Tourists treated to local fruits at KKIA
KOTA KINABALU: The Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (Fama) took a step further to promote local fruits to tourists who arrived at Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) here, yesterday.
A variety of local fruits which amounted to two tonnes, such as mangosteen, rambutan and jackfruits among others, were exhibited and given to tourists who arrived at KKIA Arrival Hall One.
The highlight of the event was the durian, with guests and tourists gathering and eagerly waiting for attendants to split open the thorny king of fruits.
The durians, which included the D24 clones, were opened and instantly offered to the guests and tourists.
Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Yahya Hussin when launching of the event, said promoting the local fruits to tourists at KKIA, was held for the first time.
He said the government chose to promote local fruits this year, especially seasonal fruits like durian, rambutan and mangosteen to tourists, because Sabah Tourism’s early data showed an increase of 7.5% tourist arrivals (3.7 million tourists) to Sabah in 2017, compared to 2016.
Yahya said Malaysian visitors accounted for the highest arrivals in Sabah via KKIA at 2.5 million in 2017.
The second highest arrivals of 430,000 were from China, followed by 311,000 and 115,000 visitors from South Korea and Indonesia, respectively.
“Coincidentally, the highest number of tourists from these four countries are also fans of the king of fruits, the durian.
“This is a very wide market and an annual arrival increment (into Sabah) gives a bright scenario not only to fruit stalls, but also a great hope for the return of profits to be shared with growers,” said Yahya who is also the Agriculture and Food Industry Minister.
Based on the event, which was a success, he urged people in the rural areas to take the initiative to plant more local fruits to increase their income.
Yahya recalled the recent budget tabled by the prime minister where the government has allocated some funds for the cultivation of selected fruits, including durians, to meet the upcoming market demand.
The promotion of the local fruits and agro-based industries was held by Fama, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry together with Malaysia Airports Berhad, Kota Kinabalu.
The program received warm feedback from tourists who had just arrived at KKIA.