Despite negative headlines, Sabah in East Malaysia recorded new tourist high

KOTA KINABALU - East Malaysia state of Sabah recorded in 2013 a 17.6 per cent increase in tourist arrivals or 3.38 million visitors last year compared to the previous year. Revenues from tourism were up by 15% with a total of RM 6.35 billion last year compared to RM 5.5 billion a year earlier. It was the highest growth ever recorded for the State tourism but it is also a strong sign that the destination is more than ever popular among travellers. Negative stories such as the sporadic kidnapping of tourists by Southern Filipino insurgents have raise some concerns among the public. However, they did not very much influence most of the travellers.

Wildlife and national parks remain the most popular attraction for outside travellers. The most popular activities include iconic wildlife species such as orang utans, proboscis monkeys, pygmy elephants as well as rare plants.

State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun acknowledged recently this was a historic achievement for Sabah's tourism industry, where it recorded 3.3 million tourist arrivals. The 3.3 million number is in fact surpassing the targets set for the
year 2014. According to Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun, Sabah could receive 3.5 million to 3.6 million by the end of 2014.

Domestic tourism remained a major contributor with 68 per cent of the total arrivals or 2.29 million. International arrivals grew however by 15.7 per cent, with China leading the growth of travellers with a jump of 86.7 per cent up compared to a year earlier. However, South Korea and Japan performed over the average with respective growth rates evaluated at 32.1 percent. Japan generated a growth of 25% per cent and Taiwan (15.5 per cent up).

Insurgent violence however depressed some markets such as Australia, the USA and other countries. A major concern for the Ministry is the lack of hotel accommodation. According to Mr. Manjun, most hotels record year-long occupancy rates of 92% and close to 100% in
peak travel periods. The difficulty to find a hotel has deterred some travel agents to take a risk.

"We need to realise that we do not have enough rooms, unless we direct our tourists to Sandakan, which is also facing a huge problem on hotels," he said. Some new hotels are now under development including the J.W Marriot Hotel (end of 2014) and Hilton in 2015.

Sourced: TravelDailyNews