Sabah hits 1.3-million visitor target for this year, says state assistant minister

KOTA KINABALU – Sabah has received 1,356,056 visitors as of October, spending an estimated RM2.4 billion, said Assistant Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Joniston Bangkuai.

With this, Sabah has achieved its 1.3-million visitor target for this year, he added.

“This is a 752.9% increase compared to the number of arrivals last year,” he said in his winding-up speech at the state assembly today.

Bangkuai (Kiulu-PBS) noted 1,180,050 arrivals were domestic visitors while 176,009 were international visitors, mostly from Singapore, Brunei, United Kingdom, Germany, France and the Netherlands.

“The uptrend in domestic and international visitors was the result of the country’s border reopening in April and the increase in the number of flights to Sabah.

“At present, Sabah has 354 domestic flights and five direct international flights weekly.”

He added that new carrier MY Airline will commence flights to Sabah twice daily from December 1 onwards.

Meanwhile, the state Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry has been allocated RM134.59 million under Sabah’s Budget 2023.

Bangkuai said of the total allocation, RM6 million will be spent on the Rural Tourism Development Programme.

He added that the ministry will also increase the number of protected areas next year, including gazetting Mantanani Island Park in Kota Belud and Darvel Bay Park in Lahad Datu.

Efforts to gazette the 5,219-acre former Mamut copper mine in Ranau as part of the Kinabalu Park will also be carried out next year, he said.

“Sabah Parks also targets to include Long Pa Sia highlands in Sipitang, the Crocker Range Park near the Keningau-Kimanis forest reserve as protected areas.”

On the development of the Sabah Pangolin Sanctuary and Research Institute, Bangkuai said a new memorandum of understanding is now being finalised.

He added that the state Wildlife Department is also in the process of studying the relevancy of having such a facility.

Bangkuai said this in response to a question from Datuk Christina Liew (Api-Api-PKR) who had mooted the institute during her time as the state tourism, culture, and environment minister in 2019.

On the proposal from Datuk Masiung Banah on having a law to protect people from elephant attacks, Bangkuai said the ministry will study the proposal. – The Vibes, November 29, 2022