Kota Kinabalu: Vendors and visitors at the Gaya Street Sunday Market congratulated Api-Api Assemblywoman Datuk Christina Liew on her appointment as Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment during her Chinese New Year walkabout Sunday.
They hoped that 2023 would be a prosperous year with more tourists coming to visit Sabah, especially from China.
“We look forward to an influx of Chinese tourists, hopefully without any extra SOP requirements. We had no Chinese minister in the State Cabinet to be the voice of the people for more than two years.
“We hope the newly-appointed Chinese ministers will act as our conduit to convey our views and aspirations to the government. We support the government of the day,” they told Liew, who is also Sabah Pakatan Harapan Chairman.
Tourism players and professionals are banking on the tourism industry, among other sectors, for Sabah’s economy to flourish again. “Don’t stop the Chinese tourists, don’t block them from coming to Sabah,” they said to the minister during her walkabout in Damai Plaza here, earlier.
Meanwhile, Liew described the Api-Api Night Food Market as a hive of activity as locals and visitors thronged the venue on Saturday night.
“The crowd has come back. There is thriving business for the food stall operators. When there is a surge of Chinese tourists in the near future, their spending will give the local economy a shot in the arm,” she enthused.
The Api-Api Assemblywoman initiated the Night Food Market as a tourist attraction in December 2018.
On another matter, Liew said issues raised by shop owners in Kg Air, Sinsuran and Segama Shopping Complexes included parking fees, poor road condition in certain parts of the city area, broken pavements and bird droppings falling onto vehicles parked in front of shops.
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