Joniston: Malaysians from the peninsula vacationing in Sabah fosters national integration

KOTA KINABALU: Having Malaysians from the peninsula vacationing in Sabah plays a crucial role in fostering national integration, says Sabah Assistant Tourism, Culture and Environment Assistant Minister Datuk Joniston Bangkuai.

He says Sabah presents Malaysians with a reason to explore budget-friendly vacation options, given the increasing expense of international travel.

“Travellers from the peninsula not only get to explore a new destination within Malaysia but also engage in cultural exchange with the local community and foster a deeper sense of unity and understanding among Malaysians.

“In choosing to visit Sabah, it’s akin to going overseas, as you will be crossing the South China Sea,” he said in a statement.

The Sabah Tourism Board chairman said the shift in travel preferences would help domestic tourism grow, and be in line with the state government’s ‘Sabah Maju Jaya’ development plan to boost the state’s economy.

Joniston also highlighted the importance of reciprocity in promoting national unity, urging Sabahans to embrace cultural exchange with people from other states.

According to him, Sabah exceeded its 2023 target of 2.2 million tourist arrivals, with 2.6 million visitors, of which 1.75 million were domestic visitors 858,475 were foreigners, earning the state RM5.5 billion in tourism receipts.

He said statistics from the Sabah Tourism Board showed that in the first two months of this year, Sabah had 300,990 domestic and 231,237 foreign tourist arrivals.

The country with the most tourists coming to Sabah is China with 91,936 tourists followed by South Korea (42,653) and Brunei (36,066).