KOTA KINABALU: Sabah will stick to the increased fees for Mount Kinabalu climbers, but will allow those who made paid bookings last year to be charged the old rates.
The State Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry came up with a formula to ease the burden caused by the price hike for the Mt Kinabalu Climb permit fee and the entrance fee to Kinabalu Park and Poring Hot Spring which took effect on Jan 1.
Explaining the formula, Minister Datuk Christina Liew said those who had made paid booking from October to December 2022 would be subjected to the previous entrance fee rates.
“For paid reservations before Jan 1, 2023, we will still adopt the old rate. This is because packages had already been sold before the announcement of the increase in fees on Oct 26, 2022,” she said.
Liew said she hoped that the new formula would assist the local tour and travel agents as well as their clients.
With effect from Jan 1, Sabah Parks doubled its rates with the price of the climbing permit for foreign adults rising from RM200 to RM400, while Malaysians will now be charged RM100 from RM50 for adults.
For children under 12, foreigners will be charged RM200 from RM80 and RM50 for Malaysians from the previous rate of RM30.
Cost for mountain guides had also been increased from RM230 to RM350.
The entrance fee into Kinabalu Park and Poring Hot Springs was increased from RM3 per adult for locals to RM10 while adult international visitors will be charged RM50 from RM10.
In announcing the new rates from Jan 1, Sabah Parks said it was due to the higher maintenance cost of the facilities.
