KOTA KINABALU: Sabah will embark on aggressive efforts to bring in tourists from Southern China, identified as the next potential market due to the booming economies of the cities there.
State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said the potential high-end tourists or the more prosperous Chinese were centred in the regions of Shanghai, Hong Kong and Shenzhen.
“Shanghai is fast becoming the city of the world and of course everybody knows Hong Kong is the country’s financial centre.
“If you look at economic development also, it is concentrated at Shenzhen,” he said after launching the Sabah Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Satta) Fair 2011 here yesterday.
He said the Sabah Tourism Board had always conducted promotional activities with their partners including airline companies and tour agents at these destinations and would continue to do so.
Masidi said that although Beijing was also considered as another potential market, there were no direct flights connecting the city to Kota Kinabalu at present.
“So, when we talk about high-end tourists we also have to make sure connectivity. We can’t spend so much effort promoting in a place when there is no air connectivity.
“We therefore hope airlines in this near future would consider offering direct flights between Beijing and Kota Kinabalu,” he said.
Earlier in his speech, he said Japanese tourists were expected to decline following the earthquake and tsunami.
“Japan is going to recover. Obviously, we will continue our promotion works there if we feel they are ready to travel again,” he added. The Satta Fair ends tomorrow. — Bernama