
Sabah posts 46pct more sales at Matta Fair in KL
Sabah Tourism Board (STB), which spearheaded the state's presence at the fair, said 43 travel agents took part under its coordination to promote the destination within the Sabah zone.
"These encouraging responses affirmed Sabah's continued status as a preferred domestic travel destination, providing a diverse array of tourism offerings ranging from adventure, culture and nature to community-based tourism.
"STB debuted two local brands from Sabah; Chanteek Borneo showcased various clothing and textile designs with traditional Sabah motifs, while Uinah introduced the health benefits of its refreshing locally crafted drink made from locally sourced ingredients harvested sustainably in Sabah.
"Both brands received favourable responses from the Matta Fair attendees," it said.
STB chief executive officer Julinus Jeffery Jimit said the strong results were driven by the commitment and active involvement of Sabah's tour and travel agencies, highlighting the spirit of unity among Sabahans in working alongside the agency to promote the state's tourism industry.
STB said it remains dedicated to strengthening Sabah's destination marketing both locally and internationally, with active involvement in key travel events such as the Matta Fair.
This aligns with its ongoing 'Explore Sabah' campaign in the lead-up to Visit Malaysia Year 2026.
To enhance visitor engagement, the booth offered virtual reality experiences and daily interactive activities, alongside a consumer survey aimed at gaining insights into domestic travel preferences, it said.
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Daily Express
an hour ago
- Daily Express
The Christina-Sabin factor in tourism
Published on: Sunday, August 17, 2025 Published on: Sun, Aug 17, 2025 By: Datuk John Lo Text Size: YES, Thanks to Christina Liew, tourism has fully recovered. More tourists will come. I think so. Justifications: [1] Tourist arrivals and air connectivity have now matched pre-Covid numbers. If not for Trump's madness, they could have been better. [2] Look around KK. Hotel lobbies are busy, Airbnb is booming and Airbnb properties are selling lie hot cakes, queues at seafood restaurants every night. KKIA is overflowing with tourists at peak hours. Tourists are flocking to 'MayBank' in Gaya Street to have their photos taken! [3] KK has the largest tourist arrivals, best air connectivity and unmatched facilities in Borneo for tourists. Yes. Borneo. Better than Brunei, Kuching and all cities in Kalimantan. [4] The SICC which was the brain child of Tun Musa when he was CM, has taken-off very well. Christina has formed the Sabah Convention Bureau which is undertaking promotion of MICE aggressively. Already, MICE is at an unprecedented number. More are coming from 2026 onwards. MICE will bring in higher value tourists to Sabah. [5] Christina has also initiated a few tourism products, the most meaningful to Sabahans in general and KK residents in particular will be the new 22-story iconic Wisma Budaya and the much larger Sabah Cultural Centre in Kinarut. These will become major tourist hotspots. [6] Christina has fought 'tooth and nail' for Sabah to have our own 'Sabah MM2H' and KKIA's RM400m plus from Federal Government for renovation which can, on completion, handle 12m visitors. [7] For the first time, Christina has put sustainable tourism and rural tourism on the map. In terms of contribution to Sabah's economy, Christina has increased tourism revenue for Sabah from RM5.76 billion in 2023 to RM7.28 billion in 2024. Amazing performance! KK Residents are the biggest beneficiaries of Christina's persistence and hard work. [a] Employments and Business Opportunities. The is true. Of the RM7.28 billion tourism revenue in 2024, the largest amount spent by tourists was in KK. The beneficiaries were [1] airlines, [2] hotels [especially 4* and 5*], [3] Airbnb, [4] restaurants [seafood and bak-kut-teh], [5] hawkers, [6]retailers [down to Ice Cream Potong], [7] Grab drivers, [8] importers of fine wine, wagyu beef], [9] SMEs, [10] fishermen, [11] farmers, [12] tour agents, [13] tour guides, [13] 10s of thousands direct and indirect jobs. No fear of contradiction that the tourism industry has benefited almost all KK residents in one way or another. [b] Impressive Returns from Tourism. Exceptionally returns! The Sabah State Budget 2024 allocated the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment RM141.91 million only. Christina has provided critical leadership and guidance to generate tourism revenue of RM7.28 billion for Sabah. A very impressive return of more than 51 times. [c] How Important is tourism? In another