Tourism accreditation scheme will boost industry in Sabah

KOTA KINABALU: The Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry has encouraged owners of business premises especially those related to tourism to participate in the Accreditation Scheme introduced to boost tourism in Sabah.

Sabah Tourism Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said the scheme would evaluate participating tourism players on the quality of their services and products.

“The ministry is very comfortable with the programme which will value-add the services and types of businesses that can be offered to tourists.

“The displayed certificate will draw tourists to the premises as they could expect better service and reasonably-priced items,” he said to reporters at Sinsuran, here yesterday after launching the ‘Fair Trade Tourism Select – An Accredited Outlet’ and ‘Kadaiku’ (‘my shop’ in local dialect) owned by Sri Pelancongan Sabah Sdn Bhd and incidentally the first outlet to be accredited.

Meanwhile, Kota Kinabalu mayor Datuk Abidin Madingkir said accredited business premises would be presented with a ‘Fair Trade Tourism Select’ sticker that is valid for one year.

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Govt opts for foreign airlines to serve Sabah

KOTA KINABALU: Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said with or without Malaysia Airlines (MAS), the state government will continue to talk to other airlines since Sabah will lose several direct flights to international destinations.

He said the state government had several high level talks with MAS, with one involving Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman.

“MAS have expressed commitment to look into our request but they have also stated that they cannot turn back on their decision… meaning to say we are definitely going to lose these direct flights.

“I think we should look into long-term and not short-term solutions. I am aware of their financial problem and I know they have serious financial problem, but at the same time I believe cutting down the air routes is not the only answer,” he said to reporters after representing Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman at the launching of Suria Sabah shopping mall here yesterday.

Masidi added the airline’s recent decision to suspend the routes servicing the Eastern Hub would only temporarily solve the problem facing MAS, but promoting Osaka, Haneda, Seoul and Perth with direct stop-overs at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) would certainly help the airline even for the medium term.

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Sabah government backs Sabah Air’s request for routes, landing rights

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Air Aviation Sdn Bhd’s request for the routes and landing rights forfeited by Malaysia Airline (MAS) has received the full support of State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun.

The state government, Masidi said, was ready to negotiate and make arrangements for another airline to take over these routes.

According to Masidi, he had personally written to the Transport Minister in November last year, to give notice to the state government so that it can request these routes and landing rights to be given to it upon cessation of MAS’ flight to these destinations.

The state government would then negotiate and make arrangement with another airline to take over these routes, he said adding, “I totally support Sabah Air’s stand on their request for the routes and landing rights forfeited by MAS to give to the local aviation company.

According to Masidi he had, during the Sabah Tourism Award event on November 19 last year, said that there was a need of another regional airline to serve the specific needs of Sabah and Sarawak.

“Tourism is one of the three major industries in Sabah and the only industry which involves and employs mainly locals. It is the industry that has the biggest potential to spur economic growth in Sabah.

“A Sabah/Sarawak designated regional airline is important to the development of the tourism industry because we are situated on an island and air connectivity is a crucial component of the travel industry.

“In the case of Sabah, over 94 percent of our tourists come to Sabah by air,” Masidi stressed.

He also pointed out that the state government has not been sitting idle with the impending announcement by MAS of the suspension and cancellation of some routes that would affect Sabah’s interests.

The government has had numerous meetings with the management of MAS trying to work out other options other than routes cancellation.

“A senior opposition leader claimed that even Tiger Air pulled out of Sabah as a result of MAS-Air Asia tie-up. Perhaps he needs to refresh his memory as Tiger Air stopped their service to KK (from Singapore) in October 2009, long before the current issue cropped up. Tiger Air made the decision for commercial reason as the BKI/SING route is a very competitive one,” he said.

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Sabah tourism industry backs Sabah Air expansion plan

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah’s tourism industry is backing the state owned carrier’s plan to operate as a full fledged airline flying within East Malaysia and regional destinations.

Malaysian Association of Tours and Travel Agents Sabah chairman K.L. Tan said there was much potential for Sabah Air Aviation Sdn Bhd to operate profitably as an airline.

He said there were so many successful models that Sabah Air could study.

“Singapore Airlines is an example. In a tough operating environment of soaring fuel costs, it could still post a net profit of RM108mil,” Tan said yesterday.

He said Sabah Air’s airline plan would mean the state being less dependent on Malaysia Airlines to fly tourists here.

Sabah Air chairman Datuk Yusoff Kassim said on Friday that the company for the past three months had been mapping out a comprehensive strategy to begin a scheduled flight service within the state and nearby destinations.

