Sabah hotels have close to 92% occupancy

KOTA KINABALU: The occupancy rates of hotels in Sabah is close to 92%, among the highest in the country said state Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun.

He said the state still needed another 5,000 hotel rooms but cautioned investors about taking a careful approach before plunging into the hospitality sector.

“Do not build hotels in places where no one will come to stay. Investors must do the necessary studies to avoid incurring losses and start blaming the government,” Masidi said. He said that visitors from the various regions usually had different requirements. 

Masidi noted that Chinese tourists liked to holiday at the islands, beaches and resorts while Europeans preferred to holiday amid Sabah’s diverse flora and fauna.

‘’It is no surprise then that 80% of visitors who go to the wildlife rich Lower Kinabatangan are from Europe,” he said when launching the hospitality exhibition organised by Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) Sabah and Labuan and the Asian Tourism International College here.

On complaints by some hotel operators in Sandakan who lamented that their businesses were languishing, Masidi the government had done its part by carrying out promotional efforts for the east coast Sabah district. He said among these was the recent Sandakan food fair in Hong Kong which received an overwhelming response.

‘’We have to always remember that we are competing against some of the world’s best including Bali and the Philippines,” he said in adding that Sabah had to leverage its unique traits including having 32 ethnic communities.

‘’We need to point out to potential visitors that cultural experiences in the north of Sabah is different to those in the west coast, east coast or interior of the state,” Masidi added.

-thestar online.