Sunday, January 11, 2009

Sabah Tourism ministry eyeing rich neighbours


KOTA KINABALU: The Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry is luring the rich from Indonesia (Jakarta) and Philippines (Manila) to visit Sabah.

Speaking to reporters yesterday, its minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said that he visited Jakarta in December last year during a Sabah tourism promotional stint and was surprised to find that the number of rich in Indonesia outnumbered that in Malaysia.

“A lot of people do not know that there are a lot of rich people in Indonesia than Malaysia. And there are about 42,000 expatriates residing in Jakarta alone,” he said after launching the Tiara Boutique Pool-Villa Show House near Bukit Padang.

He was pleased to learn that Air Asia flights from Jakarta to Kota Kinabalu are fully booked for the next two weeks.

Masidi said that they will also be promoting the State to the rich in Manila, Philippines.

“There are a lot of elites residing in Manila, and we would like to tap into this market,” he said.

Aside from attracting the elites from these two countries, the ministry has also prepared a plan of action to lure more domestic travelers from West Malaysia to spend their holidays in Sabah particularly from Penang, Klang and Johor Bahru.

Continue reading at: Sabah Tourism ministry eyeing rich neighbours

No comments: