Thursday 13 June 2013

MASIDI IS THINKING OF ALL THINGS CHINESE






KOTA KINABALU : Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun wants all the help he can get to drive Sabah tourism forward and he is right now thinking of all things Chinese.

Already on board the ministry is a new Assistant Minister Datuk Pang Yuk Ming, who according to Masidi was specifically picked to tap into the Chinese market.

It will make the job of reaching out to the vast Chinese market all the more easier, said Masidi who is buoyed by the more than 70 per cent increase in Chinese tourist arrivals over the last four months.

"Most of the tourists come from the southern part of China like Shenzen, Hong Kong.

I think now we are ready to expand to the more economically better Beijing market.

"This is because their economic standing means they can afford to travel more and at the same time, this can improve ties between us and China," he said during the Farewell/Welcoming Lunch to Outgoing/Incoming Assistant Tourism Ministers at Ming Garden here on Wednesday.

The ministry welcomed new Assistant Ministers Datuk Pang Yuk Ming and Datuk Kamarlin Ombi. The previous Assistant Ministers were Datuk Bobbey Ahfang Suan and Datuk Bolkiah Ismail.

Masidi also wants more Mandarin-speaking tourist guides to meet the expected increase in arrivals; more chartered flights and even Mandarin-speaking immigration officers at the airport to greet their arrivals.

"We have to adapt to the changes in the tourism industry. We used to have lots of tourists from South Korea and Japan, but now, the number of Chinese tourists has surpassed the number of tourists from those two other countries.

"We also have to remember that we are competing with other nations such as Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and even other states in this country," he said.

The appointment of Pang as assistant minister in the ministry is seen as a strategy by the State government to ensure that there is a political leader in the ministry who can communicate directly with officers or tourists from China.

"It is hoped that easier communication between us and them will make them more comfortable in dealing with us and at the same time, improve our competitiveness in the tourism industry.

"The whole idea is to make us more efficient so that we can make fast decisions," said Masidi.

A total of 103,917 Chinese tourists arrived in Sabah from January to April this year compared to 59,385 last year.

The increased number of chartered flights from 46 to 87 this year was attributed to the increased number of tourist arrivals.

The coming summer holiday is expected to bring in more tourists from that country in July and August via 36 chartered flights.

Sabah has seen a surge in tourist arrivals with 888,000 tourists from January to April this year compared to 793,842 last year including 630,520 domestic tourists. (DE)

12 comments:

  1. Keindahan semula jadi dan semangat muhibah yang tinggi di kalangan warga Sabah telah menarik perhatian salah seorang pemimpin dari China.Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Persidangan Konsultatif Politik Rakyat China (CPPCC), Jia Qinglin berkata, selain daripada menikmati keindahan semulajadi Sabah, rombongannya juga telah disambut dengan kemesraan yang tidak boleh digambarkan.

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  2. China dan Malaysia sentiasa menikmati hubungan mesra yang mesra ini,kata beliau ketika mengadakan pertemuan dengan Ketua Menteri Sabah Datuk Seri Musa Aman .Jia, berkata, Malaysia merupakan negara pertama yang mewujudkan hubungan diplomatik dengan China ketika Tun Abdul Razak Hussein menjadi Perdana Menteri.

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  3. Kedua-dua Perdana Menteri (Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak) dan Timbalan Perdana Menteri (Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin) telah membuat kunjungan yang berjaya ke negara kami dan pemimpin dan pengerusi kami juga telah mengunjungi Malaysia. Ini telah menjalin persahabatan yang kukuh, kata beliau. Beliau juga berkata kedua-dua Malaysia dan China telah menikmati hubungan perdagangan dan perniagaan yang rapat, sambil menambah yang Malaysia ialah negara ketiga selepas Korea dan Jepun yang terlibat dalam dagangan dua hala berjumlah hampir RM100 bilion.

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  4. Jia berkata kerjasama amat produktif dalam bidang-bidang seperti perdagangan, pelancongan, sains dan teknologi.

    Sementara itu, Musa berkata peranan yang dimain oleh perdana menteri kedua negara Tun Abdul Razak dalam menjalinkan hubungan diplomatik dengan China tidak boleh dipandang ringan.

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  5. Ia telah membuka jalan untuk kerjasama dalam banyak bidang, mempromosikan perdagangan dan pelaburan yang telah menjuruskan kepada pertumbuhan ekonomi. Kita, di Malaysia, juga gembira dapat melihat perdana menteri yang ada sekarang bukan hanya meneruskan tradisi ini, tetapi beliau juga telah mengukuhkan lagi hubungan antara kedua-dua negara,kata Musa.

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  6. Musa juga berkata Sabah dan China boleh mendapat manfaat daripada hubungan dan kerjasama rapat dalam bidang-bidang pertanian, pembuatan dan pelancongan. Dari segi pelancongan, hubungan antara China dan Sabah telahpun diwujudkan. Kita telah menerima ramai pelawat dari China dan berharap mereka akan terus datang, kata beliau.

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  7. Ketua menteri itu juga berharap yang syarikat penerbangan dari China akan turut memberi perkhidmatan kepada lebih banyak laluan ke Sabah, sekali gus meningkatkan saling hubung.Beliau juga berkata yang pelbagai syarikat pembinaan dari China telah melaksanakan projek-projek jalan dan jambatan di Sabah dan telah melakukannya dengan baik dari segi kualiti dan tarikh disiapkan.

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  8. sabah jadi tarikan utama pelancong dari China

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  9. Yes this is the vital step.

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  10. We have to penetrate the market with Chinese

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