Tourism Malaysia Chairman Ahmad Shah Hussein Tambakau has confirmed yesterday that the recent US Department’s inclusion of Sabah’s east coast in the ‘K’ list in a US travel advisory for potential kidnapping has not impacted the overall tourist influx into Malaysia.
Ahmad Shah Hussein Tambakau said that he has the statistics with him that clearly show that the overall tourist arrivals from all corners of the world have increased and talking about the US in particular he said the number of tourist arrivals from the US too have increased.
In a dialogue with Sabah Tourism Industry players yesterday the Tourism Chairman said “The number of US visitors to Malaysia actually increased while the overall tourist arrivals to Sabah have also risen.”
He said that the US Department’s travel advisory could result in misconceptions about the safety of visiting Sabah in the minds of potential international travelers who would like to visit Sabah. He confirmed that security is being tightened at Sabah to ensure that situation is in control and that the Malaysian government is putting in all best efforts to get off the ‘K’ list.
Meanwhile the major players of Malaysian Tourism have complained that the recent US Travel Advisory doesn’t hold any relevance now because the current situation in Sabah is totally under control with the enforcement of more stringent security measures by the enforcing agencies.
According to the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) President there have been no incidents of kidnappings involving tourists in the Sabah east coast region in the recent years.
The Malaysian government is trying its best to get the warning about travel safety to Sabah removed, the Chief Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Abdul urged the concerned authorities to get this warning removed by clarifying that Sabah is safe for travelers and the Foreign Ministry has summoned the US Ambassador to Malaysia Kamala Shirin Lakhdir to protest against the inclusion of Malaysia in the ‘K’ list.
