NEWS OF TODAY~ More tourist accommodation needed, says CM

DAILY EXPRESS

Published on March 9, 2012

By Barnard Yaang

KOTA KINABALU: Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman said tourist arrivals will continue to increase in the years to come and  more rooms will be needed.

Commending Ming Garden Hotel and Residences on its opening, Thursday, he said the establishment of the 600-room capacity hotel is indeed timely.

Tourist arrivals in Sabah last year, he said, rose by 13.6 per cent compared to arrivals in 2010, which exceeded the target of 2.63 million last year.

Looking at the scenario, he said, the State Government has projected tourist arrivals of about 2.75 million or more this year. 

Towards this end he called on hotels and resorts in Sabah to create their own niche and to offer something different to the guests.

“Make use of feedback that guests send you to update your services and to cater to the needs of your target market, “ he said at the grand opening of Ming Garden hotel  and Residences.

According to him , the consistency of growth in tourist arrivals to Sabah showed strong demand of visitors coming here either for leisure or business, 96 per cent arriving by air.

“Hence, as Sabah continues to grow as a popular tourist destination, I am confident that tourist arrival figures will continue to increase in the years to come.

This  also means ,more hotel rooms are needed to accommodate the increasing number of visitors,” he said.

Musa, nevertheless, said hotel and resort operators in Sabah must raise the bar on standards so that their guests will return not only to Sabah, but also to their hotel or resort.

However, he reminded the operators to be mindful of the need to reduce their respective establishment’s carbon footprint.

Sabah, he said is known for its biodiversity, clean environment and a nature based destinations.

“Hence, it is crucial for players in the tourism sector who depend on Sabah’s natural products to lure tourists to implement greener policies,” he said.

He said they should look for innovative ways to reducing energy and water use and to carry out recycling as well as to source for organic detergents, organic vegetables and other  produce.  With these, he said it should set their establishments apart from the rest.

“ Environment conscious guests will be drawn to your establishments if  you show a real commitment in going green, and you will also help create a safer and better environment for people in the State,” he said.

Meanwhile, he said the tourism sector would continue to be at the forefront of the  country’s economic development. He said that in 2020, it is projected that Malaysia’s tourism sector will grown  by three folds with 36 million tourist arrivals and RM168 billion in receipts.

Also present were Deputy Chief Minister, Datuk Dr Yee Moh Chai, Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister, Datuk Masidi  Manjun, Industrial Development Minister, Datuk Raymond Tan Shu Kiah, Sedco Group General Manager, Maisuri Besri, SUDC Chairman, Datuk Juslie Ajirol, Long Yuan Construction Group Co. Ltd Vice President, Zhou Jing De.