Sabah Leveraging Culture, Music, Tourism To Attract Chinese Travellers

KOTA KINABALU, Sept 21 (Bernama) -- Sabah is leveraging tourism, culture, music and partnerships with businesses to attract more travellers and help sustain the Kota Kinabalu-Guiyang flight route in the long term.

Sabah Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment Datuk Jafry Ariffin said sustaining air connectivity required more than simply putting flights in the air.

“It requires people to travel, experience destinations and build lasting connections. A direct flight opens the door, but we must give people a reason to keep travelling.

“That is why we are bringing tourism, culture, music, media and business together,” he said in a statement today.

Jafry is leading a Sabah delegation in Guiyang, China, for an exchange programme aimed at promoting two-way travel experiences and strengthening engagement between tourism players and the media.

The trip was also aimed at creating greater exposure for Sabah in the Chinese market.

The minister explained that the ultimate goal was to translate connectivity into tangible opportunities for Sabah.

“We don’t want connectivity to exist only on a flight schedule. We want those seats filled with travellers, and we want those travellers to discover Sabah, support our tourism industry, experience our culture and create opportunities for our local businesses,” he added.

The Sabah delegation to Guiyang includes tourism industry players, cultural groups, the SME Association of Sabah and the Department of Industrial Development and Research (DIDR) Sabah chapter.

During the trip, the delegation also took part in programmes in Anshun and Chongqing, providing different platforms for tourism, cultural and industry exchanges.

The programme also features Malaysian singer Shila Amzah, adding a strong music and cultural element to make the exchange more engaging and appealing to the Chinese audience.

-- BERNAMA