Kota Kinabalu: Sabah plays a very strategic role as a main gateway for tourists entering Borneo and as a world-class nature tourism destination, said Tourism Malaysia Sabah director Haryanty Abu Bakar.
However, she said the success of the tourism sector does not depend solely on the beauty of destinations.
“It requires close cooperation between the government, tourism agencies, industry players, event organisers, arts and cultural practitioners, as well as local communities,” she said during the Tourism, Arts and Culture Financial Assistance Engagement Session for Kota Kinabalu at the National Department for Culture and Arts (JKKN) Sabah.
Her speech was read by deputy director Khairul Amir Anuar.
Haryanty said the briefing session was organised to provide clearer exposure to industry players on the various forms of financial assistance and incentives provided by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (Motac), Tourism Malaysia, JKKN and Kraftangan Malaysia.
She said such initiatives are important to ensure tourism industry players in Sabah continue to have access to the latest information on support programmes and assistance provided by the government.
“If we continue to work together and strengthen cooperation between the government, industry and the community,
“I am confident that Sabah can emerge as one of the leading tourism destinations in the Asia-Pacific region amidst Visit Malaysia 2026,” she said.
She said this was reflected in Sabah’s impressive tourism performance in 2025, which recorded 3.79 million visitor arrivals with tourism receipts reaching RM8.74 billion.
“This is a significant achievement and shows that Sabah remains one of the most attractive and competitive tourism destinations in Malaysia,” she said.
At the national level, she said Malaysia’s tourism sector had shown encouraging development, recording more than 25 million international tourist arrivals in 2024, marking a strong recovery for the country’s tourism industry.
She said the momentum is expected to continue as the country targets 43 million visitor arrivals under the Visit Malaysia 2026 campaign, with a higher tourism revenue target to support the nation’s economic growth.
The Visit Malaysia 2026 campaign is not merely a tourism promotion drive but a national movement that brings together various sectors — tourism, arts, culture, the creative industry and local communities — in introducing Malaysia to the world, she said.
She also expressed appreciation to tourism industry players, strategic partners and government agencies for their continued commitment and cooperation in developing Sabah’s tourism industry.
She hoped the briefing session would benefit all parties and serve as a catalyst for more tourism, arts and cultural initiatives in the future.
