KOTA KINABALU: Sabah raked in RM1.4 billion in tourism receipts between January and July this year from the arrival of 857,675 visitors.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said the figures represented a significant increase of 632 per cent compared to the same period last year.
He said the huge increase in tourism revenue was driven by the domestic tourism sector, which contributed to 785,123 visitors, an increase of 582 per cent for the same period last year.
"With the reopening of international borders, the number of foreign arrivals recorded a significant growth with 72,552 people, an increase of 3,680 per cent for the first seven months of 2022.
"This is indeed a good sign and slowly but surely, we see visitor arrivals picking up pace, and I am happy that tourism industry players have joined hands with us to push this upward momentum," he said at the official opening of the state capital's latest hotel, the Holiday Inn Express here today.
He said the upward trend showed that Sabah may be able to achieve more than a million visitors this year.
Hajiji also said air connectivity, for both domestic and international flights to and from Sabah, is on the upward trend.
Currently, there are 367 domestic flights with 60,162 seats capacity per week to Kuala Lumpur, Johor Baru, Penang, Kota Baru, Terengganu, Labuan, Kuching, Miri, Sibu, Bintulu and Mulu.
For the international aviation sector, Sabah is now connected to five international destinations namely Singapore, Bandar Seri Begawan, Incheon, Manila and Bangkok with a total of 39 flights per week and a seat capacity of 7,016.
"In line with tourism recovery efforts, the granting of incentives to international airlines have been implemented as part of the tourism recovery strategy post-pandemic.
"The incentive aims to support and encourage airlines to reinstate air connectivity, commence new international routes, or hold special charter flights to Sabah.
"This is important since 96 per cent of tourist arrivals to Sabah are by air," he said.
At the domestic level, he said efforts are focused on smart collaborations with industry partners such as airlines, tourism associations, and the Malaysian Tourism Promotion Board (Tourism Malaysia).
These collaborative initiatives include high visibility campaigns as well as familiarisation trips for media and social media influencers, he said.
The participation in tourism fairs such as the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) Fair and Malaysia International Travel Mart (MITM) Travel Fair will be further enhanced, he added.
During the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Hajiji said the state government launched the Hala Tuju Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) Roadmap, outlining its vision, strategy and priorities for the next five years from 2021.
"It was to be a pivotal blueprint to bring Sabah into the next decade and to provide clarity on Sabah's key focus areas, especially for businesses and investors resulting in high-impact multibillion ringgit investments taking off.
"And the best news is that Sabah has raked in RM9.9 billion worth of foreign investments between January and September this year, all achieved in the midst of the pandemic."
Hajiji said most importantly, these investments produced a multiplier effect to boost the economy.
"I want to see that they are measured in jobs created for our people.
"For a new hotel like Holiday Inn Express, we want to see that the impact is measured not only by the flow of visitors and their resources, but also by the opportunity in hiring locals to work here.
"And the key to this is that investments we bring in are measured in the motivating effect on other local enterprises besides seeing a ripple impact in local communities," he said.
As more arrivals are expected into Sabah, the state government is confident that there would be sufficient rooms with at least 11 new hotels being planned or built and to be completed in the next few years with additional 3,500 rooms.
Two more new hotels, Hyatt Centric and Alila Resort will be completed this year.
Hajiji also witnessed the handing over of RM50,000 contribution from Chee Swee Cheng Group of Companies to the Home Tuaran premises for orphans and the poor.
Present were state Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Jafry Arrifin; his assistant minister Datuk Joniston Bangkuai; state Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Yakub Khan; Chee Swee Cheng Group of Companies executive director Chee Eng Hoon; and InterContinental Hotels and Resorts Group's South East Asia and Korea director of operations Sophie Mougel.