The revenue was derived from the 2.9 million tourists who came last year, representing a 1.1% increase from 2011, state Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said.
He said international arrivals recorded an increase of 11% with notable growth in visitors from China and Hong Kong (44%) as well as South Korea (26%). Masidi said the state also recorded a 40% rise in the number of visitors from Britain and Ireland, apart from other European nations.
“This is an indication of confidence towards long-haul travel and a strong focus on nature-based tourism, which is Sabah’s forte,” he noted.
He said domestic tourists remained the main contributor as they constituted 67% of total arrivals to Sabah last year. However, this was a decrease of 3.2% compared with 2011 – mainly due to a reduction in domestic seat capacity from Sarawak and the peninsula.
“For the first time in 14 years, domestic arrivals were affected due to less competitive air fares offered to the domestic outbound market as well as opening of new routes by low-cost carriers to other regional destinations,” Masidi said.
-thestar online.
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