The company would seek the Transport Ministry and Depart­ment of Civil Aviation approvals once the Sabah Air board gave its green light.

He said Sabah Air’s move was necessary due to some airlines ceasing flights from here to various regional destinations.

Malaysia Airlines had anno­unced it was suspending flights from Kota Kinabalu to Perth, Haneda, Osaka, Seoul from January as part of the carrier’s rationalisation plan.

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Sabah ‘no’ to flights slash

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah, as a minority shareholder in Malaysia Airlines, is objecting to the carrier's move to slash flights from the state capital to various international destinations.

State-owned Warisan Harta Sabah Sdn Bhd said besides affecting investment and tourist arrivals, MAS' move would discourage other airlines from flying out of Kota Kinabalu International Airport.

Warisan Harta, the state government's investment arm, represents the state as the minority shareholder in the airline.

Its chairman Datuk Ramlee Marahaban said MAS should focus on fulfilling its social obligations instead of merely thinking about its commercial ambitions.

Ramlee said there were concerns that the recent share swap deal between Khazanah Nasional the Federal Government's investment arm and Tune Air Sdn Bhd would result in both MAS and AirAsia merely protecting their commercial interests.

He said the Sabah government's views as a minority stakeholder in MAS were not sought before the share swap deal was worked out.

MAS will suspend its twice weekly Kota Kinabalu-Osaka service from Jan 6 and thrice weekly Kota Kinabalu-Perth flights from Jan 31.

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Discounts for in-bound tourists to Sabah holding holiday privilege card

KOTA KINABALU: In-bound tourists travelling under the brand, ‘Perfect Holidays’, can now enjoy discounts and value-added privileges from participating vendors and merchants with the launch of Perfect Holidays Tourists’ Privilege Card.

Launched by Perfect Vacation Sdn Bhd, the privilege card covers more than 20 merchants that offer services such as dining, shopping, water sports activities, excursions, scuba diving and more. The card also entitles tourists to discounts on drinks at selected night entertainment outlets.

Meanwhile, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment Datuk Masidi Manjun, who attended the launching ceremony, said Chinese tourist arrivals to Sabah had increased by 37 per cent in the first 10 months of this year.

He added that work would be done to ensure that tourists arrival to the state would not be dampened with the suspension of four direct flights in the regional network by Malaysia Airlines (MAS).

“I believe Sabah has a bright future in the tourism industry and we will work hard to make sure Sabah is the best tourism destination in Malaysia,” he said.

On the other hand, the Perfect Holidays Tourists’ Privilege Card would also benefit retailers and service providers as participating vendors receive free exposure via the vendors’ listing on the card’s website.

Priority is also given to vendors to offer their services to in-bound tourists travelling with “Perfect Holidays”. Vendor registration is free and there are no annual fees.

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Sabah Air urged to fill air access vacuum

The Government should heed the call of air travellers in Sabah and Sarawak to review the recently concluded collaboration between MAS and AirAsia because it had effectively ended any competition in the airline industry to the disadvantage of the rakyat.

"The two airlines now being partners in business seem now more interested in profits than in carrying out its corporate social responsibility role with emphasis on international routes," said Labuan Consumer Council (LCC) Chairman Fauziah Datuk Din.

She said when the alliance was developed through a share swap between the two airlines, concerns had been expressed by many that East Malaysian travellers would suffer but the Transport Ministry assured this would not be the case.

She said it turned out that the Government doesn't know best as not only flights between KL, Kuching, Labuan and Kota Kinabalu been reduced but the costs have also soared with KL-KK flights fetching up to RM700.

"And even this depends on availability of seats."

"I was told flights between Sandakan and Penang on AirAsia can go up to RM1,000 and this also is fully booked."

She said Firefly was becoming the public's favourite but was stopped altogether following the MAS-AirAsia collaboration.

"Adding to this, it was reported that four MAS direct international flights to Kota Kinabalu would be suspended from next year," she said.

"If nothing can be done, the other options are to either bring back Firefly or for Sabah Air to consider applying to serve the KK-Kuching-Labuan-KK route by leasing aircraft," she said.

She said air connections were important to Sarawak, Labuan and Sabah and the Transport Ministry should not lose its focus since its has been tasked to improve public transportation under the National Key Results Area.

"The subsidies given to MAS should now be questioned since the rakyat are not benefitting."

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Tough year ahead for Sabah hotels

KOTA KINABALU: Room occupancy rate expected to drop below 60 per cent next year.

