SABAH'S COBT REVENUE ROSE TO RM7 MLN IN 2024 - HAJIJI

TUARAN, May 6 (Bernama) -- The total revenue from Community-Based Tourism (CoBT) in Sabah rose to RM7 million last year compared to RM6.7 million in 2023, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.

He said the CoBT revenue was from the 18 active districts involved in that growing sector, particularly in rural areas.

"Tourism is the main thrust in the Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) Roadmap and Kiulu has emerged as one of the key pilot programmes under the CoBT development. I want the CoBT to be actively developed because of its potential in expanding and generating the economy in rural areas in the state,” he said when launching the 2025 Tuaran District-level Kaamatan Festival at Kiulu Community Hall here today.

He also congratulated four CoBT associations in the state, including the Kiulu Tourism Association, which signed memoranda of understanding (MoU) with four universities and a tourism body from Taiwan.

He said the other three CoBTs were the Tambunan Tourism Association, the Sabah Coffee Entrepreneurs Association and the Kampung Tambatuon Kadamaian Women's Community Association, Kota Belud.

He added that the collaboration is expected to provide significant benefits in terms of knowledge transfer and empowerment of the local tourism community.

"The Kiulu district should fully utilise its potential in tourism and agriculture as an economic catalyst because this area is one of the state's CoBT operators,” he said.

Hajiji said that the first-ever Community-Based Tourism Conference, to be held in Kota Kinabalu in June, would be organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in collaboration with the Sabah Tourism Board as another strategic move in strengthening Sabah's tourism sector.

He also approved an allocation of RM1.1 for the implementation of several development projects in the Kiulu state constituency.

Hajiji said Sabah recorded 923,709 tourist arrivals in the first quarter of this year, which is about 26 per cent of its targeted 3.5 million visitors this year.

He also expressed confidence in exceeding the stipulated target, just like how the state did in 2024 when it attracted 3.2 million visitors compared to the initial 3 million target.

The Chief Minister also emphasised the importance for rural infrastructure facilities to be upgraded as the basis for supporting the growth of tourism and agriculture.

He added that good infrastructure not only provided comfort to the people of Sabah but also a key attraction to domestic and foreign visitors.

Hajiji urged the people to continue supporting the government's efforts to strengthen the state's development, particularly in the tourism sector which has become the main catalyst for Sabah's economy.

At the Kaamatan Festival launch, Hajiji also declared that the Kiulu Community Hall would be renamed Dewan Masyarakat OKK Rampas.

-- BERNAMA