By WU VUIDE
KOTA KINABALU: Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Christina Liew said Sabah should have no problem achieving the target of 3.5 million tourist arrivals by the end of December.
“So far, we have reached more than half of it, already 60 per cent, according to the report given to me by the Sabah Tourism Board (STB),” she said after trying out the double-decker bus for hop-on, hop-off operation with travel agents.
In terms of tourism receipts, this translated to RM5.75 billion from January to August, reflecting a 17.7 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2024.
On air connectivity, she said Sabah is currently connected to 14 international destinations with 125 weekly flights and 22,732 seats.
“Our key international markets during the first eight months were China, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, Korea, and the UK.
“With that kind of achievement, we will review and see what we can plan for Visit Malaysia Year 2026, perhaps to further increase arrivals,” she said.
The STB report from January to August indicated that Sabah’s tourism industry continued its strong recovery, recording 2.46 million arrivals in the first eight months of this year, up 17.3 per cent year-on-year and reaching 88 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.
Of the total, international arrivals stood at 1,029,864 while domestic arrivals were 1,426,548.
This represents 70.2 per cent of the 3.5 million target set for 2025.
China remained Sabah’s largest international source market, with 476,079 arrivals from January to August 2025, up 42.5 per cent over the same period in 2024, and exceeding 2019 levels by 10 per cent, marking a full recovery.
In August, arrivals from the China market reached a record high of 89,867, the highest single-month arrivals in history.
The European market recorded 70,944 arrivals from January to August 2025, an increase of 28 per cent compared to the same period in 2024.
The increase was driven by strong demand from the top five source markets, including the UK and Ireland (27.8 per cent), Italy (40.5 per cent), France (42.5 per cent), Germany (17.6 per cent), and the Netherlands (0.3 per cent).
Arrivals from Singapore grew 4.3 per cent from January to August 2025, supported by strong connectivity with 17 weekly flights.
Two international markets showed a decline — South Korea and Brunei.
South Korea recorded 122,606 arrivals from January to August 2025, down 1.6 per cent year-on-year, although August showed an improvement of 8.2 per cent.
Flight connectivity included 32 flights (5,991 seats) and additional charter flights from Daegu to Kota Kinabalu from 24 July to 24 August 2025, with a four-times weekly schedule.
The Brunei market recorded 137,781 arrivals from January to August 2025, down 11.7 per cent compared to the same period in 2024.