The hotel industry in Kota Kinabalu is performing well this year as three-star hotels and above are experiencing an occupancy rate of 64 per cent as of November, an increase of four per cent compared to the same period last year.

However, Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) Sabah and Labuan president Alex Cham predicted that the occupancy rate might drop below 60 per cent next year as Malaysia Airlines (MAS) recently announced the suspension of four routes on the regional network starting early 2012.

The suspended routes include the twice-weekly Kota Kinabalu-Osaka (starting January 6), the thrice-weekly Kota Kinabalu-Perth (January 31), the four-weekly Kota Kinabalu-Haneda (February 1) and the four-weekly Kota Kinabalu-Seoul return B737 route (February 21).

In terms of average room rate, there was a slight drop from RM256 last year to RM250 this year, which Cham attributed to the more competitive environment with more new hotels coming up.

Room rates aside, the tourism industry is actually picking up with more tourist arrivals this year with the announcement to make Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) the Eastern hub and the addition of more direct flights from Kota Kinabalu to Korea, Japan and Perth in Australia.

Cham told The Borneo Post in an interview the hotel industry was starting to enjoy a rebound from the financial crisis in 2008 and lower occupancy rate in 2009, but the suspension of direct flights would hit tourism arrivals to Sabah.

In addition, Cham said Japanese or Korean tourists preferred direct flights, instead of stopovers and connecting from Kuala Lumpur and finally to Kota Kinabalu, which was time consuming.

When the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan in March, Sabah actually saw an increase in Japanese tourists arrival, he said, due to the availability of direct flights.

Cham continued to say that there used to be a direct flight from Japan several years ago, and when the flight was taken off the route, the industry immediately noticed a drop in tourist arrival from Japan.

Furthermore, Cham said Royal Brunei had cancelled its flight from Kota Kinabalu to Perth when MAS launched the route, and now he was not sure if Royal Brunei would resume the route again.

“The decision by MAS (suspending four routes in the regional network) is not a good thing for tourism.

“Sabah tourism is a major income source after the oil palm plantations,” he said.

He pointed out that MAS should find a solution to cut their losses instead of suspending direct flights as it would impact on the tourism industry here, and probably reducing national income.

MAH Sabah and Labuan Chapter has 47 members, the majority of them three-star and above.

“If MAS cut down on direct flights, the occupancy rate could decline below 60 per cent next year.

“Because as more hotels come up, the cake is not large enough to share,” Cham stressed.

Meanwhile, Sabah Hotel Association (SHA) president Christopher Chan said larger hotels (three-star and above) had achieved an overall 70 to 80 per cent occupancy rate this year while budget hotels (two-star and below) reported a drop of around 10 per cent in their occupancy rate.

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Flights cut to hit Sabah tourism

KOTA KINABALU: The latest decision by Malaysia Airlines (MAS) to suspend four routes involving Sabah regional network early next year will have a short-term negative impact on tourist arrivals in Sabah, said Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment Datuk Masidi Manjun.

He said the state tourism industry will take some time to realign its marketing strategy and priority.

Masidi, who revealed his Ministry was aware of MAS’ impending move to suspend these routes as they have had a series of high level meetings with MAS management to discuss the issue and to appeal to them not to proceed with this drastic move, said they are nevertheless “not going to cry over spilled milk”.

“We are moving on. We have in fact started strategising our next moves to overcome this latest challenge and believe that this MAS episode would be a temporary setback,” he said.

MAS announced on Thursday that the suspension of the four routes is in addition to its rationalisation exercise involving eight routes of its international network announced last week.

The four routes and dates the suspensions take effect are twice-weekly Kota Kinabalu-Osaka return B737 route (January 6, 2012); thrice-weekly Kota Kinabalu-Perth return B737 route (January 31, 2012); four times weekly Kota Kinabalu-Haneda (Tokyo) return B737 route (February 1, 2012) and four times weekly Kota Kinabalu-Seoul return B737 route (February 21, 2012).

MAS Group chief executive officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said: “This suspension is until further notice and is part of our regional network consolidation involving single-aisle aircraft operations.

“We will be reviewing this situation in about three months time from the date of the first route suspension and will be deciding further by early April 2012″

“During the suspension, we will take advantage of our existing code-share operations with Korean Air to provide direct connectivity between Sabah and South Korea using the Korean carrier’s Seoul-Kota Kinabalu return direct flights.

“We will also continue offering direct international connectivity to Kota Kinabalu through our existing daily B737 flights from Hong Kong and Taipei.

“In addition we will also use our existing 86 weekly flights between Sabah and KL International Airport (KLIA) to provide immediate connections for passengers who prefer full service flights between Sabah and the cities of Perth, Tokyo, and Osaka,” he added.

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MAS To Suspend Four More Routes Via Sabah Regional Network

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) will be suspending four more routes involving Sabah regional network early next year.

This is in addition to the rationalisation exercise involving eight routes of its international network announced last week.

The suspension covers the twice-weekly Kota Kinabalu-Osaka service from Jan 6, thrice-weekly Kota Kinabalu-Perth from Jan 31, four times weekly Kota Kinabalu-Haneda from Feb 1, and four times weekly Kota Kinabalu-Seoul from Feb 21.

"This suspension is until further notice and is part of our regional network consolidation involving single-aisle aircraft operations," its group chief executive officer, Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, said in a statement Thursday.

"We will be reviewing this situation in about three months time from the date of the first route suspension and will be deciding further by early April 2012," he said.

During the suspension, Ahmad Jauhari said MAS would take advantage of its existing code-share operations with Korean Air to provide direct connectivity between Sabah and South Korea using the Korean carrier's Seoul-Kota Kinabalu return direct flights.

"We will also continue offering direct international connectivity to Kota Kinabalu through our existing daily B737 flights from Hong Kong and Taipei."

In addition, he said, MAS would also use its existing 86 weekly flights between Sabah and Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) to provide immediate connections for passengers who prefer full service flights between Sabah and the cities of Perth, Tokyo, and Osaka.

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Sabah tourism industry urged to learn tourists’ languages

KOTA KINABALU: Operators in the tourism industry in Sabah have been urged to master foreign languages for them to go far.

Minster of Tourism, Culture and Environment, Datuk Masidi Manjun said during the 2011/2012 Sabah Young Tourism Ambassador programme organised by the Sabah Tourist Association (STA) yesterday that they cannot sell the industry if they only knew the local dialects.

“I am proud of my language, but if I were to use the Dusun language to sell to foreign tourists, I won’t go far,” he cited, as an example.

He urged those in the industry to perfect their command of the English language and not be shy to learn and use it.

“Our problem is our shyness. But if we look at the foreigners, they are not shy to speak in our language when they are learning it. They don’t care if it is imperfect. So why are we scared to learn English?” he said.

He added that in China, 300 million people are learning the language.

Similarly important is the Mandarin language, he said.

“We are experiencing an increase by 38 percent of Chinese tourists. And we’re expecting more tourists to come by the end of this year,” he said.

The other language that should be given importance is Korean, he said.

In his speech, Masidi also urged those in the industry to be passionate about their career.

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Tourists can be attracted to celebrate Xmas in Sabah

KOTA KINABALU: Christmas has the potential to be used as a drawcard to attract tourists, especially Europeans, to Sabah to spend their yuletide holidays here, says Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Musa Haji Aman.

“Christmas is universal and synonymous with holidays, so the potential of having this event as a drawcard is tremendous.

“Europeans, especially, fleeing the cold over Christmas, could be attracted to come over to Sabah to spend their yuletide holidays if they are aware that Christmas is also widely celebrated,” he said in his speech at the Gaya Christmas celebration at Lintasan Deasoka here last night.

Musa, who was represented by Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan, urged organizers of the event, namely the Sabah Council of Churches and Kota Kinabalu City Hall, to discuss with the relevant authorities, including the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment and the Sabah Tourism Board, on how best to further promote the annual event.

“With proper planning and marketing, as well as indepth preparations made, Gaya Street and the vicinity can be transformed into a vibrant and colourful Christmas fairy land.

“This is the challenge that I pose to the organizers, and next year, I hope to see an even bigger, better and brighter Gaya Christmas Carnival,” he said.

On the other hand, Musa said the Gaya Christmas celebration communicates an important message that the harmony and wellbeing among the communities in Sabah is still intact, particularly in Kota Kinabalu.

“It is a pleasure to note that events such as the Christmas celebration helps promote social harmony, caring and goodwill among the various ethnic and religious communities in Sabah.”

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Sabah tourism board confident of 2.63 million tourist target

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Tourism Board (STB) chairman Datuk Seri Tengku Dr Zainal Adlin is confident that the 2.63 million tourist arrival target this year would be achieved as the arrivals to the state had shot up by 15 per cent from January to September.

He said about RM4 billion income had been contributed by the tourism industry where most of the tourists were domestic tourists.

