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.
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Qatar Airways offers reduced timetable to over 60 destinations
Hands In, UATP join forces for airline multi-card payments
AirlineRatings reveals world's safest airline rankings for 2026
Vietnam warns airlines of possible flight reductions amid jet fuel shortages
Fliggy opens AI-powered travel bookings and developer tools