More than one million tourists visited Sabah from January to May this year, with 662,560 of them being local tourists and 371,311 foreigners who arrived on flights via the Kota Kinabalu International Airport.

Sabah’s Deputy Chief Minister Christina Liew said the state government had set a target for four million tourist arrivals this year, compared to 3.8 million last year.

Liew, who is also tourism, culture and environment minister, said the government believed the target was achievable with the cooperation of all industry players.

“In the tourism industry in Sabah, the support of Matta (Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents) members is very important to the government’s efforts to develop the tourism industry,” she said during her speech at the Matta Sabah Chapter Aidilfitri celebration in Kota Kinabalu last night.

She said the government was also sensitive to the various issues that needed to be addressed, such as congestion problems in nearby islands, hygiene issues, the issue of unregistered tour operators, threats to endangered animal species and poor customer service.

- Bernama