“China and Hong Kong tourist arrivals had increased 38 per cent, but at the same time we are encouraging domestic tourists.

“Apart from China and Hong Kong, Japan and Australia had also shown very positive increases,” he said at a press conference after the Karnival Pelancongan Tarian Cuti-Cuti Malaysia at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) Sports Complex.

He said tourist arrivals in the state had always been good where 50 per cent of them were repeat tourists.

During the event yesterday, about 1,300 students, homestay operators and civil servants around the state participated in the carnival where they performed traditional dances such as the Joget, Sumazau and many others.

The programme was in collaboration with the tourism ministry aimed to foster closer relationship among Malaysians who are living in a multiracial community.

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46,000 divers visit Sabah annually

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Tourism Board chairman Datuk Seri Tengku Zainal Adlin said there are about 46,000 divers from across the globe visiting Sabah annually as the state has an astounding array of islands off its coastlines on both its eastern and western boards.

“An income of about RM200 million has been derived by the State from diving activities every year and this serves as a positive indicator respecting tourist arrivals in Sabah,” he said.

According to Tengku Zainal Adlin, the Miss Scuba international pageant which is held in the State will contribute to more divers visiting the islands in Sabah.

“We hope this pageant will send a clear message to the world and create an awareness that Sabah has the most amazing diving destinations,” he said at a press conference after launching the mini dive exhibition in conjunction with the pageant at 1Borneo Hypermall yesterday.

Tengku Zainal Adlin said there are many certified agencies in the State like Padi and Naui which provide diving lessons and promote safe diving practices.

According to Robert Lo, the chairman and founder of Miss Scuba International, the pageant’s contestants underwent a scuba diving course at Mabul Island from Nov 24 to Dec 6.

The 15 contestants representing China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand also attended a catwalk choreography course and marine conservation workshops organised by the Marine Research Foundation and WWF.

“They also participated in two underwater and beach clean-ups, one at Mabul and the other at the Tunku Abdul Rahman National Marine Park here,” Lo said at a press conference.

The contestant who is crowned Miss Scuba International 2011, will proceed to become the marine ambassador to promote diving worldwide at diving events, exhibitions and shows.

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Sabah Government Extends Condolences Over Elephant Attack

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah government today extended its condolences to the family of an Australian tourist who was gored to death by an elephant in Lahad Datu yesterday, and advised all quarters against pointing fingers over the incident.

"It is an unfortunate incident resulting in the loss of a young life. On behalf of the Sabah government, I would like to convey my heartfelt condolences to the parents and family of Jenna Donley," said Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun.

Veterinarian Jenna O'Grady Donley, 26, was gored to death by a bull pygmy elephant at the Tabin Wildlife Sanctuary at about 8.30 am as she was taking photographs of the lone animal.

"I have just been informed by the management of the Tabin Wildlife Resort where Jenna was staying that they are doing everything they can to assist the family, and the Australian High Commission is making arrangements to fly Jenna's body for burial in her hometown," Masidi said

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Cleaning of Mamutik Island: Miss Scuba International pageant joins Project Aware Foundation

KOTA KINABALU: Almost 200 ‘cleaners’ comprising divers and individuals from various professions wanted to make a difference to the environment yesterday.

They exchanged their office to diving gears and got themselves dirty to clean up the Mamutik Island.

The 193 voluntary cleaners joined the programme organized by Project Aware Foundation, Borneo Divers, Sabah Tourism Board and Sabah Environmental Protection Association (SEPA).

Out of the group, 73 are divers who picked up marine debris within the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park waters including Manukan, Mamutik, Sulug and Sapi islands with international participants including Raleigh International and participants of the Miss Scuba International pageant.

The programme is part of Project Aware Foundation’s continuous effort to conserve marine life after the foundation changed their focus more towards marine debris and saving sharks in recent years.

According to Assistant Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment, Datuk Bolkiah Ismail, after Project Aware Foundation was introduced in Sabah in 2001, the foundation never failed to hold similar programmes for Sabah’s waters.

“This programme is in line with the aspirations of our ministry to ensure that our environment is always protected. We have several agencies such as SEPA, Raleigh International as well as Sabah Parks to participate to show the public that everyone has responsibilities to conserve the environment.

“We also have divers here collecting the garbage in the waters in this annual project which is supported by the Ministry through Sabah Parks and Sabah Tourism Board. This programme will continue to be supported by us,” he said.

Meanwhile, the No Rubbish Campaign, which is being handled by City Hall and the Ministry, is one of the efforts the government has taken to address this matter.

