What an honour: Wee (second from right) receiving the award on behalf of Malaysia from guest of honour Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz at the 2015 International Island Tourism Conference in Zhousan.
PETALING JAYA: Sabah has been named as one of the top 10 island destinations in the world for tourists from China.
Tourism Malaysia chairman Wee Choo Keong, who received the award on behalf of Malaysia at the 2015 International Island Tourism Conference in Zhousan, China, congratulated the state for the achievement.
“I’m sure Sabah won it because of Mount Kinabalu, the good food and for being among the top five best diving sites in the world.
“And all of that at an affordable cost, whereas at other islands, it would cost tourists a bomb. So in Sabah, tourists get value for money,” said Wee.
According to Wee, the winners were decided based on votes by a special committee at the conference.
Wee, who was elated to hear that Sabah made the list, said the island’s success should serve as an example for other states to emulate so that the country could do better next year.
“Firstly, we must be polite, especially the frontline people who meet the tourists such as taxi drivers – who will likely be the first to make an impression on tourists,” he said.
“But it’s not just the taxi drivers, others should also always be courteous,” he added.
He said that when the frontline was up to par, everything that was good about a place would become apparent to the tourists the rest of the way.
According to the conference’s official website (www.iitczs.com), the inaugural conference was held from Monday to Wednesday with the theme of “Linking Maritime Silk Road, Sharing Island Development”.
More than 20 island tourism countries and regions including Maldives, Seychelles, Fiji and Sri Lanka sent representatives to the conference.
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