Promote longer stays in S’kan – Christina
SANDAKAN: Deputy Chief Minister Christina Liew recommended the tourism industry players in the district to expand their tourism packages in order to attract more tourists to stay longer in Sandakan.
Liew, who is also Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment, said Sandakan needs to have a new tourism package so that tourists will stay here for more than one night.
“Sandakan actually has more to offer to the tourists as it has the nature, wildlife and a lot of tourism industry players. I believe that if these local players would work together with the local government in promoting tourism products to domestic and international tourists, the tourism industry in Sandakan would grow at a faster rate,” she said when met after she visited the Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre at Sepilok yesterday.
Liew also visited the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre, Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary, Puh Jih Shih, Pasir Putih Beach, Batu Sapi Three-legged Stone, St Michael Church, China Ambassador Memorial House, Sam Sing Gong Temple, Sandakan Municipal Council Square, 1000 Step Staircase, Sandakan Heritage Museum, Central Market and the Agnes Keith House.
Also present at the visit were Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department, Arifin Asgali and Elopura assemblyman Calvin Chong. Liew added that today she will be meeting with local tourism industry players to discuss on the matter further.
“This is important because tourism industry is one of the industries that is contributing to the economy of Sabah based on the number of tourists to the State. Imagine (how much Sabah is making) if every tourist that come spends RM4,000 here?” she said, adding that she wants tourism players to take a better approach in attracting the tourists to stay longer here. Liew who visited Sandakan for the first time after she became Minister of Tourism, said that Sandakan has a lot of potential to be promoted as one of the tourism hot spots in Sabah.
After her visit, Liew said that she was particularly impressed with the Orang Utan Conservation Centre, Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary and Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre which are now tourist attraction spots.
Meanwhile, Chong said that he hoped the ministry as well as tourism players here would put more focus on Asian market (tourists from China, Taiwan and more) as 80 percent of tourists here are from European countries.
He said most of the tourists from other Asian countries who visit Sabah go to Kota Kinabalu and Semporna, but he hopes that these tourists would visit Sandakan as well.