JOINT COMMITTEE TO HELP SABAH TOURISM

Joint committee to help Sabah tourism

by Nancy Lai

KOTA KINABALU 19/03/2013: The State and Federal tourism ministries have agreed to set up a joint ‘Tourism Recovery Committee’ to look at ways to help Sabah tourism industry which has taken a toll because of the ongoing conflict in Lahad Datu.

Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said that the committee would look into getting people to travel to Sabah again as the intrusion in Lahad Datu had affected the state’s tourism sector.

Masidi said that the committee would start off by setting up a RM500,000 fund on a 50-50 basis between the state and federal governments.

“We are trying to put up aggressive advertisements to woo back visitors and the fund will be used to do all the public relations work as we need to ‘sell’ back Sabah to the world.

30% DROP IN HOTEL ROOM OCCUPANCY

30% drop in hotel room occupancy

by Jenne Lajiun

Chan (left) speaking to reporters yesterday.

KOTA KINABALU 15/03/2013: Many hotels in Sabah are already feeling the negative impact following the foreign armed intrusion in Lahad Datu.

According to Christopher Chan, president of the Sabah Hotel Association (SHA), some hotels have experienced a drop of 30 per cent in their room occupancy beginning early this month.

Many also experienced a drop of between 30 per cent and 40 per cent in their income as government departments were cancelling events that were supposed to take place at the respective hotels, Chan told a press conference at a hotel here yesterday,.

The drop in income due to the drop of foreign arrivals was between 15 per cent and 20 per cent, he said.

Website hotel and tour booking portals have also indicated a drop of more than 20 per cent in online bookings for hotels and tours offered in Sabah, he said.

“It is a worrying figure…The situation is not good despite the claim made by the relevant authorities that tourism is business as usual in Sabah,”

TRANSPORT MINISTER UNDER FIRE FROM SABAH LEADERS

Transport Minister under fire from Sabah leaders

KOTA KINABALU 20/12/2012: The Ministry of Transport (MOT) has come under fire from Sabah leaders over the shutdown of work by Global Upline Sdn Bhd (GUSB), the contractor of the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) development.

Barisan Nasional (BN) Putatan member of parliament Datuk Dr Marcus Mojigoh was of the opinion that GUSB’s statement about the reason why it had stopped work on the airport expansion project proved that the Transport Ministry is irresponsible.

He was also worried about the safety aspects of the airport based on GUSB’s statement which read, ‘in the interest of safety to aircraft operation and passengers alike, we would like to inform the public that the runway is not safe for landing, take-off and other operation since it has been certified non-complete by MOT. The runway shall be forthwith closed for operation’.

CHINA TOURISTS PREFER SABAH, FLIGHTS UP

China tourists prefer Sabah, flights up

Kota Kinabalu: State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said starting from this month there will be increased flights between China and Kota Kinabalu to cater to the increasing number of tourists from China.

"As of July this year the number of Chinese tourists who came to Sabah is already equal to the entire number of tourists who came to Sabah last year.

So tourist-wise in terms of the Chinese market we are doing well.

"International tourists this year have also been better than last year so we can expect more European tourists as well.

KKIA RUNWAY NOT SAFE FOR LANDING AND TAKE-OFF OF AIRCRAFT?

Company stops works on KK International Airport

KOTA KINABALU 19/12/2012: Global Upline Sdn Bhd (GUSB) announced that it has stopped all works to develop the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) effective yesterday.

Its chief advisor, Tan Sri Ting Pek Khiing, said the Ministry of Transport (MOT) failed to fulfill its promise to issue a Certificate of Practical Completion (CPC) to GUSB upon completion of section one of the works in Package 2 of the project by April 30 this year.

This, he said, meant the runway was not safe for landing and take-off of aircraft as well as other operations on the runway since it had been certified non-complete by MOT and would be closed.

TOURISM COMPLEMENTS CONSERVATION IN RANAU ‘FISH SPA’ VILLAGE

Tourism complements conservation in Ranau ‘fish spa’ village

The fishy masseurs in Moroli River at Kampung Luanti.

16/12/2012 - SUSTAINABLE environmental management and tourism complement each other at Kampung Luanti Baru, a village in Ranau.

The Fish Spa Experience, promoted as a tourism product through the Tagal system, ensures that while the environment and marine life are kept intact, the villagers are benefiting from promoting the environment through tourism.

