Kota Kinabalu: A total of 3.14 million tourists visited Sabah last year, surpassing the target of three million and marking a 20.4 percent increase compared to the previous year.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Sabah Tourism, Culture, and Environment Minister, Datuk Seri Christina Liew, announced that the estimated tourism revenue for last year reached RM7.28 billion, a significant rise from RM5.76 billion in 2023. This recovery in tourist arrivals reached 75 percent of pre-pandemic levels, driven by domestic markets and regional countries such as China and Brunei, while total international arrivals recovered by 86 percent. Target markets such as China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Japan, India, and Europe recorded positive growth.

Liew spoke during her 2025 New Year speech at the Excellent Service Award (APC) ceremony for the ministry, highlighting various achievements. The Sabah Cultural Board (LKNS) implemented the Integrated Cultural Mapping Project for Sabah (2024-2025), integrating ethnic data databases. Moreover, the Sabah Museum Department successfully added 15,400 new collections and registered 960 data entries into the Sabah Museum Repository Information Cultural Heritage System (SMRICHES).

On environmental conservation, several proposals for new parks were approved by the state government. These include Teluk Darvel (126,475.16 hectares), Mantanani (160,975 hectares), Pulau Mengalum (624,316 hectares), and Mamut (2,112 hectares). The Sabah Wildlife Department appointed 179 Community Rangers under the Biodiversity Patrolling and Protection (BP3) programme and implemented a 10-year Wildlife Crime Action Plan.

Liew emphasized the ministry’s focus on implementing high-impact programmes and projects under the 13th Malaysia Plan to strengthen the tourism industry, elevate cultural initiatives, and reinforce environmental conservation efforts.