Book Launch
Making Sabah better known
By Elaine Mah
Pictures by Oliver Majaham
Speaking at the Book Launch of "Enchanting Borneo Special Edition" at the Pacific Sutera Hotel today, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment, Datuk Masidi Manjun said that many people have heard of Borneo but few have heard of Sabah, and hopefully, the book would help to make Sabah better known.
He told the gathering, however, that more and more people now know Sabah and consider it a good place to come for their holiday. He cited as a case in point the 45 percent rise in the number of European visitors to Sabah over the last ten months.
He considers these numbers as significant as tourism is one of Sabah’s main income earners and the steady increase of tourist arrivals is indicative of the growth of state's tourism industry. In 2009, 2.24 million visitors arrived in Sabah. This increased to 2.5 million in 2010 and 2.84 million in 2011. Despite the global economic gloom the number of visitors continued to climb. Sabah received 1.87 million tourist arrivals during the first eight months of this year, with revenue valued at RM3.39 billion.
Masidi was particularly upbeat about Sabah's ability to attract high-end tourists. He said arrivals from Germany have gone up about 71 percent in the last ten months.
The number of Chinese travellers has likewise risen, numbering some 132, 377 visitors from January to August 2012, as compared to 133, 736 people in 2011.
“Before the year ends, I believe we should be able to get 150,000 Chinese travellers to Sabah,” Masidi said.
Commenting on the launch of the Enchanting Borneo book, Masidi said the book would further spark interest in Sabah.
Enchanting Borneo is part of a travel photo book series by Australian author David Bowden. The 80-page book includes basic information as well as interesting snippets about Sabah, Sarawak, Brunei and Kalimantan.
Bowden first came to Sabah as a consultant for the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Malaysia, and has lived in Sabah in the past 20 years.
In his speech at the book launch, Bowden praised the tourism industry in Sabah.
“Borneo is still one of the world’s best tourism secrets that have not been overrun by mass tourism. All that is required is wise management and guidance, and I think this is well and truly in place in Sabah,” he said. - Insight Sabah
Posted on November 17, 2012
Explore more:
Enchanting Borneo, Masidi Manjun, David Bowen, tourism, europe, china
|
State Assemblymen Swearing in Ceremony |
View |
|
Closing Ceremony of IT training for usage of IOS and Android |
View |
|
The 6th Biennial Sabah Games (SAGA) 2013 |
View |
-
We strive to empower all members of society, including women to ensure they reach their fullest potential and play a greater role in driving Sabah's future development
Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Panglima Musa Haji Aman, said in his address at the swearing-in ceremony for members of the Sabah Women Advisory Council (MPWS) held at his official residence in Seri Gaya yesterday.
-
The government has established ILTP to fill the void and to produce quality and competent human capital in various fields to meet the labour market. The institute offers various choices for youths to learn and equip themselves with vocational skills that are in great demand in the employment market in Sabah
Datuk Siringan Gubat Minister of Resource Development and Information Technology said this during his working visit to the Commerce and Technical Training Institute (ILTP) in Papar.
-
If we wish to become a more developed and more inclusive society, employee welfare must be prioritised. I ask all employers to commit to pay their workers a living wage.
Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, said in his keynote address at the Invest Malaysia 2013 in Kuala Lumpur, yesterday. Malaysia had introduced the Minimum Wage Policy in July last year, and employers were given until early this year to begin complying with the new regulation.
-
Before we move further ahead in developing the Oil and Gas industry in Sabah, it is important that we gain better knowledge of and a full understanding on the approach taken by the nation as a whole in this sector of the economy
Deputy Chief Minister cum Minister of Industrial Development Datuk Raymond Tan said at the 17th Asia Oil and Gas Conference in Kuala Lumpur. Tan led the delegation from Sabah to the Conference.
-
I hope all elected representatives will make full use of the State Assembly sitting as the best platform to not only participate actively in debates, but also more importantly, every word said represent the voice of the grassroots
Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman speaking at the State dinner in conjunction with the opening of the State Assembly sitting in Likas.