KOTA KINABALU: InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), a global hotel company, is optimistic that the tourism industry in Sabah will bounce back early next year.
IHG, which has almost 6,000 hotels globally, will be opening the Holiday Inn Express Kota Kinabalu, its first in East Malaysia, by the end of this year.
IHG general manager Najeeb Kurungottu said the company was confident that tourists will start flocking to Sabah again early next year.
"With the announcement that a Covid-19 vaccine has been found, we expect tourism activities to start bouncing back early next year.
"IHG is a renowned international brand and with our network all over the world, including in Peninsular Malaysia, we expect Holiday Inn Express Kota Kinabalu to be a hit among international and domestic visitors," he said in a statement.
Najeeb and his entourage met with state Assistant Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Joniston Bangkuai at the Sabah Tourism Board office here to brief him on the hotel's progress and operations.
The group hopes to open its doors before the end of the year as the 250-room hotel has already obtained the Occupancy Certificate and is awaiting the approval of an operating licence.
Sabah Tourism Board figures show that as of July, the state only recorded 177,648 international visitors and 628,780 Malaysian visitors, a decrease of 66.2 per cent compared to the year before.
Sabah is now under another month-long Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) period in which inter-district travel and tourism activities are forbidden until Dec 6 to curb the spread of Covid-19.
To date, the state has a total of 21,767 Covid-19 cases with 165 deaths.
The Health Ministry had yesterday said that the Covid-19 vaccine programme would be activated once a quality vaccine is found to be effective and safe. Priority, it said, would be given to frontliners, elderly citizens and patients with comorbidities.