SANDAKAN – Sabah needs a better and larger airport in Kota Kinabalu following the surge of tourist arrivals to the state, said Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Christina Liew.
She said the state has already exceeded its target of 2.2 million tourist arrivals this year with 2.5 million recorded thus far.
“Sabah needs a larger and better international airport in the long-term interest of the State. It is poised to welcome 2.8 million tourists with an anticipated revenue of RM5.6 billion in 2024,” she said in a recent statement.
Liew said that from her observation, the China market is gradually improving as more flights were recorded with a total of 57,166 (+1064.0%) visitor arrivals over the first ten months this year.
However, she said she is appreciative of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s statement that the federal government is prepared to consider building an additional terminal at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) as a short-term measure given the booming tourism industry in Sabah.
“It is indeed motivating to hear from the prime minister himself that Sabah is the number one tourist destination in Malaysia and that the state needs better facilities, including an upgraded Immigration and Customs counter at KKIA to cope with the rising number of tourist arrivals,” said Liew.
Meanwhile, Liew urged Sabah’s hoteliers, restaurateurs, and tour operators to be reasonable in pricing their accommodation, food offerings and travel packages.
She also reminded the local community to maintain a clean, hygienic, and tourist-friendly environment to support the ministry’s efforts to boost the tourism sector in the state.
Liew said she had ordered upgrading works on the Tip of Borneo (or Tg Simpang Mengayau) in Kudat to be expedited, as well as getting new tourism products off the ground, apart from expanding the Api-Api Night Food Market (launched in December 2018) to Blocks C and D.
The ministry is also continuing the implementation of the Kota Kinabalu Landscape Beautification Blueprint (2021-2025) which was launched in September 2020.
Tourism-related development projects expected to commence in 2024 include new chalets on Pulau Manukan, a facelift to the Lok Kawi Wildlife Park, upgrading of the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre and Poring Hot Spring, the proposed Cultural Village in Kinarut, new Wisma Budaya Building, and the proposed Elephant Food Corridor in the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary.
On a separate development, Liberal Democratic Party vice chairman cum Sandakan councillor Chong Thien Ming welcomed the ministry’s plans to boost the tourism sector in Sabah but questioned if Sandakan, a district on the East Coast of Sabah is being sidelined.
Chong said the people in Sandakan hardly see any efforts by the Sabah Tourism Board to promote Sandakan when the district has a lot to offer.
“Sandakan has many features to offer from food to interesting places. Our seafood products are one of the top tourism products here followed by local traditional food that is not available on the West Coast of Sabah,” he said in a statement today.
Chong said he hoped that Liew would work on getting direct flights from Penang, Johor, and Sarawak to Sandakan.
“Please make Sandakan one of the ministry’s focuses in 2024. The commercial industries in Sandakan are not picking up except for the palm oil industry. It is high time for Sandakan to shift their focus to the tourism industry,” he added. – December 26, 2023.