perspective, tourism has generated revenue of RM7.28 billion which is larger than the 2024 State Budget [RM5.701 billion] and almost 10pc of Sabah total GDP [RM84.3 billion] in 2024. Any potential for further growth? From practically ZERO base and with little help from Federal Government, Sabah has matured to its present stage, thanks to Chong Kiat Kat and proactively supported by hotel investors and numerous tourism owners. The future is bright. Fortunately, at the same time, KK has Sabin as Mayor. He is progressive and proactive in sorting out KK's myriad problems. Under Sabin, KK is becoming an attractive city. The increasing tourist arrivals stands testimony. With Christina and Sabin, KK is destined for greater things! What's next, which direction for Sabah's tourism? Sabah's tourism has been the 'darling industry' for many years. Christina has brought it back to glory after the devastations by Covid. The industry is vibrant once again! Sabah must not rest on the present laurel, must plough on to achieve higher performance with focus on better value arrivals, higher tourism receipts and value added down-stream. The way forward. Meaningful partnership of Christina and Sabin to transform KK as de-facto tourism capital of Borneo. Never say impossible. Against all odds, KK has grown to be the dominant tourism centre in Borneo. The partnership between Christina and Sabin will further reinforce KK's tourism leadership in Borneo. Tough job but it is possible as both Christina and Sabin have proactive and progressive mindsets. Christina's quiet determination to develop tourism and Sabin to revamp and transform KK, can establish KK as the unrivalled tourism capital in Borneo. They can do it with solid support from tourism owners. Why tourism owners must work with Christina and Sabin? Here are some good reasons: [1] Due to inflation and other economic factors, cost for tourism owners are constantly rising. [2] Staff are expecting increases or they will seek places. [3] Rising cost and cheapie pricing can only squeeze profit margin. [4] They are not doing justifications to their investment/shareholders by accepting present status quo of underselling KK. Tourism owners can help by supporting Christina/Sabin partnership. Some suggestions: [1] To elevate Sabah's tourism up the value chain, owners especially the owners of hotels, must discard the present model of resorting to cheap pricing. Their CHEAPIE CHEAPIE BUSINESS MODEL IS SERIOUSLY OUT OF DATE. [2] Most of Sabah's products can be sold at good premium but are being marketed at undervalued prices. Tourism owners should stop competing on being cheap. Prices at many similar destinations are being sold at much higher value. [3] Tourism owners, should recognize that 'Price is a function of Quality of Service'. 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It will be the first hotel in Singapore and this region to have all suites hotel [500 suites!] in this extension. [5] Tourism owners must keep a continuous vigilant watch on the management of KKIA. Over the last few years, there are some improvements but far from satisfactory. KKIA is first and last impressions for tourists to bring home. So far, the impressions for tourists are not exactly exciting. [6] Sell KK as an experience and life style destination. Not a cheapie place. [7] Maintenance of some 5* star hotels has fallen behind badly. Tourism Owners [especially 4* and 5* hotel owners] Must Assist Christina and Sabin to Transform KK into a Major Tourism City. The 4* and 5* star hotel owners fought for open sky policy. Through the good office o of Chong Kah Kiat, SIHA present its case for open sky policy to Tun M. [1] Sabah was granted an 'open sky' policy in March 1999. This decision was made by then-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad following a presentation by the Sabah International Hotels Association (SIHA). [2] This policy was a significant step in liberalizing the state's aviation sector, which had a major positive impact on its tourism industry by allowing more direct international flights. The hotel owners [not management] must proactively support Christina/Sabin to transform KK into the Tourism Capital of Borneo! The views expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of the Daily Express. If you have something to share, write to us at: [email protected]

Barnama
3 hours ago
- Barnama
Sabah's First Locally Developed e-Hailing App Borneo VeGO Launched
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Malay Mail
3 hours ago
- Malay Mail
Sabah eyes bigger slice of Singapore tourism with direct Scoot flights to Sandakan
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