KOTA KINABALU – Sabah today welcomed 140 travellers from Guangzhou on the first direct flight from China to the state since the Covid-19 pandemic erupted in early 2020.
The passengers arrived at Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) at 5.30am on an AirAsia aircraft.
Sabah Assistant Tourism, Culture, and Environment Minister Datuk Joniston Bangkuai was on hand to greet them.
Low-cost carrier AirAsia is also scheduled to fly passengers from Shenzhen to KKIA tomorrow.
Sabah anticipated the arrival of Chinese visitors earlier this year, but a hold-up in issuing passports to Chinese citizens delayed the travel process.
“We are thrilled to have Chinese visitors back, and we hope our industry players will continue to provide exceptional hospitality services to our guests,” said Bangkuai, who is also cum Sabah Tourism Board (STB) chairman.
Formerly known as Canton during the British colonial period, Guangzhou is the fifth most populated city in China. Bangkuai stressed that China is a key and important market for Sabah.
He was accompanied by his ministry’s permanent secretary, Datuk Mohd Yusrie Abdullah; Chinese consul-general in Kota Kinabalu Huang Shifang; and STB chief executive officer Noredah Othman.
Sabah anticipates an influx of Chinese tourists in the coming months with the expected mounting of direct flights from several cities in China.
Prior to the pandemic, China was Sabah's leading international visitor source, with 598,566 Chinese visitors recorded in 2019. – The Vibes, March 2, 2023