Sited 130km — about two and half hours’ drive — from Kota Kinabalu, this village is tranquil, peaceful and rather sleepy just like any other hamlets in Sabah with a river winding through it.

ENAM LELAKI HILANG KETIKA BERKAYAK SG. LIWAGU RANAU AKHIRNYA DITEMUI

Enam lelaki hilang ketika berkayak akhirnya ditemui

RANAU 25/11/2012: Sekumpulan enam orang lelaki yang dipercayai hilang semasa berkayak sejak Khamis lepas akhirnya ditemui dalam keadaan lemah di laluan kawasan Sungai Liwagu di sini kelmarin.

Difahamkan, kayak yang digunakan tersangkut pada batu menyebabkan kesemua mangsa tidak dapat meneruskan perjalanan.

‘FOREIGN-OWNED’ SHOPS TURNING AWAY LOCAL CUSTOMERS?

‘Foreign-owned’ shops turning away local customers claim

KOTA KINABALU 19/11/2012: A number of shops operated by foreigners allegedly turned away local patrons for no valid reason.

Democratic Action Party (DAP) Kota Kinabalu Youth assistant chief Junz Wong told reporters yesterday that they were informed by members of the public that some of the suovenir shops owned by foreigners had refused to let locals patronise their shops.

PREPARE FOR LIBERALIZATION, TOURISM PLAYERS TOLD

Prepare for liberalization, tourism players told

KOTA KINABALU 12/11/2012: Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun has urged tourism players in Sabah to prepare for the eventual liberalization of the industry.

“The trend is towards liberalization, so my advice to tourism players in Sabah is to gear up for the eventual liberalization of every industry in the world. Malaysia is a member of the international committee and if you look at it, the trend is towards liberalization, that is eventually there will only be one system to operate in the world. So we need to prepare for it.

TOURIST ARRIVALS FROM NORTH ASIA UP

Tourist arrivals from north Asia up

KOTA KINABALU 4/11/2012: The north Asia market, namely China and Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan, remained as key market source for overall international arrivals into the state, said Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun.

Speaking to reporters after launching the 15th Sabah Hospitality Fiesta 2012 at Karamunsing Complex yesterday, he said although the number of visitors to Sabah from January to September registered a marginal growth of only 0.1 per cent, international arrivals from the least expected countries, namely north Asia, had gone up.

“Compared to the same period in 2011, China and Hong Kong increased by 44.3 per cent from 103,340 to 149,104, while South Korea increased by 21.5 per cent from 48,439 to 58,871.

KERAJAAN PERSEKUTUAN MOHON MAAF ATAS GANGGUAN ELEKTRIK DI KKIA

Kerajaan mohon maaf di atas gangguan elektrik di KKIA

LABUAN 30/10/2012- Kerajaan Persekutuan memohon maaf kepada penumpang yang terjejas akibat gangguan bekalan elektrik di landasan Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Kota Kinabalu (KKIA) pada malam Khamis dan Jumaat lepas.

Ketika menyatakan perkara itu, Timbalan Perdana Menteri Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin berkata kerajaan memandang berat insiden itu dan mahu Menteri Pengangkutan Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha melaporkan apa sebenarnya yang berlaku pada mesyuarat Kabinet Persekutuan Jumaat ini.

"Kita memohon maaf kepada mereka (penumpang) kerana kita tahu waktu itu ramai yang bersedia pulang merayakan Aidiladha tetapi tak dapat balik dan terpaksa menunggu di lapangan terbang kerana gangguan lampu di lapangan terbang yang tidak beroperasi dan berfungsi dengan baik.

MEASURES TO ENSURE RUNWAY BLACKOUT WON’T RECUR VITAL – MATTA SABAH

Measures to ensure runway blackout won’t recur vital – MATTA Sabah

KOTA KINABALU 28/10/2012: The Malaysian Association of Tour N Travel Agents (MATTA) Sabah Chapter has urged Malaysia Airport Berhad (MAB)  to take proactive measures to ensure runway lights failure will not recur again.

Making the call in a statement here yesterday, MATTA Sabah chairman KL Tan said the destination image is badly affected for tourist stranded for hours whether coming into Sabah or connecting for flights back to their countries.

KKIA RUNWAY RESUMES OPERATION

Runway resumes operation

Passengers checking in at terminal two of Kota Kinabalu International Airport on Friday morning to catch the flights out after they were stranded on Thursday night.

