Caption: Tommy Lo: Sabah should look beyond its traditional tourism hotspots and develop more unique, accessible and sustainable destinations to encourage longer visitor stays and spread tourism benefits to more local communities.
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah has significant tourism potential beyond Kota Kinabalu, Kundasang and Semporna, and greater efforts should be made to encourage visitors to stay longer, explore more districts and spend more within local communities.
Tommy Lo, Deputy Treasurer of the Malaysia-China Chamber of Commerce (MCCC) Sabah, said he welcomed the call by Sabah Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment Datuk Jafry Ariffin for the state to expand its tourism offerings beyond established destinations and ensure that the economic benefits of tourism reach more communities.
Tommy, who is part of the MCCC Sabah leadership team under the presidency of Datuk Dexter Lau, said Sabah’s tourism strategy should focus not only on attracting more visitors, but also on increasing visitor spending and extending their length of stay through more diverse and meaningful travel experiences.
“Sabah has so much more to offer beyond its well-known destinations. Our smaller towns, rural communities, cultural heritage and unique local experiences have enormous potential to attract visitors if they are developed and promoted effectively,” he said.
He noted that developing new tourism destinations would require coordinated efforts to improve infrastructure and accessibility, enhance service quality, and create distinctive tourism products that reflect the character and strengths of individual districts.
“Promotion brings tourists in, but infrastructure, memorable experiences and service quality are what encourage them to stay longer, explore further and return. This is where Sabah should focus its efforts,” he said.
Tommy also stressed the importance of stronger collaboration between the government, private sector, tourism operators and local communities in developing new itineraries, establishing local partnerships and creating more comprehensive tourism packages.
He said businesses and local entrepreneurs could play a greater role in offering community-based tourism, cultural activities, local food experiences and other attractions that encourage visitors to venture beyond conventional tourist routes.
“Tourism development should create opportunities for local businesses, generate employment and ensure that more communities benefit from visitor spending. With proper planning and sustainable development, we can build tourism destinations that are commercially viable while preserving Sabah’s natural environment and cultural heritage,” he said.
He added that MCCC Sabah, supports efforts to strengthen Sabah’s tourism industry and create broader economic opportunities through closer cooperation between the public and private sectors.
“Sabah’s hidden gems can become valuable tourism assets. The challenge is to connect these attractions with the right infrastructure, investment, promotion and service standards so that tourism growth translates into sustainable benefits for both visitors and local communities,” he said.
