Sabah welcomes first direct flight from China since pandemic

KOTA KINABALU - Sabah welcomed 140 tourists from Guangzhou, China today, marking the first direct flight from China to the state since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sabah Tourism Board (STB), in a statement today, said the AirAsia flight arrived at Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) at 5.30 am.

According to the statement, the passengers were greeted by Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Assistant Minister Datuk Joniston Bangkuai, who is also STB Chairman.

"We are thrilled to have Chinese visitors back, and we hope our industry players will continue to provide exceptional hospitality services to our guests,” said Joniston in the statement, adding that China is a key and important market for Sabah.

He was accompanied by the State Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry Permanent Secretary Datuk Mohd Yusrie Abdullah, Chinese Consul General in Kota Kinabalu Huang Shifang and STB Executive Officer Noredah Othman.

Air Asia is also scheduled to fly passengers from Shenzen, China to KKIA tomorrow.

According to STB, Sabah anticipates an influx of Chinese tourists in the coming months with more direct flights expected from several cities in China.

Prior to the pandemic, China was Sabah’s leading international visitor source, with 598,566 Chinese visitors recorded in 2019 - BERNAMA