91 China-Sabah direct flights weekly now

KOTA KINABALU: There are now 91 direct flights weekly flying from China to Sabah, said Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun.

According to Masidi, Malindo Air has launched thrice weekly flights from Chengdu, Changsha and Guangzhou to Kota Kinabalu yesterday, while Lucky Air has also commenced its KunmingKota Kinabalu route which flies three times a week.

Despite the thriving tourism industry, he reminded industry players not to be complacent or take things for granted.

"It is important to improve ourselves. Over time, there are going to be new markets in Asia and other parts of the world, such as Vietnam and Cambodia, and more islands are opening up for tourism in Indonesia," Masidi said.

He also emphasised on the continuous training and retraining of tourist guides, including learning to speak more languages.

Masidi said this when launching the new office of the Sabah Tourist Guides Association (STGA) at Lintas Square here yesterday.

He also urged tourism players to work on the domestic market as well.

Although the number of Chinese tourists was good at the moment, he said a bad experience such as the disappearance of flight MH370 could cause the entire market to change.

"The biggest mistake is to put all our eggs in one basket.

"We should also try to look into the potential of the domestic market because when things are bad, the domestic market will normally save us from the worst in the industry," Masidi warned.

He added that Malaysians were also more likely to travel within the country when the economy slowed down.

Masidi also announced a contribution of RM10,000 from his ministry to the STGA for the setting up of its new office.

Meanwhile, STGA president Chin Seah Fong said the association was prepared to work with the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment and colleges to provide training for trainers to run the Regional Specific Tourist Guide (RSTG) for newcomers who wished to venture into the industry.

She said the association aspired to produce more professional, quality tourist guides to meet the industry demands.

Chin said it was not an easy task to promote Sabah tourism and ensure the industry's sustainability.

She said tourists had to have a pleasant experience during their stay in Sabah and leave with good memories for them to return to the state for another visit.

To this end, Chin said tourist guides played a vital role in terms of having good communication skills, knowledge of Sabah and Malaysia tourism, important statistics and local cultures to win the trust and confidence of tourists.

“Quality tour guiding is not just about pleasing the tourists' demands or queries, or bringing them shopping.

“Many times we have to remind tourists not to harm the environment and to respect the local culture, as well as refrain from doing something dangerous,” she pointed out.

With the new office, Chin said the association could now provide training to tour guides to upgrade their knowledge so that they could impress tourists and ensure repeat visits to Sabah.

Also present were ATI College executive chairman cum chief executive officer Datuk Seri Panglima Wong Khen Thau and Sabah Tourism Board general manager Suzaini Sabdin Ghani.