Showing solidarity: Chief Minister Musa Aman (right) holding hands with his deputies (from left) Datuk Raymond Tan, Datuk Yahya Hussin and Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan during the first state assembly.
KOTA KINABALU: The tourism sector is expected to contribute RM5.42bil to the Sabah economy this year.
Yang di-Pertua Negri Tun Juhar Mahiruddin said that the industry appeared to have rebounded from the bitter episode of the Sulu gunmen intrusion in Lahad Datu in February with visitor arrivals improving.
Delivering his policy address at the opening of the State Legislative Assembly here yesterday, he said that 967,183 tourists came to Sabah between January and April, a 6.6% increase over the same period last year.
He said that the state government would do everything possible to ensure increasing tourist arrivals, adding that this would include consulting countries which had imposed travel advisories on Sabah.
Juhar said that concerted efforts by state officials in meeting US and British diplomats had paid off following a decision by the two foreign governments to rescind their travel advisories on the state. He said as such, the Sabah government remained optimistic that its target of attracting three million tourists this year was within reach.
Juhar also said that oil and gas activities would be the main driver of Sabah’s industrial activities, which were set to attract RM5.44bil in investments this year. Of this, RM2.5bil would be in the Sipitang Oil and Gas Industrial Park, RM1bil in the Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park and RM415mil and RM328mil in the Lahad Datu and Sandakan palm oil industrial clusters.
Earlier, Juhar inspected a guard-of-honour outside the assembly building. The debate on the policy speech will be held until Thursday.
-thestar online.
www.sabahtourism.com
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