SABAH has seen a steady increase in the number of Singapore tourist arrivals, due to good air connectivity between the island and the state.

Sabah Deputy Chief Minister and state Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Christina Liew said Sabah is a perfect holiday destination for Singaporeans as it takes less than three hours to fly to the state from the republic.

“Singapore remains an important market for Sabah.

The republic is one of Sabah’s top ten source countries,” she said to visiting Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, in Kota Kinabalu.

The Singaporean delegation was given a briefing on the development of Sabah’s tourism sector by the State Tourism Board, an agency under the Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry.

There are 28 weekly flights connecting Sabah and Singapore.

Last year, 23,016 Singaporeans visited the state, up 4.5% from the number of arrivals in 2016.

Sabah Tourism Board general manager Suzaini Sabdin Ghani told the delegates that Sabah is poised to become the region’s top leisure, holiday and adventure destination.

She said that the state is also tapping into the conference market and that the Sabah International Convention Centre was due to be completed by the end of this year.

Suzaini said an additional 3,815 hotel rooms are expected to become available across Sabah in the next four years.

The state is presently facing a shortage of rooms as tourist arrivals continue to rise. – September 7, 2018.