Give Chinese tourists more than just shopping, says industry player

KOTA KINABALU: Tourism players should fully leverage on the 30-day visa exemption granted to China and Indian visitors to Malaysia, says the Sabah body-in-charge.

Sabah Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Satta) president Datuk Seri Winston Liaw said with the state already being among the top preferred destinations for China tourists, greater success can be achieved.

He said tourism players could customise activities for China tourists and “not just force them to shop”. “For example, if they book for four nights then they can be offered a fifth night’s stay for free or at 50% off to get them to stay longer,” he said when contacted.

Liaw said since the 30-day visa exemption was announced last year, more China tourists had headed to Sabah, citing a Firefly flight which arrived at Tawau directly from Nanjing, carrying 180 passengers.

He said during the pre-pandemic period, tour agents went as far as offering either zero or negative fares just to bring in as many passengers as they could just to get them to go shopping.

“But the trend is that China tourists mostly prefer non-shopping tours. We have to take note of this,” he said, adding that it was good that tour agents in Sabah were now mostly excluding shopping from the list.

“It is difficult for tour companies to drop prices as most businesses are still recovering from losses because of the pandemic.”

On a brighter note, he said, Satta expected an increase of between 20% and 30% tourist arrivals in Sabah this year.

Asked about Indian tourist arrivals here, he said the number was still negligible. Liaw urged the government to provide incentives for airlines to fly to new destinations in Sabah.