Kota Kinabalu: Sabah is eyeing more direct flights from western countries to boost its tourism.
State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Christina Liew said her Ministry plans to visit several western countries to promote its tourism value.
“Our team, under the new Sabah Tourism Board chief executive officer, is working on this. It is an ongoing process,” she told reporters after a Chinese New Year luncheon with the local media, here, Wednesday.
“My Assistant Minister and I will be visiting a few western countries this year to explore the possibility of getting more flights to Sabah,” she said, without naming the countries.
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She said Chinese tourists were still keen on Sabah and a big group was expected for the Lunar New Year holidays.
“With the Malaysia My Second Home programme and the Sabah Convention Bureau, I believe this will help us achieve our target,” she said.
Sabah has been a major destination from Chinese and Korean groups in the past and while tourism arrivals have picked up, industry players report that business had yet to return to pre-pandemic levels.
The State has previously said it would diversify its target market but still concentrate on high-value travellers.
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