Dailyexpress.com.my, 10 December, 2006
Kuala Lumpur: Sabah, especially its capital Kota Kinabalu, is facing an overflow of tourist arrivals in the current peak period, rendering many tourists without hotel rooms to check-in.
Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said his Ministry was concerned over the matter and tried to sort it out by diverting tourists to other states like neighbouring Sarawak by promoting tourism events there.
"We will try to address the situation by promoting other destinations such as Sarawak and dispersing tourist arrivals," he said after launching Visit Malaysia Year 2007 Domestic Tourism Guidebook and Tourism Exhibition. The high hotel occupancy in Kota Kinabalu had caused concern to the Ministry, he said.
The overflow of tourist arrivals in Sabah served as an "eye-opener" to his Ministry on the need to build more hotels, particularly budget hotels, under the Ninth Malaysia Plan to cope with the targeted 24 million tourist arrivals under the Visit Malaysia Year 2007 campaign, he said.
