KUALA LUMPUR – Sabah will allow fully vaccinated visitors to enter the state without having to go for a swab test beginning December 1.
The state is in the midst of welcoming international arrivals as soon as Malaysia reopens its borders next year.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Mohd Noor made the announcement during the official opening of the 49th Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) Fair at World Trade Centre here today.
“By November, there were already 266 direct flights weekly into Sabah from Kuala Lumpur, Johor Baru, Penang, Kota Baru, Labuan, and Sarawak, with a total capacity of 43,000 seats.
“Within Sabah, there were 123 flights weekly with a total capacity of 16,720 seats connecting Kota Kinabalu, Lahad Datu, Sandakan, and Tawau,” he said.
Selected as “Malaysia’s Favourite Destination” for the third time since 2015 and 2019, Sabah has taken up 12 booths to showcase its tourism products.
As far as accommodation and other facilities are concerned, he said, they are adequate to meet the expected demand, coupled with an additional 3,506 rooms expected to be available with the completion of 11 new hotels next year.
Hajiji said the state government has implemented the Sabah Tourism Recovery Plan for domestic and international segments to improve tourism promotion, including market shifting during the pandemic.
He said the Sabah Tourism Board (STB) has collaborated with tourism industry players to hold virtual engagements, travel expos, promotions, and training on destination updates.
“These include re-establishing trade and tourist confidence through business-to-business and government-to-government platforms with many countries – including China, South Korea, Norway, Indonesia, Brunei, India, the United Arab Emirates, Italy, Kazakhstan, and Turkey.
“STB is also working with airlines and assisting them in re-establishing direct flights for domestic and international travels,” he said.
Hajiji said the return of the Matta Fair is significant as it signifies the beginning of the recovery phase for the tourism industry after the onslaught of the Covid-19 pandemic for nearly two years.
“It is heartening to note that many businesses, including those in the tourism industry, are in the recovery phase after struggling to remain afloat during the pandemic,” he added.
The Sabah government recognises the importance of tourism as an economic catalyst and under the current administration, it has identified the industry as one of the three economic development pillars in the state’s five-year development plan, Hala Tuju Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ), from 2021 to 2025.
“Through the SMJ framework, the Sabah government welcomes investors in the tourism sector to engage with local communities for win-win business opportunities and successes.
“The state Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry and STB will pursue strong partnerships with other industry stakeholders and tourism organisations to create new and innovative tourism products.
“This will enhance our competitiveness as we want to ensure Sabah remains one of Malaysia’s favourite tourism destinations,” he said.
Sabah’s tourism industry has always outperformed industry expectations in the past years and prior to the pandemic in 2019, it was experiencing an upward trend, recording 4.1 million arrivals and registering RM8.34 billion in total receipts with RM12 million in tourism tax revenue collected, he added.
“Among the best performing tourism products with great potential and opportunities for further growth is rural and community-based tourism, an initiative by STB in 2014.
“Two of these community-based tourism clusters – Kadamaian in Kota Belud, and Kiulu in Tuaran – chalked a total income of RM7.57 million and attracted 270,000 visitors in 2019 alone.
“We look forward to widening community-based tourism in many parts of Sabah,” he said.
Meanwhile, Hajiji urged meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions (MICE) players to look at Sabah as a destination.
“The opening of the Sabah International Convention Centre, which is the largest purpose-built facility in Borneo, presents opportunities to bring in global events into the state.
“We will also look into establishing a Sabah Convention Bureau to enhance promotion efforts to ensure Sabah remains a preferred destination for MICE events,” he said.
On another note, Hajiji said Sabah appreciated Matta’s support of the state’s tourism industry recovery efforts and hopes to see the fair returning to Sabah next year.
The Matta Fair is a much awaited event, known to be the largest one-stop centre for holiday seekers to explore a variety of domestic and overseas holiday destinations with packages at competitive pricing.
“With many tour platforms from South Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, Japan, Turkey, and Uganda in this year’s Matta Fair, I am sure visitors will be spoilt for choice,” he said. – The Vibes, November 20, 2021
