Liew (standing, red dress) and Joniston share light moments with the Sabah media.
KOTA KINABALU (Jan 31): Sabah is targeting to receive three million foreign tourists this year.
Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Christina Liew said her ministry reached its target of 2.2 million tourists last year, with 2.6 million arrivals.
“For this year, we are targeting to receive up to 2.8 million to 3 million tourists with the support and cooperation from agencies including the Sabah Tourism Board (STB) and Sri Pelancongan Sabah Sdn Bhd (SPS).
“We are confident of reaching this target through several programmes implemented including the Sabah Malaysia My Second Home (SMM2H) and the establishment of the Sabah Convention Bureau,” she said during a luncheon with the media in Kota Kinabalu.
Liew also said there is an ongoing effort by STB to bring in international flights to Sabah.
She added that she will be visiting western countries on the possibility of getting direct flights to Sabah but did not elaborate further.
She also said that they are expecting the arrival of more tourists from China by the end of March, this year.
Also present at the event were STB chairman Datuk Joniston Bangkuai, the ministry’s permanent secretary Josie Lai, Sabah Journalists Association (SJA) president Datuk Mugunthan Vanar and Kota Kinabalu Journalists Association (KKJA) president Jimmy Goh.
Liew said that the event was held as a show of appreciation to members of the media in Sabah for providing good coverage and cooperation last year.
“I am happy and am pleased with the coverage given to the ministry, including the ministry’s six agencies namely STB, Sabah Parks, Sabah Museum Department, Sabah Wildlife Department, Environment Protection Department and Sabah Cultural Board.
“Two additional portfolios of the ministry, the Sabah Convention Bureau which will start operating this year with the appointment of Noredah Othman as the Chief Executive Officer and Sabah-Malaysia My Second Home programme,” she said.
She also said that the tasks of journalists had become more challenging with the presence of the social media to facilitate communication and knowledge.
“Members of the media are needed to convince the public that authentic news materials are released through verification from the relevant authorities, compared to the sharing of fake news on social media which confuses the public,” she said.
The minister also said that she also became a victim of this situation when certain parties shared lies on social media.
“Thankfully, justice was served through the law and the responsible party was punished accordingly,” she said.