By WU VUIDE
KIULU: Community-based tourism (CoBT) continues to record encouraging achievements for the state, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
He said the CoBT contribution to the state revenue rose to RM7 million in 2024, compared to RM6.7 million in 2023 from 18 active districts.
“As such, I want CoBT to be actively developed due to its potential in the rural areas,” he said at the official opening of the Tuaran District-level Kaamatan Festival 2025 at the Kiulu Community Hall here yesterday.
Hajiji said Sabah received 923,709 tourists in the first quarter of 2025, or 26 per cent of the overall target of 3.5 million visitors this year.
“I am confident this target is not only achievable, but could also be exceeded—similar to our performance in 2024, when we received 3.2 million visitors compared to the initial target of 3 million,” he added.
He also emphasised the importance of enhancing rural infrastructure to support the growth of both tourism and agriculture.
He said good infrastructure provides comfort and attracts both domestic and international tourists.
Hajiji called on the people to continue supporting the government’s efforts to strengthen state development, including the tourism sector.
“Sustainable development and economic growth are essential to ensuring the prosperity and welfare of the people and the state,” he stressed.
He also congratulated four CoBT associations—Kiulu, Tambunan, the Sabah Coffee Entrepreneurs Association, and the Tambatuon Village Women’s Community Association in Kadamaian—that signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with four universities and a tourism association from Taiwan.
He said the collaboration is expected to bring great benefits in terms of knowledge transfer and the empowerment of local tourism communities.
“The Kiulu sub-district should fully leverage its tourism and agricultural potential as economic catalysts, as it is home to some of the state’s most active CoBT operators,” he said.
Hajiji added that the first-ever Community-Based Tourism Conference will be organised this June in Kota Kinabalu by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in collaboration with the Sabah Tourism Board, as another strategic step to strengthen Sabah’s tourism sector.
He approved an allocation of RM1.1 million for several development projects in the Kiulu state constituency.
These include the construction of a car park in Kiulu town, a road to Kampung Kitapol, and a gravity-fed water supply project in Kampung Lopot.
“Kiulu must be developed, and the people’s aspirations for continuous development and well-being must be supported and fulfilled,” he said.
Hajiji also declared that the Kiulu Community Hall will now be named Dewan Masyarakat OKK Rampas.
