KOTA KINABALU: The state cabinet will expedite the construction of hotels to accommodate the increasing number of foreign tourists to Sabah, Tourism, Culture and Environment Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun said.
Although the state is in dire need of hotels, it must still ensure that the hotels that will be built in Sabah are reputable and of the highest quality.
“The state cabinet had recently decided to speed up the construction of more hotels in the state and a few companies had already been tasked to do so. We are fully aware of the state’s need,” Masidi said at a press conference during the launching ceremony of Xiamen Airlines’ inaugural flight from Beijing to Kota Kinabalu at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) on Tuesday.
“We must be proactive. We must leverage on Sabah’s beauty, not only in terms of its nature but in terms of its services and facilities as well,” he added.
Earlier in his speech, Masidi disclosed that there were over 430,000 tourists from China who came to Sabah, adding that most of them were from the southern or central China.
Last year’s figure had indicated an increase of 15.7 per cent in tourist arrivals compared to those of 2016.
Furthermore, with the commencement of the Xiamen Airlines’ direct flight, the state, Masidi asserted, would be expecting more Chinese tourists for this year and thus hotels would be needed more than ever.
Masidi also said the launching of Xiamen Airlines’ direct non-stop flight from Beijing to Kota Kinabalu will open more doors for Chinese tourists to come to Sabah.
“This is a huge opportunity for Sabah and Malaysia. We can expect more Chinese tourists to visit Sabah because of the availability of this direct flight,” he said.
“There will be a strong exchange of visitors to foster good relationship between China and Sabah. China has been the main international market source for Sabah.
“For the last ten years, we have penetrated into the main as well as the second tier cities with a population that craves for trips to the beaches and islands, which we are known for,” Masidi said.
He added that the people of Sabah were honoured that Xiamen Airlines had chosen Kota Kinabalu out of all the major cities in Malaysia, as its destination for the inaugural flight.
Also present was Xiamen Airlines deputy general manager Ou Dong Ying.
“This is Xiamen Airlines’ second route to Kota Kinabalu. The Fuzhou to Kota Kinabalu flight is running at an average 80% load since it first started in January 2017.
“We expect the new route to contribute to the growing demand of Chinese and expat holiday makers to Sabah, which is located within the six-hour flight radius,” Ou said.
She added that the outbound travel from China is increasing dramatically.
“From 2012 onward, China became the world’s largest outbound country and has the highest spending power, which also contributed to more than 13 per cent annually to the global tourism receipt,” she asserted.
According to Ou, in 2017 the number of Chinese outbound travellers had reached 129 million. This signified the vital role played by the Chinese tourists in the tourism industry.
“With the expansion of the ‘one belt, one road’ initiative, Sabah plays an important role along the Maritime Silk Road due to Sabah’s geographical location,” she said in explaining the strong relationship between Sabah and China, adding that the number of Chinese tourists was expected to reach one million in the near future.
Meanwhile, Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in Kota Kinabalu, Liang Caide, said that it’s his department’s corporate responsibility to closely follow the Belt and Road Initiative and devote to developing mutual economic partnership with neighbouring countries.
The daily flight on a Boeing 737-800 aircraft marked Xiamen Airlines’ first-ever international route from its Beijing regional hub.
The flight, which carried 163 passengers arrived at KKIA at 11.45am. Among those on board were Masidi, Ambassador of Malaysia to the People’s Republic of China, Datuk Zainuddin Yahya, and other notable state delegates.