Sabah tourism industry bullish despite kidnapping

Tourism leaders in East Malaysia are confident the latest kidnapping incident will not affect tourism long term in the state of Sabah.

Sabah Association of Tours and Travel Agents (SATTA) president Datuk Seri Winston said he is ready to allay the fears of Chinese tourists as government officials travel to China today to sign agreements for summer charter flights.

"A millionairess was recently kidnapped in Hong Kong but tourists still flock to the territory. Kidnappings occur all over the world but not all have been reported in the media."

Local group Sandakan Tourism Association (STAN) has urged tourism businesses to work together to ensure a safe environment for all visitors and local residents.

"Now is not the time to play the blame game, but we must remain united and work hard to ensure that the tourism industry will sustain in fending off challenges following the kidnapping incident," said STAN president Johnny Lim

"We don’t want the kidnappers to rejoice, thinking that we are reducing our tourism activities out of fear,"

Two people were abducted from a seafood restaurant in Sandakan last week, perpetrated by gunmen believed to be linked to the Abu Sayyaf group in the Southern Philippines.

Sabah has suffered a spate of similar kidnappings for many years, often targeting foreign visitors, including the abduction of 21 Malaysians and foreign tourists from the island of Sipadan in 2000.