Backup portable lighting system installed; airlines making service recovery arrangements

KOTA KINABALU 27/10/2012: The runway at Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) was opened for operation late last night after a backup portable lighting system was installed.

3.105 MILLION TOURISTS EXPECTED NEXT YEAR

3.105 million tourists expected next year

24/10/2012: MORE tourists are expected to visit Sabah next year, with the establishment of additional new flights and routes.

Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun in expressing his confidence, said that they had targeted at least 3.105 million tourists would pick Sabah as their holiday destination. Of the figure, 2,175,000 are domestic visitors, while 930,000 are from abroad.

“We believe this will generate revenue amounting to some RM5.510 billion to the state,”

ONLY LOCAL TOURIST GUIDES FOR SABAH, SAYS MASIDI

Only local tourist guides for Sabah, says Masidi

KOTA KINABALU 22/10/2012: Sabah tourist guides must not allow their principles to be compromised, Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said.

Have trust in your own abilities, love your profession, love yourself and be proud to be a tour guide as it is an honorable profession, he said at the Sabah Tourist Guides Association (STGA) Appreciation Night for its members and industry players here on Saturday night.

“You should never allow yourself to compromise your principles because what you do and what you don’t do really describes who you are in that profession,”

THE LARGEST MARINE PARK IN SEA WILL BE IN SABAH

Largest marine park in SEA soon

CONSERVATION: 1.02m-hectare Tun Mustapha Park may be gazetted by 2016

A group of scientists on their way to a 19-day expedition to Tun Mustapha Park in Kudat, Sabah, recently. Pic courtesy of WWF-Malaysia

KUDAT 19/10/2012: FOLLOWING an expedition and survey, a team of scientists has approved the idea of gazetting a 1.02 million hectare marine park, which covers the waters here to Pulau Banggi.

The 19-day expedition at Tun Mustapha Park last month yielded positive results.

They will propose that the Sabah government gazette the park by 2016, to ensure the conservation of marine life. The park also has the potential to become the largest marine park in Southeast Asia.

YOUTHS URGED TO CONSIDER CAREER IN WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT

Youths urged to consider career in wildlife management

KOTA KINABALU 6/10/2012: The Sabah Wildlife Department is encouraging youths to explore and consider career opportunities in wildlife management as well as conservation.

Its director, Laurentius Ambu, said the state needed to start building a team of local ‘warriors’ to continue protecting and caring for the wildlife in Sabah.

160 SPESIES BARU DITEMUI DI GUNUNG KINABALU

160 spesies baru ditemui di Gunung Kinabalu

Katak tanduk juga ditemui pasukan penyelidik di kawasan Gunung Kinabalu. - Foto ihsan Naturalis Biodiversity Center

Rama-rama Atlas dipercayai paling terbesar di dunia. - Foto ihsan Naturalis Biodiversity Center

KOTA KINABALU 5/10/2012- Penyelidik Malaysia dan Belanda menemui kira-kira 160 spesies baru di kawasan pergunungan Borneo baru-baru ini – penemuan yang menakjubkan dunia sains.

CHALLENGE TO PRODUCE MORE KOREAN SPEAKING GUIDES

Challenge to produce more Korean speaking guides

KOTA KINABALU September 26, 2012: Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun has posed a challenge to tourism players to produce more Korean speaking guides within a year.

Speaking after a two-and-a-half-hour meeting with tourism stakeholders, including Sabah Tour Guides Association (STGA), yesterday, Masidi added that the call to engage Korean guides to guide their nationals while holidaying in Sabah will not be implemented as yet.

MINISTRY’S DECISION DETRIMENTAL TO TOURISM INDUSTRY

Ministry’s decision detrimental to tourism industry

KOTA KINABALU September 24, 2012: The Federal Ministry’s decision to ‘temporarily open’ the tourist guiding labor market to Koreans is detrimental not only to the wellbeing of Malaysian tourist guides in Sabah but also to the tourism industry as a whole.

This is the view of Daniel Doughty, the chairman for Sabah Tour Guide Association (STGA) and James M. Alin, Tourism Economist of School of Business and Economics.

Firstly, they said that Malaysian tourist guides are being sidelined and the local tourist guides are disappointed with the federal government for giving away ‘good jobs’ to the non-Malaysians.