Tourists returning to Sabah after conflict
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Tourism in Sabah is beginning to recover after taking a hard hit from the Lahad Datu conflict, according to industry players who say tourists are coming back.
Sabah Hotel sales and marketing director Anthony Kong said cancellations were fewer now compared to early March, and groups who had postponed trips were reinstating their bookings.
Kong said that there had been several visitors who chose Sabah despite travel advisories warning them against it.
Sabah Hotel recorded over 120,000 ringgit (Bt1.14 million) in losses from cancellation of room and event reservations in March alone.
Meanwhile, tour operators were busy promoting the state’s various attractions, including Kinabalu National Park, Layang-Layang island, Lok Kawi Wildlife Park and dive spots like Sipadan and Mabul islands.
Popular Express Travel Sdn Bhd operations manager Christopher Chung said there had been a noticeable drop in tourist numbers last month but they had since increased and were now close to the monthly average number of Sabah tours they arranged.
The Sabah Tourism Board, in its latest travel advisory, confirmed all tourism activities in the state were operating as usual, including those on the east coast.