“The rubbish we see being collected through these programmes all came from us. So we must tackle this problem from its source. Not only do we get to keep the city clean, but ultimately also conserve marine life,” he said.

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Move to stop flights will hurt Sabah tourism

KOTA KINABALU: Malaysia Airlines' decision to stop direct flights between Sandakan and Kuala Lumpur will not augur well for Sabah's tourism and will lead to a monopoly of the route.

Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister's Department Datuk Edward Khoo said the decision by MAS, through its subsidiary Firefly, to stop the direct flights would hamper the state government's efforts to promote the east coast district as a tourism spot and an educational hub.

“This will also put a damper on our efforts to attract investors to the palm oil industrial cluster in Sandakan,” said Khoo, who is Sabah MCA chairman.

Speaking to reporters before leaving for Kuala Lumpur yesterday, Khoo alleged that the move smacked of a monopoly.

“MAS used to have daily return direct flights between Sandakan and Kuala Lumpur. When Firefly came in to service this route, MAS stopped.

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Ten-day Ducati Borneo convoy the next big automotive tourism attraction

KOTA KINABALU: Ducati Multistrada Borneo Experience is on its way to become a staple event in the Ducati Worldwide Events Calendar and the next big automotive tourism attraction in this region.

According to the NAZA Group of Companies Group Chief Operating Officer, Datuk SM Zulkifli SM Amin, the 10-day convoy which covers the entire Malaysian Borneo will be submitted to Ducati Worldwide to become one of the Italian superbike manufacturers’ recognised events.

“Ducati Worldwide has been encouraging all their dealers to start participating in their events such as Multistrada Pikes Peak in America as well as a similar event in Australia. So when they invited us and our Multistrada team to join, we thought why not do it here in Malaysia.

“So we planned out this spectacular 10-day trip across Malaysian Borneo with the Ducati Multistrada team,” he said yesterday.

He was speaking during a welcome ceremony in Kimanis, near here, which was hosted by Tourism Malaysia and Sabah Tourism Board.

Zulkifli said that Ducati Multistrada Borneo Experience is about introducing Borneo to the Multistrada which is Ducati’s multi-purpose bike, as well as to promote the places that they visit as the convoy also includes members of the media from India, Philippines as well as the local press corp.

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Shangri-La’s Tanjung Aru Resort and Spa receives two top awards

KOTA KINABALU: Peppino and CHI, The Spa at Shangri-la's Tanjung Aru Resort & Spa, Kota Kinabalu received awards for Best Food Outlet and Best Spa Experience at the 2011 Sabah Tourism Awards Gala Dinner here last Saturday.

The Sabah Tourism Awards celebrates the industry’s achievements and honours outstanding individuals and organisations whose contributions have contributed to the growth of the tourism industry in Sabah.

On a separate note, CHI, The Spa at Shangri-La’s Tanjung Aru Resort and Spa, Kota Kinabalu received the runner-up position at the 2011 SPA Traveller Awards for Best International Family Friendly Spa and Best International Spa Resort.

The inaugural SPA Traveller Awards reveals some of the world’s hidden gems along with the best romantic gateways, family friendly destinations and well-being retreats. For six months, readers’ were asked to nominate their favourite spa, treatment, therapist, cuisine and even most breathtaking spa view.

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Sabah will source other airlines for air service

THE State Government wants Malaysia Airlines (MAS) to seriously reconsider its decision to re-assess whether or not to make the state capital its hub.

“If they (MAS) insist (in pursuing the decision), then Sabah’s tourism industry will face huge losses, and I believe it is the same to the national carrier. Both will be at the losing end,” Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun told the House in response to a question from Sri Tanjung assemblyman Jimmy Wong.

He said that 96 percent of tourists’ arrivals to Sabah were by air.

“MAS should look at it as part of their Social Corporate Responsibility to the people. It is easier to move around in West Malaysiaas they can travel by car from one end to the other. But not for Sabah and Sarawak, we need air services to link up with other countries,” he said.

Masidi added that should MAS decide to pursue with its decision, then they will have to give at least six months notice to allow the state government to find other airlines as options for its air services.

“We will think of other alternatives rationally, not emotionally. It is best to find the best method that would give a win-win solution to both parties,” he said.

“During the Sabah Tourism Award last week, I have said we will propose that a new regional airline be established to serve the needs of Sabah and Sarawak.

“The new airline was vital and could concentrate on meeting the increasing demand of passengers flying from Sabah and Sarawak to various domestic and international destinations,” he said.

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