Sabah tourism bucks the slump talk with 4.1pc rise

Tourist arrivals in Sabah increased by 4.1% from January to August, boosted by growth in both international (6.9%) and domestic (2.1%) visitors, defying concerns of a tourism slump, according to State Tourism, Culture and Environment Assistant Minister Dr. Andi Md Shamsureezal Mohd Sainal.

The recent Matta Fair in Sabah, featuring 83 booths from various travel-related providers, aimed to further promote the state's tourism industry and set the stage for Visit Sabah 2027.

Efforts to attract more tourists include enticing travel packages and active promotion overseas, as evidenced by ongoing initiatives and endorsements by significant partners like the Sabah Tourism Board and Malaysia Aviation Group.

KOTA KINABALU, Sept 20 — Sabah tourist arrivals rose 4.1 per cent from January to August, disproving talk of a slump in the state’s tourism sector.

State Tourism, Culture and Environment Assistant Minister Dr Andi Md Shamsureezal Mohd Sainal said there had been an increase in both international and domestic arrivals during the period.

“The talk that Sabah’s tourism is declining is not true at all,” he said after officiating the opening ceremony of the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) Fair Sabah at the Sabah International Convention Centre, here, Saturday.

“From January to August this year, tourist numbers increased 4.1 per cent. International arrivals rose about 6.9 per cent, while local Malaysian visitors grew 2.1 per cent compared with last year,” he said.

For the record, this is the second Matta Fair held in Sabah this year, following the first edition in April.

“This time, we brought in travel agents to offer very attractive packages to draw more tourists to Sabah,” he said.

“On behalf of the State Government, I greatly appreciate and support initiatives like this by Matta to increase tourist arrivals and to promote Sabah to the world,” he added.

Asked whether the fair was part of preparations for Visit Sabah 2027, Dr Andi said it was.

“Certainly, Matta Fair is one of the programmes we have planned. God willing, in November we will release the full calendar for Visit Sabah 2027,” he said.

He said Sabah was also being actively promoted overseas, pointing out that State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Jafry Ariffin was currently in China to promote the state’s tourism sector.

The three-day fair is being held until today (Sunday) and is open to the public from 10am to 9pm.

It features 83 booths involving 28 tour and travel agencies, three hotels and resorts, two state tourism offices and four other travel-related service providers.

For the record, the April edition attracted an estimated 37,499 visitors and generated about RM24 million in sales.

For this edition, the Matta Sabah Chapter has set a target of 30,000 visitors and RM28 million in sales.

The fair is endorsed by the Sabah Tourism Board, with RHB Bank as the bank partner and Malaysia Aviation Group as the official airline partner and premier sponsor. Tourism Johor is also taking part.

Matta Sabah Chapter Chairman Alex Chong said the fair was more than a platform for selling holiday packages.

“It connects travellers with professional travel agents and tourism businesses while creating opportunities across the wider tourism ecosystem,” he said.

He said this year’s theme, “Discover More. Travel More. Experience More”, reflected the association’s encouragement for Sabahans to explore destinations in Sabah, Malaysia and overseas.

“At the same time, we are promoting Sabah as a destination for domestic and international travellers,” he said.

Present were Matta president Nigel Wong, among others. — Daily Express

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据沙巴州旅游、文化和环境部助理部长安迪·莫哈末·沙姆苏里扎尔·莫哈末·赛纳尔博士称，1月至8月，沙巴州的游客人数增长了4.1%，这得益于国际游客（增长6.9%）和国内游客（增长2.1%）的增长，打破了人们对旅游业低迷的担忧。

最近在沙巴举办的 MATTA 旅游展，汇集了 83 个来自不同旅游相关供应商的展位，旨在进一步促进该州的旅游业发展，并为 2027 年沙巴旅游年奠定基础。

为吸引更多游客，沙巴州推出了诱人的旅游套餐，并在海外积极推广，沙巴旅游局和马来西亚航空集团等重要合作伙伴的持续举措和支持就证明了这一点。

哥打基纳巴卢，9月20日讯——沙巴州1月至8月游客到访量增长4.1%，驳斥了有关该州旅游业低迷的说法。

州旅游、文化和环境部助理部长安迪·莫哈末·沙姆苏里扎尔·莫哈末·赛纳尔博士表示，在此期间，国际和国内游客人数均有所增加。

“沙巴旅游业正在衰退的说法完全不属实，”他在周六于沙巴国际会议中心举行的马来西亚旅游及旅行社协会（MATTA）沙巴博览会开幕式后说道。

他说：“今年1月至8月，游客数量增长了4.1%。国际游客数量增长了约6.9%，而马来西亚本地游客数量与去年同期相比增长了2.1%。”

据了解，这是今年在沙巴举办的第二届马来西亚国际贸易博览会（MATTA Fair），第一届于四月举行。

他说：“这次，我们引入了旅行社，提供极具吸引力的旅游套餐，以吸引更多游客前往沙巴。”

“我谨代表州政府，对马来西亚旅游发展局（MATTA）的此类举措表示衷心的赞赏和支持，这些举措旨在增加游客数量，并向世界推广沙巴。”他补充道。

当被问及此次博览会是否是2027年沙巴旅游年筹备工作的一部分时，安迪博士表示是的。

“当然，马塔博览会是我们计划中的项目之一。如果一切顺利，我们将在11月发布2027年沙巴旅游年的完整日程安排，”他说道。

他表示，沙巴州也在积极进行海外推广，并指出沙巴州旅游、文化和环境部长拿督贾夫里·阿里芬目前正在中国推广该州的旅游业。

为期三天的集市将持续到今天（星期日），每天上午 10 点至晚上 9 点向公众开放。

展会设有 83 个展位，参展商包括 28 家旅行社、3 家酒店和度假村、2 个州旅游局和 4 家其他旅游相关服务提供商。

据统计，4 月份的刊物吸引了约 37,499 名参观者，并产生了约 2400 万令吉的销售额。

本届马塔沙巴分会的目标是吸引 3 万名游客，销售额达到 2800 万令吉。

此次博览会由沙巴旅游局支持，RHB银行是银行合作伙伴，马来西亚航空集团是官方航空公司合作伙伴和首席赞助商。柔佛旅游局也参与其中。

马塔沙巴分会主席Alex Chong表示，此次博览会不仅仅是一个销售旅游套餐的平台。

他说：“它将旅行者与专业的旅行社和旅游企业联系起来，同时在更广泛的旅游生态系统中创造机会。”

他表示，今年的主题“发现更多，旅行更多，体验更多”，体现了该协会鼓励沙巴人探索沙巴、马来西亚和海外目的地的宗旨。

“与此同时，我们也在积极推广沙巴，使其成为国内外游客的旅游目的地，”他说道。

马塔主席奈杰尔·王等人也出席了活动。——《每日快报》

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