Bird watching, rock climbing, hiking, paragliding, homestays, mountain bike rides, jungle trekking, cultural events and seafood, to name a few.
These are probably some of the reasons why the tourism industry has remained vibrant in Sabah.
The Mount Kinabalu National Park, Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary, Sukau, as well as the islands within the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park in Kota Kinabalu and Tun Sakaran Marine Park in Semporna, in the meantime, continue to play the role as the state's anchor products.
But it's the growing popularity of new attractions that is helping Sabah maintain the growth in tourist arrivals each year.
Seasoned tour guide and operator Tham Yau Kong said for years, the tourism mainstay centred around Mount Kinabalu, diving, the orang utans in Sepilok and wildlife safari in Sukau.
"But over the years, new activities are attracting tourists and keeping the industry busy," he said, noting that most of the new attractions are nature or culture-based activities.
"Eco-tourism is the best bet for Sabah as it is blessed with beautiful natural surroundings," said Tham, who specialises in mountain bike expeditions, the Sandakan-Ranau Death March and more recently, motorbike excursions.
Last year, 2.8 million tourists visited Sabah, compared with 2.5 million in 2010. The state Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry has projected the number to rise to 2.9 million.
Its minister, Datuk Masidi Manjun, told the last state legislative assembly sitting that in the first five months of this year, 1.134 million people visited the state, compared with 1.093 million in the corresponding period last year.
2.8 million tourists visited Sabah last year.
Bird watching, rock climbing, hiking, paragliding, homestays, mountain bike rides, jungle trekking, cultural events and seafood, to name a few.
These are probably some of the reasons why the tourism industry has remained vibrant in Sabah.
The Mount Kinabalu National Park, Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary, Sukau, as well as the islands within the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park in Kota Kinabalu and Tun Sakaran Marine Park in Semporna, in the meantime, continue to play the role as the state's anchor products.
But it's the growing popularity of new attractions that is helping Sabah maintain the growth in tourist arrivals each year.
Seasoned tour guide and operator Tham Yau Kong said for years, the tourism mainstay centred around Mount Kinabalu, diving, the orang utans in Sepilok and wildlife safari in Sukau.
"But over the years, new activities are attracting tourists and keeping the industry busy," he said, noting that most of the new attractions are nature or culture-based activities.
"Eco-tourism is the best bet for Sabah as it is blessed with beautiful natural surroundings," said Tham, who specialises in mountain bike expeditions, the Sandakan-Ranau Death March and more recently, motorbike excursions.
Last year, 2.8 million tourists visited Sabah, compared with 2.5 million in 2010. The state Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry has projected the number to rise to 2.9 million.
Its minister, Datuk Masidi Manjun, told the last state legislative assembly sitting that in the first five months of this year, 1.134 million people visited the state, compared with 1.093 million in the corresponding period last year.
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