Datuk
Seri Musa Aman, the state garnered
a revenue of RM6.35 million from
tourist arrivals last year, and the
figure is expected to increase this
year with the Visit Malaysia Year
2014. In 2014 domestic and foreign
arrivals are expected to hit 3.4
million.
Increased Connectivity
The increase was also supported
by several new direct flights to Kota
Kinabalu, including from Hangzhou,
Shenzen and Shanghai in China,
Kota Baharu in Kelantan, and Cebu
in T he Philippines.
Flight frequency from Tokyo and
Perth has also been increased to
three and two times a week, bringing
the total number of non-stop flights
from international destinations to
Kota Kinabalu to 18. Low-cost carrier
Air Asia also recently launched direct
flights from the state’s capital to
Adelaide.
Additionally, Kota Kinabalu is also
now a homeport for Star Cruises
Aquarius. Star Cruises’ choice in
making KK a homeport for the
winter season of its Superstar
Aquarius fits well with the need for
additional tourist arrivals through
other means of transport.
About 90% of tourist influx arrives in
Sabah via plane. This illustrates that
connectivity is important to keep a
continuous flow of tourists coming
into the state.
Global Recognition
Sabah has also recorded several
notable successes at international
level for the private sector. The
state capital Kota Kinabalu was also
recently voted as the number one
destination on Agoda.com’s fourth
annual Asia’s Fresh Destinations list,
which marks some of Asia’s hottest
emerging travel stops. It is the
second Malaysian city to make it to
the list. Ipoh was listed last year.
Masidi said, “For the first time in
2013, we received the TripAdvisor
Certificate of Excellence and the
Agoda Golden Circle Award through
Bunga Raya Resort. Also, Mabul
Water Bungalows won Dive Resort
of the Year while other five-star
resorts such as Shangri-La’s Tanjung
Aru Resort and Shangri-La’s Rasa Ria
Resort, Hibiscus Villa Kudat also won
excellence awards, including Best
of Malaysia Awards from Expatriate
Lifestyle.”