KOTA KINABALU: Tourism players have to focus on domestic tourists while awaiting for the international borders to be opened.
Sabah Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said that while most operators were eagerly anticipating for the international borders to be opened, it would be easier to tap on the local market.
"Opening the international borders is not as simple as it sounds. In fact, most of the countries in the world have yet to open their borders.
"I think we should listen to Science and Medical Science (justification that explains) the good reason for that (the closure of borders).
"We have been so dependent on China. Some think that when we open borders, Chinese tourists will flood back to Sabah.
"But I believe China is also having tough rules on Covid-19 (zero tolerance approach) and which I doubt very much the expected number of people that can leave their country to come over here," he told the New Straits Times at Sabah International Convention Centre here.
In 2019, a total of 4.1 million tourist arrivals were recorded, with 40.7 per cent of international visitors to Sabah coming from China.
Masidi, who is also the former state Tourism, Culture and Environment minister, said out of those arrivals, 2.7 million of them were domestic travellers.
"The most practical thing to do now is to focus on our people who are good paymasters or spenders. While waiting for the good time (when the borders open), why not grab what is available now?
"If we get even 30 per cent or 810,000 domestic travellers, it will allow us revenue of RM2 billion annually."
Earlier, Masidi was speaking at a dialogue on "Balancing between Lives and Livelihoods: What's the Path Ahead for Sabah?" in conjunction with the 2022 Sabah International Business and Economic Summit here.
Other panel members were Yayasan Sabah Group deputy director Datuk Sam Mannan, Sabah Forestry Conservator of Forests Datuk Frederick Kugan and Sabah Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce and Industry chairman Datuk Seri Wong Khen Thau.
Masidi had also suggested the government inject money into the industries to revive the economy, upskilling the young generations and increasing productivity in agricultural sectors by using technology to secure food security.