KOTA KINABALU, Feb 26 (Bernama) -- A total of 3.14 million tourists visited Sabah last year, surpassing the target of three million and marking a 20.4 per cent increase compared to the previous year.
Sabah Tourism, Culture, and Environment Minister, Datuk Seri Christina Liew, said the estimated tourism revenue for last year reached RM7.28 billion, a significant rise from RM5.76 billion in 2023.
"The recovery in tourist arrivals last year reached 75 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, driven by domestic markets and regional countries such as China and Brunei, while total international arrivals recovered by 86 per cent.
"Target markets such as China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Japan, India, and Europe recorded positive growth," she said during her 2025 New Year speech at the Excellent Service Award (APC) ceremony for the ministry.
Liew added that the Sabah Cultural Board (LKNS) had successfully implemented the Integrated Cultural Mapping Project for Sabah (2024-2025), integrating ethnic data databases.
She also highlighted the achievements of the Sabah Museum Department, which successfully added 15,400 new collections and registered 960 data entries into the Sabah Museum Repository Information Cultural Heritage System (SMRICHES).
On environmental conservation, Liew said the state government had approved several proposals for new parks, including Teluk Darvel (126,475.16 hectares), Mantanani (160,975 hectares), Pulau Mengalum (624,316 hectares), and Mamut (2,112 hectares).
Additionally, the Sabah Wildlife Department appointed 179 Community Rangers under the Biodiversity Patrolling and Protection (BP3) programme and implemented a 10-year Wildlife Crime Action Plan.
Liew also added that the ministry would focus on implementing high-impact programmes and projects under the 13th Malaysia Plan to strengthen the tourism industry, elevate cultural initiatives and reinforce the environmental conservation efforts.
-- BERNAMA
